MMA News

WE HAVE MOVED!

2007-06-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

In order to be more comprehensive source of mixed martial arts news and to accommodate our recent growth in traffic, mma-news.blogspot.com has now moved to http://www.mmapunch.com/

Although the design of our new site is still being modified, we are adding new MMA articles every day.

Check us out!

Official StrikeForce EliteXC Fight Card

2007-06-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Frank Shamrock on Jimmy Kimmel Live

2007-06-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

It's a nice trend to see mixed martial arts fighters getting visability on the late night talk show circuit. Chuck Liddell was given a solid five minutes of face time on Late Night with David Letterman just a couple of weeks ago. This time around, Frank Shamrock will get his shot on network television as he will appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live this Thursday.

This Week's Spotlight MMA Model

2007-06-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

This is not a shameless plug for Brawl Fight Gear. This is Krysten, one of their apparel models, and I think I am in love.

I have never purchased or received product from Brawl Fight Gear, but if it is as good of quality as their girls then I think I wouldn't be disappointed.

Branded thong panties and baby Tee's, just another example of why the sport of MMA is so unique and fantastic.

Click on the image of Krysten to view her entire photo gallery.

Show me the Money - UFC Fight Night 10 Payouts

2007-06-18T23:56:00.000-07:00

The Florida State Boxing Commission has released the fighter salaries for UFC Fight Night 10. Jon Fitch and pulled in the biggest payday of the event with $36,000. The total payout for the event, which do not include bonuses for the fight awards, sponsorships, or any other non-salary payments, was a reported $175,500. Here is a full breakdown of the night's fighter payouts:

Spencer Fisher ($26,000) def. Sam Stout ($6,000)
Jon Fitch ($36,000) def. Roan Carneiro ($5,000)
Drew McFedries ($14,000) vs. Jordan Radev ($5,000)
Nate Mohr ($6,000) def. Luke Caudillo ($3,000)
Forrest Petz ($8,000) def. Luigi Fioravanti ($8,000)
Tamdan McCrory ($8,000) vs. Pete Spratt ($12,000)
Gleison Tibau ($10,000) def. Jeff Cox ($3,500)
Thiago Tavares ($10,000) def. Jason Black ($6,000)
Anthony Johnson ($6,000) def. Chad Reiner ($3,000)

UFC Wants to Go Global

2007-06-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

The UFC has dominated the U.S. market and has had great success overseas as of late and Zuffa owner Lorenzo Fertitta wants to ride the momentum as reported on Yahoo Sport's new MMA channel.

But that, Fertitta said, is only part of an international expansion that he sees taking the sport to Germany next year and, soon, to Italy, Spain and Australia, as well as points in between. “The cool thing about it, and the reason I like moving things around, is every time we go to a new place, we create new fans,” Fertitta said. “There are going to be a lot of people in the arena tonight who don’t know the UFC. Maybe they heard about us from a friend, but they weren’t sure. more

As a fan, I love the fact that the UFC is so active with its events. This is such a far cry from just a few years ago when only three or four events where held the entire year. These days it's not uncommon to have that many events in the course of 30 to 60 days. The real question is, is this expansion happening too fast? Will the quality of the production suffer as Zuffa tries to put the UFC on the world map? If you're looking for a job, I'm sure the UFC is hiring. How else could a company grow so quickly?

Bodog vs. UFC - Let's Get It On!

2007-06-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

Billionaire owner of Bodog Fights has called out "Mr. UFC" Dana White by extending a very interesting offer. Here is a press release that was just posted on bodogfight.com. It's obvious these two don't care much for one another. This could turn into a rivalry the likes of Ortiz and Shamrocks. We'll have to keep on eye on this.

"In response to recent comments made by Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White, Bodog Fight founder Calvin Ayre is pleased to extend a once-in-a-lifetime offer to his mixed martial arts rival.

White’s unfortunate public diatribe included slanderous comments about the Canadian billionaire, referring to the online gaming mogul as a “criminal”. The notoriously bald UFC promoter goes on to liken Mr. Ayre to a Richard Pryor character, stating “he’s like that guy in Brewster’s Millions who is trying to spend all his money in 48 hours.

With July 14th’s Bodog Fight: Eddie Alvarez vs. Matt Lee marking Ayre’s first event on U.S. soil, the digital entertainment icon is referencing another Hollywood film, The Godfather, by making White “an offer he can’t refuse.”

"Sources tell me Dana’s a big Bodog Fight fan,” said Ayre. “He must be. He can’t stop talking about us. Personally, I love it when he keeps mentioning my organization in the media. He doesn’t seem to realize that each time he does, he only makes me more money, which is why I want to repay him by allowing him to experience the luxurious lifestyle I am fortunate to enjoy for 48 hours.”

“Since, regrettably, I am unable to attend the upcoming Bodog Fight event in New Jersey, I will offer to send my private jet - complete with an assortment of beautiful Bodog Girls - to pick up Mr. White, wherever he may be. I will then fly him to the east coast where he will enjoy a front row seat to our next event, followed by a VIP evening including a comfortable five-star overnight stay in a nearby Atlantic City hotel. After hitting the poker tables, Mr. White can retire to his lavish suite, sip the finest champagne and relax in the knowledge that all amenities and services are complimentary as my way of saying ‘thank-you’ for all the money he keeps making me.”

All Mr. White has to do is send his R.S.V.P. to pr@bodogfight.com and the wheels will be put into motion."

Chuck Liddell on Dave Letterman

2007-06-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

I know this isn't the latest news in the MMA world, but nice to see The Ice Man in a coherent interview and one at such a high level as The Late Show with David Letterman. And as indicator of the Ice Man and the sport's popularity, this YouTube video has been viewed over 10,000 times.

Bonus: Letterman shows a video clip of Chuck getting KO'd by Quinton Jackson for those who many not have already seen (the UFC can't block this footage like they normally do form YouTube).

Fight of the Night - GRIFFIN vs. GUIDA

2007-06-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

The fight of the night at UFC 72 wasn't the headline match between Rich Franklin and Okami, but instead was the Light Weight bout between Tyson Griffen and Clay Guida (at least according to Shawn Ennis, MMATorch Columnist).

"STAR RATING: (****+) I almost took something away from the fight because of the decision, but I can’t do it. That was absolutely amazing. Guida gets a big ovation during his post-fight interview, where he says that he dedicated the fight to the late Jeremy Williams."

For full coverage round by round of this fight check out Ennis' entire article here

UFC 72 - Fight Results

2007-06-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

UFC 72 from Belfast is now in the record books:

Rich Franklin def. Yushin Okami Decision (Unanimous) 3 5:00
Forrest Griffin def. Hector Ramirez Decision (Unanimous) 3 5:00
Jason MacDonald def. Rory Singer TKO (Strikes) 2 3:18
Ed Herman Scott def. Smith Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2 2:25
Dustin Hazelett def. Steven Lynch Submission (D'Arce Choke) 1 2:50
Eddie Sanchez def. Colin Robinson TKO (Strikes) 2 0:32
Marcus Davis def. Jason Tan KO 1 1:15
Tyson Griffin def. Clay Guida Decision (Split) 3 5:00

Yushin Okami in Action

2007-06-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

Today Rich Franklin is a heavy favorite at UFC 72 with site visitors at UFC.com giving him a 76% edge over Okami.

Rich Franklin lives by this psalm (as plastered over his official webiste): Psalm 144:1 - Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight. So does Yushin have much of a chance over the heavy favored man of god?

Current UFC Middle Weight Champion Anderson Silva has fought and dominated both of these fighters (although he official was disqualified in his match against Okami for an illegal kick). Most people have seen the dismantling he performed on Rich Franklin at the UFC but his fight against Okami at Rumble on the Rocks is a bit more obscure. Here is a look at how Okami did against the Champ. I'm not too impressed.

ROTR Anderson Silva vs Yushin Okami

Sam Stout looks like Elvis...

2007-06-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

...or at least the guy who played Elvis on the 2005 TV mini series. UFC fighter Sam Stout has an uncanny reseblence to Hollywood star Johnathan Rhys Meyers.

Fight Odds for UFC 72

2007-06-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

Fight odds as provided by Gambler's Paradise.

"-" means that you would need to bet that much money in order to win $100. (a $185 bet on Rich Franklin will get you $100 if he wins)

"+" means that with a $100 bet you will win that amount. (a $100 bet on Yushin Okami will get you $145 if he wins)

RICH FRANKLIN -185 YUSHIN OKAMI +145

HECTOR RAMIREZ +160 FORREST GRIFFIN -210

RORY SINGER +175 JASON MACDONALD -225

CLAY GUIDA +155 TYSON GRIFFIN -205

JASON TAN +245 MARCUS DAVIS -370

EDDIE SANCHEZ -205 COLIN ROBINSON +155

SCOTT SMITH +115 ED HERMAN -145

DUSTIN HAZELETT -270 STEVIE LYNCH +210

UFC 72 Weak Fight Card

2007-06-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night, UFC 72 will be aired live from Belfast. The event has some big shoes to fill coming on the heels of an entertaining and quality Ultimate Fight Night 10. Overall, the fight card is weak. Really, Forrest Griffin as a headliner? Sure he's a fun fighter, but the guy has lost the last 2 out of 3 fights. Even a big win tomorrow still doesn't bring him close to a title shot, espeicailly with the new Pride blood coming into the mix.

UFC 72 Fight Card

Rich Franklin vs. Yushin Okami
Forrest Griffin vs. Hector Ramirez
Jason MacDonald vs. Rory Singer
Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida
Marcus Davis vs. Jason Tan
Ed Herman vs. Scott Smith
Colin Robinson vs. Eddie Sanchez
Dustin Hazelett vs. Stevie Lynch

Bas Rutten talks about Kimbo

2007-06-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

First off, if you're not aware of Kimbo Slice he's one bad ass street fighter who has become famous from the video clips of his fights that have been floating around the Internet. They guy is about as intimidating as an human I've ever seen.
Bas Rutten has been training Kimbo for his first upcoming MMA fight against professional boxer Ray Mercer. Kimbo obviously has real talent as a heavy hitter and can take a punch, but how about his cardio? Well, here is what Bas recently had to say on a MMA forum about Kimbo:

OK guys, I have to say something here.

I am training Kimbo right now, and I have to say that he is one of the BEST fighters I have EVER trained. He really listens to you and does what you say, do you know how hard that it? If he's dead tired, and I tell him five more rounds, he looks at me, but doesn't say anything, he just does it. I entroduced him to the Bas Rutten MMA workout, he was SO tired, he told me that he has never been as tired. Today I was teaching him again, he asked me in the beginning "Are we ging to do the Bas Rutten workout?" But he said it in a crazy way, so I asked him "Do you want to do it?". He said "Please, yes!" I asked him why, because all my PROFESSIONAL fighters don't want to do it. He said "Bas, I want to conquer this thing, I want to do it!" Man, he gets, Lots, and losts of respect!

All the shit that people write about him, I am telling you, and I hope you know I don't lie, he's a trooper! I wish that all my fighters would be like him. Even my wife loves the guy. He is SO respectful and uses NO bad language in front of kids (my two little daughters love him, and they don't like anybody!), I am REALLY, blown away.

He really deserves this, I think this. Can a boxer be a MMA FIGHTER? We all know the answer, but can a street fighter be an MMA fighter? We all KNOW the answer to that!

I would wish that all my fighters were like him, like I said, I can put him through every workout I give him, he WILL do it, no questions asked.

I hope you guys meet Kimbo one day, you will be blown away. I just came back from an MMA event and I brought him there, just see how he is with the fans, it's crazy!

You also know that I would NEVER train an asshole, so trust me, but he's got me, Shawn Tompkins (who trained him longer than I have,) and Randy Kathami (boxing coach for my gym) respect. I REALLY love the guy.

El Guapo says: Party one and Godspeed!!

-In case you haven't seen this monster in action, check out the fight that put him on the map (not for the squemish)

kimbo

UFC Fight Night 10 - Future Contenders

2007-06-13T15:11:00.000-07:00

Last night's UFC Fight Night showcased a surprising amount of quality fighters, fighters who have not had a high level of visabilit in the world of MMA. It was great to see some raw talent come out of an event that wasn't PPV.

These five fighters have a combined record of 57 wins with only 5 losses!

Drew McFedries showed once again that he has heavy hands and can KO anyone in the middle weight division with his 33 second knock out of Jordan Radev. Radev is world class wrestler and by no means a pushover. Yes, McFedries lost to Marvin Kampman, but leading up to the submission he was picking him apart in the stand up. Drew isn't ready for a title shot, but keep an eye on him, he only seems to be getting better.

Jon Fitch: Most people who closely follow the MMA game knew of Jon Fitch and his impressive record. Last night he had a lot of expectations resting on his shoulds as there was a lot of hype built up surrounding his abilities. He was handed a very solid fighter in Roan Carneiro and although was in trouble early, impressively kept his composure and weathered the storm. Known for his wrestling, Fitch showed his well rounded game when he slapped on a rear naked choke a minute into the second round. Fitch is now 6-0 in the UFC. Watch out fellow welterweights.

Thiago Tavares: Possibly the most talented fighter of the night. Thiago maintained his undefeated record and schooled Jason Black, a guy with a 21-2 record. His ground game looked great as he outclassed Black. Thiago is only 21 years old and should only get better in the next couple of years. At 155, he's got all the tools to potentially get a title shot faster than any of other fighters from last night.

Spencer Fisher proved that he's one of the top guys and most complete fighters at 170 with his unanomous decision of highly regarded Sam Stout. Fisher looked great on his feet as he continued to effectily mix up his attack keeping Stout guessing the entire match. If he can shake off his recent loss to title contender Hermes Franca he'll continue to quickly move up the ranks.

Anthony Johnson had only three fights leading into last night's match against slightly above average competition so no a whole lot was know about his abilities. 13 seconds into the first round and it was obvious that this guy is athletic, fast, and powerful. He flatted 13-2 (before fight) Chad Reiner, a guy who pushed popular and talented Josh Berkman to the distance. It will be interesting to see Johnson a few more times but if his UFC debut is any indicator he's another fighter worth taking note of.

Great night of action and we were lucky to witness this kind of talent. UFC 72 has a lot to live up to.

Results - UFC Fight Night 10

2007-06-13T00:54:00.000-07:00

Lot's of great action on Spike TV tonight at UFC Fight Night 10. All of the undercard televised matches ended in KO's or submissions. The main event went to a decision, but it was a great stand up fight with Fisher out striking Stout.

Full fight card results:

Spencer Fisher def. Sam Stout - Unanimous Decision

Jon Fitch def. Roan Carneiro - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2nd round

Andrew McFedries def. Jordan Radev KO (Punch) 1st round

Thiago Tavares def. Jason Black - Submission (Triangle Choke) 2nd round

Nate Mohr def. Luke Caudillo - Unanimous Decision

Anthony Johnson def. Chad Reiner - KO (Punches) 1st round

Gleison Tibau def. Jeff Cox - Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) 1st round

Tamden McCrory def. Pete Spratt - Submission (Triangle Choke) 2nd round

Forrest Petz def. Luigi Fioravanti - Unanimous Decision

Chuck Liddell Gets a Lap Dance

2007-06-12T11:42:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure if this was before of after The Iceman lost his Light Heavyweight title, but the former UFC champion looks like he was having a pretty good time with salt and pepper. If this lap dance was before his title fight, that explains his dedication to training. If this was post fight, drinking and getting a lap dance by two hotties probably helped soften the knock out blow. Party on Ice Man! Who knows, maybe well see him with Jenna Jamison next?

Liddell lap dance

Access to UFC 75 pre-sale Tickets

2007-06-12T11:35:00.001-07:00

UFC 75, featuring the return of The Count Michael Bisbing, will be held on September 8, 2007 in London. Surprisingly tickets for this event will be going on sale shortly and available to the general public on June 18th. However, if you want to get some exclusive access to tix, you can pre-order on June 14th at 10am by using the presale code of BISBING. Click here to purchase UFC tickets at that time.

More UFC Ring Card Girls

2007-06-11T13:28:00.001-07:00

MMA Ring Card Girls seem to be a pretty popular subject on this site so here you go, a nice (hot, hot, hot) little video featuring UFC's Amber Nichole Miller, Rachelle Leah, and Diego Sanchez's hot ass girlfriend Ali Sonoma.

Stephen Quadros New MMA Radio Show

2007-06-11T10:22:00.001-07:00

"The Fight Professor," Stephen Quadros will be hitting the Internet airwaves tomorrow (June 12th) at 3pm EST on Sherdog.com. Quadros has been one of the pioneers of mixed martial arts who, along side "El Guapo" Bas Rutten, commentated on early Pride Fighting events. Bas and Quadros had great chemisty as co-announcers and at the time were the best in the MMA biz. Although Bas was voice of fighting technique (a la Joe Rogan), Quadros had a lot of intelligent commentating of his own to add. Very much unlike the UFC goofball Mike Goldberg. Make sure to tune in tomorrow. Also, did you know that The Fight Professor is a musician? Check out his website.

Tommy Morrison Wins "MMA" Debut

2007-06-10T11:43:00.000-07:00

Tommy Morrison made pretty quick work of Stover last night at the Castle Cliff Casino in Arizona with a KO in the first round. Tommy's fists looked good, as expected, but his MMA skills were not tested as the rules of the fighter were modified at the last minute. Stover said, "Yeah they switched up the rules, at first it was strikes only knees, elbows, and kicks. They switched them up about a half hour before the show. We tried to barter around it, but Tommy, he doesn't want to do MMA. He needs to get paid. He needs his money. He needs to get his name back out there and this is basically all he's doing."

How the fight went down? Morrison, 38, slipped out the larger man's grip and circled back to the center of the cage. The sequence that followed showcased the boxer's superior hand speed. Stover's nose was broken by a swift overhand right, however the rugged sheetrock worker would not go quietly and responded by slamming Morrison against the fencing for a second time.

It will be intersting to see if Morrison can actually make the transistion to mixed martial arts. Maybe a fight against Kimbo will be next in the cards. This could be a new trend in MMA, ex-boxers fighter each other under modified MMA rules.

First time fighter paid more than 2 MMA Legends?

2007-06-09T15:08:00.000-07:00

Fighter payout have been released (as required by the state athletic commision) for the recent K-1 Dynamite event. I know it all comes down to marketability and "return on investment," but it's kind of sad that first time MMA fighter Brock Lesnar made more money than any other fighter and more than legendary Royce Gracie and Sakuraba combined! This is Mixed Martial Arts v2.0, so out with the old and in with the new breed.

Total payouts for K-1 Dynamite fighters:

Main Event Fighters

-Brock Lesnar: $500,000 (defeated Min Soo Kim; no win bonus)

-Min Soo Kim: $30,000 (lost to Brock Lesnar)

Main Card Fighters

-Royce Gracie: $300,000 (defeated Kazushi Sakuraba; no win bonus)

-Johnnie Morton: $100,000 (lost to Bernard Ackah; purse is being withheld for the time being due to refusal to take drug test)

-Melvin Manhoef: $50,000 (lost to Dong Sik Yoon)

-Jonathan Wiezorek: $40,000 (defeated Tim Persey; includes $25,000 win bonus)

-Kazushi Sakuraba: $30,000 (lost to Royce Gracie)

-"Mighty" Mo Siliga: $30,000 (defeated Ruben Villareal; no win bonus)

-Ruben Villareal: $30,000 (lost to "Mighty" Mo Siliga)

-Jake Shields: $24,000 (defeated Ido Pariente; includes $12,000 win bonus)

-Dong Sik Yoon: $20,000 (defeated Melvin Manhoef; no win bonus)

-Tim Persey: $20,000 (lost to Jonathan Wiezorek)

-Bernard Ackah: $5,000 (defeated Johnnie Morton; no win bonus)

-Ido Pariente: $2,500 (lost to Jake Shields)

Diego Sanchez Lands UFC Ring Card Girl

2007-06-08T12:23:00.001-07:00

There were some rumors that TUF winner and UFC standout Diego "Dirty" Sanchez was dating UFC Ring Card Girl Ali Sonoma. Not believing that Diego could land a girl of Ali's calibur, I checked out his MySpace page and sure as shit they are a couple. Just two days ago she left him this post on his page: "YOU ROCK MY WORLD! LOVE YOU OH SO MUCH!" Diego, I know you are an ass-kicker, but how did you score this ring card girl? I think all of his zen training is going to go out the door and his attention will be somewhere else these days.

K-1 Dynamite Not Off to a Good Start

2007-06-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

Financially speaking, last week's K-1 MMA event was a disaster. The California State Athletic Commission has released the revenue figures from teh event and the numbers aren't looking so good. Paid verifiable tickets sold was 3,574. Sources say that FEG (K-1 promoters) paid over $2 million to purchase 39,000 tickets to their own event. Although there is no way to tell how many of those tickets were resold or simply given away, the math isn't in their favor considering the verified ticket sales only brought in $203,000.

Why they would hold an MMA event at a arena that seats 92,000 is baffling...this isn't Japan. With this huge space occupied with relatively few people, not only does it look bad on camera, but the crowd energy was not the same as it would have been in a sold out smaller arena such as the MGM.

In comparison, the verified paid attendance for UFC 68, which took place in Columbus , Ohio on March 3, 2007 was 17,358.

So You Think You Can Fight?

2007-06-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

For all those So Cal boys who want to mix it up, a short drive to TJ may make you the next star fighter in MMA. Primal Mixed Martial Arts, an organization geared at promoting Mixed Martial Arts events throughout Mexico, will be hosting open fighter auditions on Saturday, June 9, 2007 at Entram Gym in Tijuana. Fighters will be given the opportunity to display their skills in front of a panel of judges including MMA star Urijah Faber. They will be evaluating striking skills, grappling skills, AND personality. Selected participants will be offered a contract with Primal Mixed Martial Arts and an invitation to fight in an upcoming Primal event. Auditions are open to fighters of all weight classes and all disciplines related to mixed martial arts. Fighters interested in participating can get more information and download the participant application Here

Brock Lesnar Dishes Out a Beatdown

2007-06-06T14:12:00.001-07:00

In Brock Lesnar's first mixed martial arts event, he displayed some real potential to one day be a force in heavyweight division. He wasn't tested al all by his opponent Kim Min Soo at the recent K-1 Dynamite event so it may not be a true measure of his talent. No doubt his is big, powerful, and athletic, but that doesn't always translate into MMA stardome (see Kevin Randleman). Take a look at Lesner and be the judge.

Brock lesnar vs kim min soo k-1 dynamite
Uploaded by The_animal_Batista

Own a Genuine Pride FC Trophy!

2007-06-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

Somebody is selling a Pride Trophy on Yahoo! Auctions (Japan). From what I gather, the starting price is approximately $667 US (81,000 Yen). Those Japanese are crazy mixed martial arts fans (especially Pride) so I'll keep my eye on the final selling price. Or, if you are a big enough MMA fan, go ahead and bid on it yourself: http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e66484588

Having trouble keeping up with MMA?

2007-06-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

It's hard enough to keep track of what MMA related shows and events will televised and even harder to figure out when. This site provides an entire month's worth of MMA television coverage. Click Here

WEC Results - Faber and Brock Larson look good

2007-06-04T10:09:00.000-07:00

Here are the fight results from last night's WEC event with a title fight on the line and the debut of Brock Larson in mixed martial arts:

Urijah Faber def. Chance Farrar Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1st Round 3:19

Brock Larson def. Kevin Knabjan TKO (Strikes) 1st Rounds 0:27

Brian Stann def. Craig Zellner TKO (Strikes) 1st Round 4:57

Alex Karalexis def. Josh Smith Decision (Majority) 3d Round 5:00

Rani Yahya def. Mark Hominick Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1st Round 1:19

Jeff Bedard def. Mike French Decision (Unanimous) 3rd Round 5:00

Brian Bowles def. Charlie Valencia Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2nd Round 2:50

Cub Swanson def. Micah Miller Decision (Unanimous) 3rd Round 5:00

John Alessio def. Alex Serdyukov Submission (Guillotine Choke) 1st Round 1:17

WEC on TV - VS Channel

2007-06-01T09:41:00.001-07:00

ThisThe World Extreme Cagefighting is being shown for "free" on cable TV, if you happen to receive the VS (Versus) channel, on June 3rd. Click below to see if you get VS. On the fight card: Alex Karalexis vs Josh Smith (Lightweights) Mark Hominick vs Rani Yahya (Featherweights) Urijah Faber vs Chance Farrar (Featherweight) Brian Stann vs Craig Zellner (Light Heavyweight) Click below for a video preview of the upcoming WEC event

New Fights Added to UFC 73

2007-05-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

UFC 73 - Stacked is looking to be just that, stacked with great matches. First off, we have two Titles on the line, the Middle Weight and Light Weight. With the way favorites have been picked off in recent MMA matches, don't be surprised if we see both champions fall. My pick for most like to lose the title is Sean Sherk as I feel Hermes Franca is a better all around fighter. His one weakness against Sherk (besides being taken down at will)could be his cardio. There is no quit in The Muscle Shark and rarely gasses. Besides the two title fights, there is also Tito vs. Rashad Evans, which in itself could be a main event. UFC today announced a couple more fights to the Stacked card. Press Release from the UFC: "Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira will take on Heath Herring. * Former world title challenger Kenny Florian returns to action to face UFC newcomer Alvin Robinson in a lightweight swing bout. * The Ultimate Fighter 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar is also back in a light heavyweight contest, as he takes on season three’s Mike Nickels. * Brazilian lightweights will fight it out for local bragging rights when Jorge Gurgel squares off against Diego Saraiva. * Welterweight veterans Chris Lytle and Drew Fickett meet at the 170-pound crossroads in a three rounder. * Unbeaten Frank Edgar hopes to carry the momentum from his big win over Tyson Griffin in February into his lightweight bout with fellow unbeaten Mark Bocek. Along with Anderson Silva vs Nathan Marquardt and Sean Sherk vs Hermes Franca, this could be the best fight card of the year, in any organization.

Joe Lauzon doesn't want to fight Cory Hill

2007-05-31T10:08:00.000-07:00

Joe Lauzon, The Ultimate Fighter 5 contestant and fighter who knocked out Jens Pulver, is also a staff writer for a MMA news/blog site called MassMMA.com. Sure, tons of MMA sites out there (this included) give recaps of every TUF episode, but Lauzon actually provides an insider's view point and tells us things we didn't get to see on the show, such as "Going into the second round, I wanted to fight Brandon or Manny. I thought both fights were good pairings for me. Brandon is a striker without a lot on the ground, while Manny is good on the ground, but I thought I could get the takedown and put him on the fence. I wanted to avoid Corey because he is so tall and can make anyone look bad." Check out his latest blog entry and leave the guy a comment while you're at it. Click Here.

UFC 71 Fighter Pay Outs

2007-05-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has released the payday figures for UFC 71. These figures are those reported to the Commission, but may not include signing bonuses, sponsorships, or percentage of PPV buys. Quinton Jackson ($225,000) def. Chuck Liddell ($500,000) by KO - R1 Karo Parisyan ($32,000) def. Josh Burkman ($7,000) by unanimous decision Terry Martin ($12,000) def. Ivan Salaverry ($17,500) by TKO - R1 Houston Alexander ($8,000) def. Keith Jardine ($7,000) by TKO - R1 Kalib Starnes ($10,000) def. Chris Leben ($10,000) by unanimous decision Thiago Silva ($16,000) def. James Irvin ($7,000) by TKO - Round 1, 1:06 Alan Belcher ($14,000) def. Sean Salmon ($3,000) by guillotine choke - R1 Din Thomas ($28,000) def. Jeremy Stephens ($3,000) by armbar - R2 Wilson Gouveia ($16,000) def. Cermelo Marrero ($5,000) by guillotine choke R1 Total disclosed pay outs: $920,500 Chuck, half a million for less than two minutes in the ring, not bad!

The Ultimate Fighter Finale

2007-05-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

Just made official, Noah Thomas will get another crack at Marlon Sims on The Ultimate Fighter finale on Spike TV. Unlike their last fight, this one will actually be sanctioned and will take place in the Octagon. The event will take place on June 23rd at 9pm on Spike. The only other known fight on the card at this time is PJ Penn vs Jens Pulver along with the two finalists of the show, tbd.

Bodog Fights Coming to America

2007-05-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

Press Release: Following unforgettable mixed martial arts events in Vancouver, Canada and St. Petersburg, Russia, Bodog Fight is pleased to announce its American debut. On Saturday, July 14th, Bodog Fighters will become "Garden State" warriors when they visit the Sovereign Bank Arena on the shores of the Delaware River in Trenton, New Jersey for Bodog Fight: Eddie Alvarez vs. Matt Lee. Full press release here

Liddell vs. Jackson Video Clip

2007-05-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

This really wasn't the MMA barn-burner I was hoping for, but the outcome is what I expected. UFC Light Heavyweight title match below:

Chuck Liddell vs. Quinton Jackson
Uploaded by BiancaUL

UFC Welcomes Back Dan Henderson with a Title Shot

2007-05-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

Get more pictures like this from SHERDOG.COM Last night, Mr. UFC Dan White announced that Dangerous Dan Henderson will get a shot at the new Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Rampage Jackson. Some of the newer fans of the sport may not be familar with one of the sport's most versitle, yet under-rated fighter, but Dan Henderson is the real deal. Although Dan "Hendo" has been mixing it up with top-level competition over in Japan with the Pride FC organization since 2000, he hasn't gotten the level of attention he deserves. Some might have forgotten, but Henderson fought in the UFC 9 years ago. Back in 1998 Hendo won a UFC middle weight tournament at UFC 17 when he defeated two top ranked fighters in Carlos Newton and Alan Goes. Most recently Dan headlined Pride's show in America where he de-throned (KO'd) one of the sports longest reigning and most dominant fighters, Wanderli Silva. Keep in mind that Silva is the same fighter that beat the crap out of Quinton Jackson, twice! That's gonna play some mind games with the new UFC champion.

Latest UFC 71 Betting Odds

2007-05-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

Odds for tonights Ultimate Fighting Championship in Las Vegas (from baybets.com)

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson +160 Chuck Liddell -200
Josh Burkman +260 Karo Parisyan -330
Terry Martin +130 Ivan Salaverry -160
Houston Alexander +400 Keith Jardine -550
Kalib Starnes +195 Chris Leben -245
James Irvin +200 Thiago Silva -260
Your best bets: Rampage. Longshot: Houston Alexander

The Case Against Chuck Liddell

2007-05-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

Most MMA fans seem to think The Iceman is near invincable, I'm here to challenge that and say that he is not worth all non-stop hype First off, since his last loss (Rampage) he's rattled off seven straight wins but let's take a look at who he has fought. Vernon White (a fighter with 30 losses on his record), Jeremy Horn (a B level middle weight), Renato Babalu Sobral (a fighter who in the past 2 1/2 years has been fighting B level fighters), Tito Ortiz twice (a solid, but not elite fighter. See his performances against Patrick Cote and Forrest Griffen. Also, he's spent a lot of his recent fight time beating up on old man Shamrock, not the stiffest competition). I give Liddell credit for beating Couture, twice. But somethings a fighter just has another fighter's "number." And this is the case with Randy. And we've come to see that Couture is better off at heavyweight, a more nature weight for him. Another point to consider is Chuck's fight style. He's fairly one-dimensional and too many fighters have played right into his strenghts. Look at Babalu. He's a great submission guy, but what does the moron do in his fight with The Iceman? He goes straight at him looking to trade blows. Babalu is not a striker. What other outcome would one expect than for him to get KTFO?

UFC 71 Fight Card

2007-05-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

Here is the complete fight card for tonights 71st installment of the Ultimate Fightin Championship: UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Title Fight Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Terry Martin Vs. Ivan Salaverry Josh "The People's Warrior" Burkman Vs. Karo "Heat" Parisyan Houston "The Assassin" Alexander Vs. "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine Kalib Starnes Vs. Chris "The Crippler" Leben Thiago Silva Vs. James "Sandman" Irvin May not be broadcast: Sean Salmon Vs. Alan "The Talent"Belcher Jeremy Stephens Vs. Din "DinYero" Thomas Carmelo Marrero Vs. Wilson Gouveia

Luke Cummo Drinks Piss

2007-05-22T17:59:00.001-07:00

Yes, you read that correct. Luke Cummo actually drinks his own urine and has even written about it on his website. For that not familiar with Cummo, he's a MMA fighter who was on The Ulimate Fighter where he was thought of by fellow fighters as a strange guy. This takes the cake. This was taken directly from his website forum: " drink all that I can of my own urine. It has many advantages. It contains hormones, minerals, and elements that bind moisture to protein. Basically it is a recycling of things so that they can have another chance to get where they are destined. If you were to drink something, your body will want to excrete liquid in order to maintain a certain level of hydration. So it filters the blood and the urine may contain things that didn't get a chance to get where they were going. " You can see the entire post Here For more informatinon on Urine Therapy click Here

Shogun May Have Signed with the UFC

2007-05-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

Just posted on the Chute Boxe official website: - Mauricio "Shogun" Rua has signed a contract with the UFC and may participate in UFC 72. This is far from official until it comes out of the mouth of UFC mouth piece Dana White but this could be huge news. Shogun is the epitome of the kind of fighter that the Ultimate Fighting Champship needs. He's world class on his feet and on the ground and has the skills to easily win via KO (as he did with Quinton Jackson) or submission. There are not many mixed martial artist with his versatility and would be a welcome addition to the UFC fans who may not be familar with his Pride fights. Until the speculation ends, I'll hold off on my opinion of how his career might unfold with the UFC.

Magazine Covers - Couture One Ups Liddell

2007-05-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

First Chuck Liddell makes the cover of ESPN the magazine and now as reported on Randy Couture's website, he'll be gracing the covers of Sports Illustrated. From the Randy Couture website: "At what point does a sport go mainstream? How about when it's best-known fighter graces the cover of the nation's best-known sports magazine? Randy Couture, the only five-time champion in UFC history, will appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine at a later date this summer. SI writer L. Jon Wertheim, a 10-year veteran of the magazine, penned the piece which will dig into the life of the most famous MMA star in the U.S. Couture recently regained the UFC heavyweight championship at the age of 43 years old, defeating Tim Sylvia at UFC 68. The win catapulted him even further into mainstream sports fame, as he appeared on ESPN's "Hot List" following the victory. Couture also has a biography in the works, co-written with Fight Network writer Loretta Hunt. "

Ruas Throws in the Towel

2007-05-20T11:58:00.001-07:00

Former UFC champion Maurice Smtith defeated former UFC Champion Marco Ruas in front of 5,000 fans at last night's IFL Super Fight in Illinois. Durning the rematch of their 1999 fight, Ruas stalked Maurice, scored a few takedowns, and even came close to securing a submission via a north-south choke. For the first three rounds, Ruas appeared to be pitching a shut-out on the judges score card. Unfortunately for Marco, the fight took a major turn in the fourth round when Smith came out fresh and Ruas a bit gassed. Maurice landed an overhand right, a leg kick, and another overhand right that left Ruas dazed and caused him to fall to the mat in hopes of pulling guard. Maurice wanted noting to do with the ground game and waited until the ref made Ruas stand up. Another quick exhange and Ruas falls to the mat to pull guard again. No dice said Smith. Marco was completely gassed and appeard to either not want to continue to fight or didn't have the energy to even stand up. Regardless, his corner threw in the towel giving Smith a fourth round TKO. Maurice has always been known for his cardio and proved that it was king once again (see Smith vs. Coleman).

TUF Recap - 5/17

2007-05-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

Here is The Ultimate Fighter TV show weekly recap:

Dana pulls BJ aside, nicely, and tells him that he needs to take control of his team and that he's heard they haven't been working enough cardio (imagine that, Penn not working enough cardio). Back at the house, Geraghty and Emerson score a keg and a hooka and party it up. At the gym, BJ has a brow beating with the team and is upset that they are not giving 100%. Suddenly he calls out Andy Wang and tells him he is wasting everyone's time and kicks him off the team. Wang doesn't want to leave the show. Dana gets called to the gym. Agrees they can't kick a fighter off the show for that reason. Dana asks Jens if he would take Wang on this team. Pulver consults with his team and they say they are cool is Andy joins the team. Dana give Andy the news but dipshit Wang says he feels like he is betraying BJ (what? BJ just kicked your dumb ass off of his team!?). Dana goes off on Wang and eventually Wang accepts his offer.

With both teams back at the gym, the remaing two fights are picked. Wayne Weems vs. Gray Maynard and Marlon Sims vs. Matt Winman. Weems ( 16-2) says he prides himself on being able to take a punch (careful what you ask for) and Gray (3-0) says he out classes Weems in every respect of fighting.

In the octagon, Gray lands a solid punch, takes Weems down and moves into side mount to half guard. Then takes his back and reigns down punchs to Weems head, about 30 of them. Herb Dean lets it go a little longer than normal because Weems tells him he is OK as he was getting smacked upside his head but he eventually stops the fight when its 100% clear that Weems is not going to get out of trouble and isn't defending himself. Pulver praised Weem's ability to improve drastically over the past few weeks and everyone agrees that the kid has heart, but in the end he was totally outclassed. Gray looked very good.

Marlon (3-1) vs. Winman: In the opening exchange they both land right hands to the head with Winman landing the better punch, staggering Marlon. Matt takes his back, throws a few punch, then chokes him unconscious. Even though Marlon gave Matt a black eye he was outclassed.

Winman and Maynard steamroll their opponents and advance to the semis with strong victories.

Mirko Cro Cop Down But Not Out

2007-05-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure if Cro Cop would continue his MMA career after the devistating knock out delivered by the big under dog Gabriel Gonzaga. During the Pride tournement (which he eventually won) he made reference to the fact that if he didn't win he might retire from the sport. During his UFC fight against Gonzaga, Mirko didn't seem to have that competitive fire needed to be a future champion.

His website has made it clear that he will indeed continue to fight MMA. When he got back to his home town after the UFC event, he's quoted as saying, "I deserved that loss because of the way i was fighting. I fall down every now and then, i was twice in this situation, after Randleman and after Fedor and i got back up again, i will be back this time too, that is a part of my career. I have 4 more fights to come and i will do them all."

Also, he is going to replace the ring that he uses for his training and will replace it with an octagon. His ankle is healing and he plans to get back into full training in a few weeks.

Pay $1.99 for a UFC Clip?

2007-05-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

I just received my semi regular e-newsletter from the UFC today. The headline was that Chuck Liddell was going to be featured on ESPN magazine. This I already knew. But they also had a link that read something like "Full Video of Liddell vs. Sobral." Sure, I'll check out that fight again. I click and get taken to a UFC.com page where they want you to pay $1.99 for a fight that lasted all of 1 minute and 35 seconds. How about this UFC, in order to help hype up the upcoming championship match with Rampage Jackson, show the damn video for free. After all, this fight was back at UFC 62 and it will give fans who may not have seen the fight a little more insight into the Ice Man's fighting style. News flash: If you are afraid that if people won't want to buy the UFC 62 DVD because they can see it for free then you are a bit too full of yourselves.

UFC Vets Headline Art of War 3

2007-05-16T15:28:00.000-07:00

There is a new mixed martial arts fight organization on the block and they are putting together some impressive events will well know MMA fighters, many of them UFC and Pride FC veterans (including former UFC Heavy Weight Champion Ricco Rogriguez). Just announced, the Art of War 3 event will be held in Dallas June 30th and is billed as USA vs. Brazil. Here is the official fight card: USA JEFF MONSON VS PEDRO RIZZO BRAZIL USA JEREMY HORN VS JORGE SANTIAGO BRAZIL USA JAKE SHIELDS VS CARLO PRATER BRAZIL USA RON WATERMAN VS MARIO RINALDI BRAZIL USA RICCO RODRIGUEZ VS MARCIO CRUZ BRAZIL USA HECTOR MUNOZ (6-2) VS BRAZIL CRISTIANO MARCELLO (3-2) USA DAMIEN STELLY (2-1) VS BRAZIL LUIS ARTHUR CANE (6-0) For more information on Art of War you can visit their official website HERE.

Jason Mayhem Miller vs. Frank Trigg

2007-05-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Just got this off of Jason Millers website: From the Honolulu Star Bulletin: Former UFC and Rumble on the Rock fighter Frank "twinkletoes" Trigg will challenge Jason "Mayhem" Miller for his newly won world middleweight title in the main event of the Dec. 1 Icon Sport card at Blaisdell Arena. Trigg (13-5) last fought in the semifinals of the ROTR welterweight grand prix tournament in April, losing to Carlos Condit by submission. Miller (17-4) is a perfect 8-0 in Hawaii, and is coming off a third-round submission victory over Robbie Lawler on Sept. 2. Twelve bouts are scheduled for the card, including the return of Niko Vitale at 205 pounds. Lawler will also be in action as he looks to earn a rematch with Miller. The Icon Sport bantamweight title will be up for grabs between undefeated Tyson Nam and Mark Oshiro, and the North American welterweight title will be on the line as Sydney Silva squares off against Jay Jack. Tickets for the event will go on sale Sept. 30 at all Ticketmaster locations. http://starbulletin.com/2006/09/19/sports/hawaiibeat.html

IFL Ring Girl Try Outs

2007-05-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Are you, or someone you know, hot enough to be a MMA ring card girl? Well, the IFL (International Fight League) is in the process of holding tryouts. For For information on becoming an IFL Ring Girl email ringgirls@ifl.tv

A Need for a Masters MMA Division?

2007-05-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

At the upcoming IFL event on May 19th we will see the return of two former UFC champions, Marco "King of the Streets" Ruas and Maurice Smith. Combined, these two aging mixed martial artists have not stepped into the cage, or ring for that matter, in 12 years! Can you say ring rust? Although this fight means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of MMA rankings or contention, it is intersting and will likely get some decent attention, at least for anyone who was a UFC fan back in the early days, you know, when they actually had tournaments? So this begs the question, should there be a senior's division, with title and all? Many of these fighters, like Ken Shamrock, still love to get into the cage and can't seem to let it go. However, they have no shot at ever regaining a title and will ultimate get beat badly and embarrased by the new breed. If many of the old guys knew that they could fight in a league where they would only be matched up with fighters of their age/skill bracket, I think you would see a highly competitive division that would bring some old-timers back into the ring. Maybe Oleg Taktorov, Keith Hackney, Dave Beneteau and the like? As we've seen, many of these guys still have the fighting spirit, see: Dan Severn (who has had five fights this year already!), Mo Smith, Tank Abbott, Shamrock, Mark Kerr, etc. You wouldn't have to pay these guys much and it would bring in some good ratings.

Chuck Liddell Wants to Party with You!

2007-05-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

Big MMA news if you're going to be in Las Vegas as UFC Champion the Iceman has made an annoucment on his official website that he will be throwing an after party the night of UFC 71. The party will be hosted by Studio 54 in Las Vegas. If he gets smashed by Quinton Jackson, I wonder how much he's going to want to party. I personally think it is a bad sign that he is already focused on partying after the fight. Chuck, you're gonna need the eye of the tiger to beat Rampage Jackson. Just in case you haven't seen it in a while, here is a clip of Liddell totally drugged up in an interview with Good Morning Texas television show a few months back.

WEC Fight Results

2007-05-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

As I predicted (see previous entry), Doug Marshall defended his Light Heavyweight title last night by knocking out and out classing Justin McElfresh. Fight summary:

Marshall opened tossing hard left hooks and low kicks, while the 6’6 McElfresh shot an occasional jab or pushed out right hands. Marshall started dialing in after a couple minutes of exchanges, with nobody landing anything major, and slamming home a series of thumping shots from in close, using some effective dirty boxing to stun McElfresh, finally driving home enough shots to drop the challenger and win the bout 2:16 into the match. We should look for Marshall to head to the UFC pretty soon.

The rest of the World Extreme Cagefighting results:

Jason Miller def. Hiromitsu Miura - Decision (Unanimous)

Ariel Gandulla def. Gary Padilla Decision (Split)

Sherron Leggett def. Charlie Kohler TKO (Strikes) 2nd round

Marcus Hicks def. Sergio Gomez Submission (Guillotine Choke) 2nd round

Eric Schambari def. Art Santore Decision (Unanimous)

Ed Ratcliff def. Johnny Sampaio TKO (Knee injury) 1st round

Manny Tapia def. Brandon Foxworth TKO (Strikes) 2nd round

Tom Speer def. Sidney Silva KO (Punch) 1st round

WEC Title on the Line Tonight 5/12

2007-05-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight from the Joint in Las Vegas, the WEC will put on a 9 fight mixed martial arts event with the Light Heavyweight Title on the line. The World Extreme Cagefighting organization was purchased by the UFC the in January of this year and will use as a kind of "farm league" for fighters not quite UFC material...yet. The WEC Light Heavyweight Title Fight is worth looking at because the winner will likely make a move to the UFC. James Irving, who will be fighting on the UFC 70 card, was a previous WEC champion before moving up the the UFC. A little deeper look at Doug Marshall and Justin McElfresh along with my fight prediction: Doug Marshall is a brawler who turned pro as a heavyweight before dropping down to light heavyweight. He has heavy hands and of his seven fights, only one of them has gone past the 1st round. This could be a factor if they fight goes into the third round as Marshall's cardio is a bit suspect. He has fought against UFC veteran James Irving and Pride and UFC veteran Lodune Sincade, losing to Irving and beating Sicade. In his fight with Irving, Marshall showed that he has one hell of a chin. Irving landed a ton of punches and knees to the head which Marshall was able to absorb. Below is a video clip of that fight.

James Irvin vs. Doug Marshall There's not a whole lot of informatin out there about Justin McElfresh, no video clips to be found. What is known is that after losing his MMA debut, he has rattled off five wins. Also of note, he is 6' 6" which is pretty damn tall for a light heavyweight. Another thing that stands out is that he trains with Rich "Ace" Franklin. Prediction Marshall has definitely faced stiffer competition than McElfresh with a OWLR of 2.25 compared to McElfresh's .75 OWLR (OWLR is stat I came up with that helps to measure level of competition a fighter has faced. It stands for Opponents Win Loss Ratio, with the higher the number the better). He's got a great chin and I don't see McElfresh hitting any harder than Irvin, even with his reach advantage. The one thing going against Marshall is that all but one of his fights have ended in the first roung. With McElfresh training with Franklin, you have to expect he'll come into the fight with great cardio which could come into play if the fight goes past the first round. My Pick: Marshall by KO.

Randy Couture to Fight Gonzaga August 25th

2007-05-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

Or at least that is what Couture said in an interview with Newsday.com. Here are some other things the UFC Champion had to say during that interview, paraphrased: 1. Couture picked Gonazaga to beat Cro Cop. 2. Randy's record for picking fight winners is 40 wins 15 losses (he should be betting in Vegas) 3. He observed that Mirko wasn't training in a cage and that it was going to hurt him going into the Gonzaga fight. 4. Couture said that Cro Cop has trouble with fighters who aren't intimidated by him. 5. And most importantly, Couture will take on Gabriel Gonzaga August 25th at a location TBD. Take not that the UFC has not confirmed this. Click here to read the Newday.com article in its entirety.

TUF Recap - 5/10 Episode 6

2007-05-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

There was zero footage of the teams back at the house as the entire episode was devoted to the two fights. First up, Joe Lauzon vs. Brian Geraghty. Leading up to the fight, we are shown footage of Joe knocking out Jens Pulver in Joe's first UFC fight (UFC 63). Joe gets the early clinch followed by a hard slam landing him in Geraghty's guard. Lauzon immediately lets his first and elbows fly connecting on a few. Then Joe postures up high and attempts to drops a huge elbow. Brian saw it coming a mile away and rolled out before Joe could land it. As Geraghty scrambles back to his feet Joe pops up and hops on Brian's back, brings him down, and sinks in a rear naked choke. Victory by submission in less than a minute in a half. Dana Whites said to the camera "Lazon looked amazing." Jens says "The kid's good, he is good. I'm glad he's good that way I didn't get knocked out by a bitch." Brian says "I've never been embarassed before like that in my life." Next up, Cory Hill vs. Rob Emerson. Before the fight, Cory tells Jens that he lied during the application process and has only had two MMA fights, not four. As soon as the openning bell rings, Cory comes out and swarms Emerson with punches and a couple of knees. Although an impressive flury, it only lasts 15 seconds before Rob gets out of it. They measure each other up for a while until Cory secures a clinch. Emerson shakes off the clinch and we're back to them feeling each other out for the rest of the round. Cory's 15 second killer instinct seems to be amiss but he does enough to win the round by landing a few more punches and frustrating Rob with his enormous height and reach advantage. 2nd round. Emerson tries to work his way in by throwing some leg kicks with most of them landing. Rob gets in with a punch or two, then gets out, doing this for much of the round. Cory seems tentative. Very last part of the round Cory gets Emerson on the ground but Emerson scrables and get a pretty good heel hook in. He doesn't have enough time to sink it in as the clock runs out. First two rounds end in a draw sending the fight into a "sudden victory" round. Simiar to the two previous rounds, both stay on their feet and try to strike from a distance with Cory using his reach but not really inflicting any real damage. Emerson lands a few more nice leg kicks which seem to bother Cory a bit, but for some reason doesn't he doesn't follow up. Emerson held his own very well but ultimately didn't give it the extra effort needed to get in tight and land solid punches. Cory does enough to just get by and wins the fight. Afterwards Cory say "It's all about heart. At the end I let it all hang out." Not sure what he meant by that as he was reserved the entire fight. Dana say "Neither one looked overly impressive. I thought Emerson won." Emerson is disappointed and say he feels he won the fight. Back in the dressing room Cory goes on to admit that this was his very first professional MMA fight. I guess Dana new he had a limited fight record and experience but due to his raw talent and 6' 4" frame at 155lbs, he thought he was worth of the show. My opinion. Joe looked very solid, great killer instinct. The fight was so quick we weren't able to see all that he is capible of, but knowing he KO'd Jens, he's legit. Cory was a major letdown. Homeboy talked a huge game but come fight time he didn't deliver that big can of whoop ass that he said he would. Maybe it was just nerves, but he better get more comfortable in the Octagon if he wants to make it past the next round.

"UFC Locker Room" New on FHM

2007-05-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

Chuck Liddell, the poster boy of the UFC, landed his mug on latest edition of ESPN Magazine. Now, FHM (For Him Magazine) is going to feature a the UFC in its online addition. We're not talking about one or two article about mixed martial arts, but actual space devoted to it. The new online fight section will be called UFC Locker Room and will feature an exclusive behind-the-scenes blog in which many of the UFC's most recognized fighters will share with FHM users what it's like to live and compete in the Octagon as a mixed martial arts superstar. Sources say it should be on their site by the end of the month.

Liddell Makes Cover of ESPN Magazine - Bad Timing?

2007-05-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

It looks like mixed martial arts will finally get the credit it has so patiently deserved when the Iceman graces the cover of ESPN Magazine. This is a huge step for MMA and no one deserves it more than UFC icon Chuck Liddell, but how about the timing? It's all going to depend on the outcoming of his fight against Quinton Jackson. You are going to have millions of people exposed to MMA for the first time with this issue of ESPN Magazine. After reading the article, most are going to think Chuck is the baddest man on the planet, get excited about MMA, and will probably take notice of his next fight. Now, if Chuck beats Rampage, he lives up the magazine hype and justifies his placement on the cover. This will only help the sport as a new base of fans get to see, and get behind, a true great of the sport. Think of it this way, most people don't give a shit about horse racing, but when you have an undefeated horse who smashes the competition at the Kentucky Derby, like Barboro did a year prior, people all of the sudden take notice of horse racing and go on to tune into the second leg of the Triple Crown (The Preaknes) to see if that horse can continue that win streak. The real problem with Liddell on the cover is that if he loses his next fight (which I think he will, but that's another post all together) a lot of newly interested and potential fans will be let down. Just like that great race horse who everyone has read about and ends up finishing last in his next race. I wish Chuck would have been on the cover a couple of years ago, that way the readers would have been able to see the sport's star live up to his status as he rattled off KO after KO. Regardless, this is a great day for mixed martial arts and nothing should be taken away from Chuck, win or lose at UFC 71.

UFC 71 - The Newbees

2007-05-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

Upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship 71 features three fighters new to the octagon who will be matched up against three UFC veterans. Houston Alexander who will be taking on "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine, Thiago Silva who will be taking on James Irvin, and Jeremy Stephens who will be fighting Din Thomas. I thought these new fighters deserved a deeper look as they all walk into the UFC with solid fight records. 205lb MMA fighter Houston Alexander has a record of 6 wins and 1 loss with most of those wins coming via KO or submission. His most recent fights have been in the Extreme Challenge and Gladiator Championship. It appears that his style is ground and pound and says his favorite move is the body slam. One thing of note is that of the 6 fighters he has wins over, they have a combined record of 47 wins and 85 losses. Keep in mind that all of his opponents have never fought in a big show. Houston, you're gonna have a problem with Jardine and I don't think you'll will make his debut walking away with a win. Jeremy Stephens is 155lbs with a respectable record of 8 and 1 and goes by the nickname "Little Scrappy" which I'm guessing is a reflection of his fighting style. He has quick hands and like to strike with 6 of his 8 wins coming via KO. The combined record of his opponents is 53 wins and 43 translating into what I like to call a 1.23 OWLR (A ratio of Opponents Win Loss Records). He'll be fighting a guy with a ton of UFC experience in Din Thomas and is going to have his hands full. If he can manage to pull out a victory (which I don't think he will) he'll get a lot of people's attention. Below is a highlight reel of Stephens Thiago Silva is my pick for the 205lb first-timer most likely to walk away with a victory. He is undefeated with 9 wins. He's a Black Belt in BJJ who likes to strike, including and leg and head kicks. If he uses those kicks effectively, he's going to have a good chance against "The Sandman" who I've never been overly impressed with.

The Ring Girls of MMA - Top Five

2007-05-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

Was doing a little surfing today and came across a section of the King of the Cage website dedicated to their ring girls. Did a bit more digging around for ring girls from other organizations. My ranking for hottest ring girls: 1. Bodog. If you like exotic women, they have the best. Click here for a larger group photo. More Bodog ladies can be seen here. 2. UFC. Would have been number one if they had more than three girls. The UFC Octagon Girls. 3. King of the Cage. Lot's of fake hooters, but lots of girls to choose from. King of the Cage Ring Girls. 4. Cage Rage. Nice videos of the Cage Rage Babes. 5. Pro Elite. Huge selection which unfortunately allows for some not-so-hot girls. However, the site has their own ranking of the ladies.

Bodog is For Real

2007-05-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

Bodog fight recently grabbed the MMA community's attention with the Fedor vs. Lindland fight, although I'm guessing only a small percentage of the mixed martial arts fans saw the event. If you haven't had a chance to see it, you can check it out here on YouTube. This weekend I was able to catch a couple of Bodog fights (under the name of Rage Cage) on a local cable TV station (Ion Television) and was impressed with the level of competition. The fighters in the two fights I watched are easily UFC material. The JR Sims vs. Brad Pickett was easily one of the best MMA fights so far this year. Unfortunately I cannot find it on YouTube. Check out this solid line-up Bodog had for Cage Rage 21 event: Alex Owen v Brad Pickett Ross Pointon v Abdul Mohamed Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua v Alex Reid Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos v James Zikic Ivan Serati v Vitor Belfort Gary Turner v David ‘Tank’ Abbott The best part of the event, it was free to watch if you have the ION channel (a free cable channel). This Tuesday at 10pm ION will feature another set of Bodog fights. See if you have ION Television in your area. Find by Zipcode.

Three Matches at UFC 73 Announced

2007-05-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

Tickets for UFC 73 at Arco Areana will be soon available for purchase (5/12). In the meantime, three matches of the event were annouced: Andersen Silva vs. Nathan Marquardt Tito Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans Sean Sherk vs. Hermes Franca The fight I'm most looking forward to is Ortiz vs. Rashad. Full predicition to come as we get closer to the fight.

Dana White Makes Floyd Mayweather an Offer

2007-05-07T07:40:00.000-07:00

...an offer he will most likely refuse. About an hour and a half after Mayweather's decision over Oscar De La Hoya, Dana White announced that he'd make Mayweather an offer to fight UFC's lightweight champions Sean Sherk. Dana's said "he'd make it worth Mayweather's while" even knowing that he received $10million just for his fight against De La Hoya, plus a share of PPV sales. Regardless of Dana's offer, I just don't see Mayweather accepting. He's all talk and likes to bash MMA fighter outside of the ring, or octagon. Take those big boxing gloves off and throw him into a cage and I think he might change his mind about mixed martial arts. The full, but brief article is posted on Yahoo Sports HERE.

UFC 71 Official Website Now Live

2007-05-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

The UFC just launched the official site for upcoming UFC 71, Chuck "Da Iceman" Liddell vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. The site features the story behind the fued (Liddell trying to avenge his loss to Rampage, Jackson's quest for the Light Heavyweight Championship Title), fight card breakdown, interviews with Chuck and Quinton, and an in-depth analysis of the entire night. As usual the UFC has produced another quality websites, far better than any other MMA organization, but this one isn't quite as good as some of the ones in the past. There might be some updates to come as we get closer to fight night and still, very much worth a look. UFC 71 Official Website

The Ultimate Fighter Marathon

2007-05-04T08:37:00.000-07:00

In case you have missed any TUF episodes, Spike TV will be airing a 5 hour mid-season marathon of The Ultimate Fighter tommorrow, Saturday May 5th, 6pm - 11pm (Est).

Gabe Should be Sponosored by McDonalds - TUF Recap

2007-05-03T23:45:00.000-07:00

It's time for another recap of tonight's episode of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. For the sake of readablity, I've kept things short and to the point. The episode starts off with a training session with Team Penn. During training Tony DeSouza gets annoyed because Noah isn't taking training seriously enough. His frustration come to a head when DeSouza rolls with Noah. Tony is overly agressive and absolutely dominates Noah as he tries to prove a point. Back at the house, Gabe Ruediger stuffs his face with cake which of course serves as foreshadowing. At fight selection, Corey Hill calls out Gabe to fight, no surprise. Gabe grabs a crate and stands on it so that he can look down on the much taller Hill. Gabe thinks he is funny. He comments during one of the show's interview that he could see fear in Corey's eyes. Now that the fight is set, Gabe talks about how much more ring experience he has over Corey. Gabe has 12 MMA fights while Corey only has 4. No surprise, Mr. Pudgy Gabe needs to cut weight, a lot of weight. Gabe is confident that he can do it with his training methods which consist of walking on a treadmill and sitting on the ground covered with towels. With 2 hours left before weigh-in he's at 162, 7lbs overweight. Penn get's Gabe's dumb ass back to the house and in the sauna. Penn pushes Gabe to ride the exercise bike while in the sauna. It's pretty brutal, a la Bobby Southworth from past TUF season. Gabe gives up after getting down to 159lbs, passes out, and goes to the hospital. While gone, the entire house talks shit about Gabe and how he disrespected his team and that he doesn't belong and he shouldn't have been shoveling cake down his piehole while the rest have been training so hard. Most feel that he was ducking Corey because he really wanted to take on weaker fighter Weems. Gabe tells the guys that he is sorry but they want none of it. He instantly becomes an outcast. Dana joins teams back to the gym and says that nothing pisses him off more than fighters not making weight. Dana then tells Gabe has no future in the sport and that his career is over and in front of the rest of the fighters kicks his ass off the show. Gabe cries as he leaves. Dana brings Emerson (who is visibly appreciative of the opportunity) back because he is the first alternate. In exchange, Dana allows Team Pulver to pick the next two fights. Brian Geraghty picks Jon Lauzon. Corey Hill picks Rob Emerson. Next week both fights will be shown during one episode to make up for not having a fight on tonight's show.

De La Hoya & Mayweather as MMA Fighters

2007-05-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

With all the hoopla surround the upcoming Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather I wasn't too surprised to find some posts on MMA forums surrounding these boxers. One post that was interesting: With all of the momentum UFC/MMA has right now, and the continual decline in popularity of boxing, it's only a matter of time before decent boxers make the transistion to MMA and receive better pay and better visability. So, hypothetically, who would make a better mixed martial artist, Mayeather or De La Hoya? I think most MMA fans see the writing on the wall. MMA fighters are in, boxers are out, especially with Generation Y. 10 years ago there were dozens of boxers that were household names, but now there are only a handful. Today, more and more UFC fighters are becoming popular names who consistently do well in PPV which is something that boxing used to own the market in. Some of the forum responses: -"Easily De La Hoya. Just by attitude if nothing else. Mayweather seems as if he'd rather die than become a part of MMA while De La Hoya embraces it." -"Send pretty boy floyd to train with chuck on takedown defense ...dude would be unreal" -"The big difference in boxing and mma is, when your tired in boxing and need to catch your breath you can keep tieing up your opponent which is one of the main reasons I hate fucking boxing... In mma if you try to tie up you can get kneed in the stomach very easily which takes the wind out of you good luck catching your breath then. The only thing I like about boxing is the standing 8 counts when the fight should have been over the fighter gets a chance to redeem himself or get knocked out even worse... In MMA after a huge punch they can jump on top of them and finish the fight which is how it should be in a true fight." -"De la Hoya would make the better MMA artist just simply based on attitude. But Pretty Boy Floyd would have a better chance to make it to the upper echelon just because of his age. He's still young enough to cross-train in other disciplines and develop to elite status. I just don't think his ego will let him do it."

Liddell Says Upsets Streak Will End

2007-05-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

We've seen a string up upsets in high-level matches recently. Matt Serra beating George St. Pierre (UFC 69), Randy Couture beating Tim Sylvia (UFC 68), and Gabriel Gonzaga over Mirko Cro Cop (UFC 70). Will The Ice Man be next up for an upset? Liddell says nay. Here are some words from the UFC Champion in a recent interview with the Canadian press regarding his fight against the last man to beat him, Quinton Rampage Jackson:

"I'm planning on going out there and knocking him out...I probably should have beat him then [Pride match] and I know I can beat him now," Liddell said. "I can't wait...I think it's a great matchup for me. I like guys that come at me."

His thoughts about his last performance against Jackson, "It just didn't work out for me. I don't think I was in as good as shape as I should have been. There was a lot of problems at the time."

And his thoughts about Quinton's fight against Marvin Eastman, "I thought he was a little cautious in it, but he handled Eastman pretty well."

As usual, the Ice Man is the favorite as chosen by the odds makers. The latest odds from BetUs.com had Liddell at minus-260, meaning you'd have to put $260 down to win $100 in profit. Jackson was plus-200, meaning a $100 bet would make $200 profit. With those odds, my money is on Jackson.

Tito is Beautiful

2007-05-02T08:39:00.001-07:00

At least according to People En Espanol magazine (and most likely Jenna Jameson as well). The publication is releasing its "50 most beautiful Hispanic celebrities" and former UFC champ Tito Ortiz has made the list. Tito, an MMA favorite, had this to say about it all: "I am proud of my heritage and thrilled to have a large following of Hispanic fans, so I am honored to be sharing the issue with so many wonderful members of the Latino community"... "Being selected and being photographed for the issue and then taped for the TV special was a terrific experience for me."

Abu Dhabi Internet Broadcast

2007-05-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

ProElite.com, an online community for MMA fighters, announced it will bring the prestigious Abu Dhabi Combat Club “Submission Wrestling World Championship” to a global Internet audience for the first time May 5 – 6, 2007. The live broadcast stream from the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey will begin noon EST/ 9:00 a.m. PST on both days. The featured “Super Fight,” scheduled for May 6, will have current Absolute Division winner Roger Gracie bafighting Ricardo Arona, who replaced an injured Dean Lister on the card. Due to contractual obligations during ADCC 2005, Arona was unable to defend his Super Fight title against Lister and now he’s back in this classic match-up with Gracie.

Gary Turner has a Great Chin

2007-04-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

In the early days of the UFC, Tank's heavy hands were legendary for being able to KO almost any opponent. In this recent Rage Cage event, Tank hits Gary Turner with all that he has. In typical fatso Tank fashion, he gasses after his minute long fury.

Tank Abbott VS Gary Turner
Uploaded by igorpunck

The Ultimate Fighter Recap

2007-04-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

Here is your 361 word recap of last night's episode of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. During training, Wayne Weems of Team Pulver is exposed for being the weakest fighter on the team. His stand-up and ground games are far below the other competitors. Gabe of Team Penn asks BJ if he can fight Weems. Rob Emerson catches wind of this and calls Gabe out in the house saying it was a shady move on his behalf. Brandon Melendez nurses a sore ankle and Jens will have nothing to do with it and pushed Brandon to pick up his training. Bandon is also 15lbs over weight. Brandon steps up and loses his 15lbs and chooses to fight Andy Wang. Meanwhile back in the house, Marlon Sims claims that he has had over 300 street fights. Most of the other fighters call bullshit on him. He also claims to have taken on 7 guys at one time, a la Steven Segal. Come fight day Melendez looks noticeable bigger than his opponent in the ring. That 15lbs he shed look to have been put right back on. Before the fight, Andy Wang (black belt in Jiu-Jitsu) tells BJ that he will obey his advice and try to take the fight to the ground. In the ring it is a different story. Melendez foreshadows the match with an early left punch that temporarily puts Andy on his ass. Melendez looks sharp on his feet connecting with many of his strikes. Wang tries to stand with Brandon but Brandon repeatedly beats him to the punch and is more accurate. Melendez could have probably been more aggressive and gotten the KO, but dominates and scores the unanimous decision. Wang only attempted one takedown and wasn't able to bring Brandon down. Wang felt he had to KO Brandon in order to get the win. Bad strategy as he should have listened to BJ who was screaming "take him down" the entire fight. After the fight Wang cries, a lot. I haven't seen a fighter cry for as long and so loud. I was embarrassed for him. Wang says he is sad for letting everyone down. Penn Has no sympathy because Wang didn't try to use his superior ground skills to win the fight.

UFC 70 - Complete Results

2007-04-24T17:01:00.000-07:00

We were treated to six UFC fights live on Spike TV, but what about the other four non-televised fights? They all ended via strikes of submissions. This might make for a good DVD purchase. Paul Taylor def. Edilberto de Oliveira TKO (Strikes) 3rd Round Jess Liaudin def. Dennis Siver Submission (Armbar) 1st Round Alessio Sakara def. Victor Valimaki TKO (Strikes) 1st Round Junior Assuncao def. David Lee Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2nd Round Televised Terry Etim def. Donald Matthew Grice Submission (Guillotine Choke) 1st Round Cheick Kongo def. Assuerio Silva Decision Ryoto Machida def. David Heath Decision Michael Bisping def. Elvis Sinosic TKO (Strikes) 2nd Round Andrei Arlovski def. Fabricio Werdum Decision Gabriel Gonzaga def. Mirko Filipovic KO (Kick Upside The Head) 1st Round

Cro Cop KO'd

2007-04-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

UFC 70 from England is in the record books and yet another UFC upset. Who would have thought that Gonzaga would knock out Cro Cop? And more amazingly, he did it with a kick to the head. To KO a guy with his own signature move makes a major statement, he's the real deal. From the opening bell Gonzaga seemed to control the fight with a perfect game plan. Gonzaga is a big, fast, and intelligent fighter who will be making some major waves in the heavyweight division. I think Randy Couture is going to have his hands full if Gabreil can pull out a duplicate performance. Randy, you're in trouble. Arlowski, you're in trouble. This Gonzaga kid is for real.

Best fight in TUF history?

2007-04-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

On the last episode of The Ulitmate Fighter, Dan White said of the Nate Diaz / Rob Emerson fight "That's probably the best fight we've ever had." What am I missing? The first round was pretty good, but nothing amazing. Round two Diaz dominated. There wasn't one time in that round where it looked like Emerson was going to turn the tide. If this was the best fight in The Ultimate Fighter then that isn't say much for the calibur of MMA fights in TUF. A great fight is a fight where the fighters go toe-to-toe, attempt submissions, escape submissions, back and forth. This was a good fight, but was not the kind of fight to be ranked as one of the best fights ever.

Topic: Cro Cop vs. Gonzaga

2007-04-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

What chance does Gonzaga have of beating Cro Cop at UFC 70? And if so, by KO or Submission?

Pulling for Pulver

2007-04-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

I’ve always liked BJ Penn as a fighter. His MMA skills are world-class. His stand up game is pretty solid, just ask George St. Pierre. His ground skills, sick. Endurance? Well, that’s another story. When I heard that BJ was going to be a coach on The Ultimate Fighter television show, I knew I’d be pulling for his team. However, on the first episode of TUF, BJ pulled a dick move by asking all of the fighters to raise their hands if they wanted to be on his team. Because Penn is so respected in MMA, almost all of the fighters raised their hands. I know this pissed the hell out of Jens Pulver, rightfully so. That’s a total bitch slap to the face. But, Little Evil handled himself fairly well. The next dick move was when he tried to get one of his fighters to call out Corey Hill before Jens made the next fight match-up announcement. BJ is starting to turn this into WWF instead of a legit sporting contest. Pulver has been a motivating coach so far and is 2 for 2. I wonder in the end how many of those in BJ’s camp will be a little regretful they dismissed Jens so quickly as a coach.

A Black Mirco Cro Cop?

2007-04-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

If you haven't checked Light Heavyweight fighter Sokoudjou out, he's legit. He's young (22 years old) with fast heavy hands and trains with Team Quest. He's somewhat reminicent of Vitor Belfort (young Belfort). He recent easily dispatched two top fighter in the weight class, Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. He KO'd both of these Pride fighting veterans in the first round (Nogueira in 29 seconds). I have yet to see his ground game, and that might be his weak link. But as of now, no one has been able to take him down, similar to Mirko Cro Cop. Keep your eye on this kid. The UFC would be smart to pick him up and put him in line to take on Chuck Liddell (if Liddell gets past Quinton Jackson. Check out his most recent fight against Arona.

UFC 69 - Upset about the Upset

2007-04-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

Like the MMA masses, I was in awe last night when Matt Serra TKO'd George St. Pierre. I have to admit that I never gave "The Terror" much of a chance. If you look at his fight record it's a bit lack-luster. His last SIX fights have all gone to decision. No look at GSP's record and you see only two of his last six fights have gone to decision. I'm a fan of those fighters who put on exciting fights. Your record doesn't have to be flawless, but if you consistently put on a good show then I'm a fan. To me, GSP represented the next breed of MMA fighters. The complete package. An athlete who was going to be the poster-boy of the UFC and be the champ that became a household name. I think we all desire to see or get behind an athlete who we believe is "unbeatable." This is what legends are made up. I was already wondering just how many title defense GSP was going to rack up. Was he going to beat Matt Hughes record of defense? Instead, St. Pierre doesn't even defend the welterweight title once. He loses to a guy who hasn't ended a fight in over FIVE YEARS! GSP should really really be disappointed with himself. Hats off to Serra, he put on a great performance and showed all the MMA naysayers. I just wonder why this guy had to wait five years to be aggressive enough to actually finish a fight. I am disappointed not only that GSP lost, but also disappointed that a fighter like Serra now holds the crown. I would have much rather seen someone like Josh Koscheck or Diego Sanchez knock off GSP. We will always have major upsets in mixed martial arts, it's part of the sport. This one ranks right up there with the biggest.

UFC 69 Shoot Out Fight Card

2007-04-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

Fight Card for UFC 69 on Saturday April 7, 2007 - Live on PPV Welterweight Championship Georges St. Pierre Vs. Matt Serra Roger Huerta Vs. Leonard Garcia Diego Sanchez Vs. Josh Koscheck Yushin Okami Vs. Mike Swick Alan Belcher Vs. Kendall Grove Brad Imes Vs. Heath Herring Thales Leites Vs. Pete Sell Marcus Davis Vs. Pete Spratt Josh Haynes Vs. Luke Cummo

Results - UFC Fight Night 9

2007-04-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

Another installment of UFC's Fight Night is in the books. It was an interesting night on Spike TV as there wasn't a single KO/TKO all night long. Of the nine fight, five went to a decision and four end via submissions. I'm guessing Dana White is happy that this wasn't the outcome of a PPV event where almost all of the fights are televised. Two of the top fighters looked solid as Joe Daddy and Ken-Flo dominated their opponents. Unfortunately Stevenson's guillotine choke on Melvin Guillard was so quick that the main event was over in 27 seconds. Official results from UFC Fight Night 9 in Las Vegas. Joe Stevenson def. Melvin Guillard - 1st round Submission (Guillotine choke) Kenny Florian def. Dokonjonosuke Mishima - 3rd round Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Justin McCully def. Antoni Hardonk - Decision (Unanimous) Thiago Tavares def. Naoyuki Kotani - Decision (Unanimous) Roan Carneiro def. Rich Clementi - Decision (Unanimous) Kuniyoshi Hironaka def. Forrest Petz - Decision (Unanimous) Kurt Pellegrino def. Nate Mohr - Submission (Ankle lock) Drew Fickett def. Keita Nakamura - Decision (Unanimous) Wilson Gouveia def. Seth Petruzelli - 2nd round Submission (Guillotine choke)

Thoughts on upcoming UFC Fight Night Live

2007-04-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or am I the only one not very impressed with tomorrow night's fight card? A main event of Joe Daddy Stevenson vs. Melvin Guillard doesn't carry a whole lot of "punch." Yeah yeah, most will say "hey, at least it is free and I should be happy with any fight card and main event they put together. My response. The SuperBowl is free. Every football game is free to watch. So don't you all get hung up on the "free" thing. Yeah, that was great when the UFC was still a small niche sport but those days are long gone and as a MMA fan I am starting to expect more in regards to the quality of fights. With the recent Pride acquisition the UFC has picked up a handful of solid fighter I imagine the fight cards will become better, even the free ones. Joe Stevenson is a very solid fighter as too Melvin Guillard. I'm excited an will of course watch the event. I'm also looking forward to Anthony Hardonk handing Frank Mir an ass whooping.

Floyd Mayweather Talks Smack About the Ice Man

2007-03-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

In an article posted on TheSweetScience.com, Mayweather talked trash about his next opponent, Oscar De La Hoya. This should be somewhat expected, but then Mayweather went a little further and had a few things to say about UFC champion Chuck "Ice Man" Liddell. To quote Floyd, “UFC ain’t shit,” he said. “It ain’t but a fad. Anyone can put a tattoo on their head and get in a street fight.” He singled out UFC poster boy Chuck Liddell for an extra overhand right. “We should put Liddell against a good heavyweight, under Mayweather Promotions, and if Chuck wins, then I’ll give him a million dollars out of my own pocket.” PBF then shoe-shined all MMA fighters. “These are guys who couldn’t make it in boxing,” he said. “So they do (MMA). Boxing is the best sport in the world and it’s here to stay.” Wow, this guy has taken a few too many punches to the head. It's kind of sad to see, but the inevitiable is happening, boxing is beginning its downfall. Unless you're oblivious, you can avoid all of the coverage and hype that the UFC is now getting for its fight cards and expecially when they put together a main event with top fighters. All those sponsors who have backed boxing for so long (Budweiser) will eventually be sponsoring UFC events. But that is for another blog post somewhere down the road. To check the Mayweather article in its entirety you can here: http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/5017/floyd-mayweather-rips-oscar-liddell-mma/

UFC buys Pride – The good and the bad

2007-03-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Officially announced yesterday, The Ultimate Fighting Championship (Zuffa to be exact) has purchased the Pride Fighting Championship (DSE to be exact). The news is huge to the mixed martial arts community and will ultimately be the impetus that will officially make the UFC a household name. I know that most of the MMA world is celebrating this major acquisition but there are some drawbacks that come to mind. The good of UFC and Pride coming together is pretty obvious. The match making and the fights that will result should be amazing. Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell vs Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Dan Henderson vs Anderson Silva, Gomi vs. GSP, and possibly Fedor vs. “The Natural” Couture. MMA wet dream right there. These stellar fights will only bring in more and more fans and the UFC will continue to grow. And maybe, just maybe we’ll see a UFC section on ESPN.com. I can’t believe those morons have a boxing category but still do not have a MMA section. For god sake, they have a section devoted to Bassmaster Tournaments (no lie, http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/index). I’ll save this particular rant for another day. On the flip side, there are a few negatives that result from the UFC / Pride deal. MMA fans lose the Pride. The ring will forever be replaced by the cage. I liked having different fighting environments because it altered fight styles. Also, say goodbye to the beloved soccer kick and knees to the head. Some are not a fan of those rules but I for one liked that about Pride. That added element of attacked really upped the intensity of a fight. I also appreciated the fact that the refs in Pride fights tend to let the fight go on a little longer before they step in and end the fight. The UFC is overly cautious (yeah, yeah, they need to protect the fighter..i get that). Allowing a couple of extra strikes to ensure that there is a clear cut need to stop a fight is appropriate. You get stuck with UFC ref Herb Dean who may stop the fight because you call the other fighter a bad name. One of the other important things to consider is that one man, Dana White, will be king of the MMA game. If you are a hungry upcoming fighter, but get on his bad side, you’re fucked when it come to a career in MMA.

Fight Card - UFC Ultimate Fight Night 4/5/07

2007-03-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

Lots of MMA action coming our way next week. Are you kidding me? UFC Ultimate Fight Night, the kick off of The Ultimate Fighter TV show on Spike, AND UFC 69! I wonder if people will actually get a little burnt out on all of the mixed martial arts or if it will only make demand stronger. Let's take them one at a time. Here is the official fight card for the UFC Ultimate Fight Night on April 5th. Joe "Daddy" Sevenson Vs. Melvin Guillard Justin McCully Vs. Antoni Hardonk Dokonjonosuke Mishima Vs. Kenny Florian Keita Nakamura Vs. Drew Fickett Kurt Pellegrino Vs. Sum Gi (TBD) Forrest Petz Vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka Seth Petruzelli Vs. Wilson Gouveia Roan Carneiro Vs. Rich Clementi Naoyuki Kotani Vs. Thiago Tavares The UFC fight poll currently has Joe Stevenson and Melvin Guillard at even odds. Who do you think will win in this highly competive match-up?

Joe Daddy Stevenson - Beer Drinking Champion

2007-03-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

At UFC 67 in Las Vegas, I sat behind UFC Lightweight contender Joe "Daddy' Stevenson. He was with a couple other guys and had a pretty nice looking lady at his side. One of the guys in his group must have been 6' 2" and approximately 235lbs. Well, he and Joe Daddy decided to see who could drink an entire beer the fastest. No f-ing contest. Stevenson blew this guy out of the water. Not once, but twice. Joe continued to drink all night and was pretty hammered but was only slightly belligerant. For someone of his size, it was a pretty impressive site. However, I hope his beer-drinking prowes hasn't been part of his training routine over the last couple of weeks or he'l really have his hands full with Melvin Guillard at the UFC Ultimate Fight Night April 5th in Vegas. Cheers to you Joe Daddy Stevenson, Lightweight Beer Drinking Champion of the World.

How to be a Better Person by Matt Hughes

2007-03-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Former UFC Welterweight Champion and future Ultimate Fighting hall of famer, Matt Hughes has some encouraging words as to how to become a better person and how to fight of the temptations of evil:

"When I first got married, I prayed and prayed not to have desires for other women. At the same time I worked on keeping my mind "clean." After about a year and a half, that came true. I still pray for God to keep me strong, but as a guy that will always be a weakness. The thing about God is, He might move at a slower pace than what we'd like, but He always gets were He wants to go."

"...so if I want to be a better person by keeping impure thoughts out of my head I would need to: 1. Pray 2. Condition my body to do the right thing. Back when I wanted to stop cursing, after I said something I shouldn't, I would stop and say a prayer of forgiveness. It didn't take long for me to stop saying those bad words."

I'm not a God-fearing Christian, but hey, whatever works for you. More power to you Matt and may the Lord be with you.

MMA Fighter Dies

2007-03-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

Gilbert Aldana died in a water-skiing accident at Lake Pleasant this passed Sunday. Aldana was a heavyweight MMA fighter who had two appearances in the UFC and several fights in Arizona's Rage in the Cage events. Gilbert was just 29 years old. Our sympathy to Aldana's friends and family.

Chuck Liddell is a Stoner

2007-03-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

Chuck "Mr. Mumbles" Liddell. I'm not sure if the UFC champ the "Ice Man" was baked, drunk, or doped up on valium but in this recent interview he sounds like an ape with marbles in his mouth. I'm a big fan of Chuck's, but damn bro, he really shouldn't have said yes to the interview. Word is that Dana White and the Lorenzo Fertitta are pissed! I can understand why. Those guys have done a hell of a job bringing education and legitimacy to MMA.

Dana White speaks his mind, as usual

2007-03-10T14:46:00.000-08:00

A MMA-building god, or a total prick, either way you have to give props to Dana White for making the UFC what it is today. Recently the Ultimate Fighting President had a lot to say in an interview with CBS Sportsline: It's a pretty long interview which you can read it in its entirety here. If you don't have the time, I've summarized some of the most interesting comments from the interview. According to Dana White:

The biggest obstacle currently in the way of continued growth for MMA is that there are only 24 hours in a day. DW (Dana White) is only one guy and there will be three shows in a 17 day span (Ultimate Fight Night April 5th, UFC 69 on April 7th, and UFC 70 April 21st).
If Mirko Cro Cop beats Gabriel Gonzaga, he’ll get a shot at the title vs. Couture.
The UFC Middleweight Champ Anderson Silva will probably fight Nate Marquardt next.
After the Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra welterweight title fight at UFC 69, Matt Hughes is next in line for a shot at the title.
Fabricio Werdum is the latest Pride FC fighter to defect to the UFC.
UFC 70 will be shown on television for free!!!
Dana is still planning on and training for a boxing match with Tito Ortiz.
Future and rising younger stars of the UFC include Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping Diego Sanchez, and Josh Koscheck.
It’s likely that Rampage fight Chuck for the Light Heavyweight title in May.
Frank Shamrock is an idiot and “a very, very weird guy.”

Frank Mir out, Justin McCully in.

2007-03-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

Announced today, former heavyweight champion Frank Mir will not be competing in the next Ultimate Fight night on Spike April 5th. Reports are that he is out due to injury. Although Mir is a big name fighter, I for one am glad he won't be competing and will be replaced by Justin McCully. Frank Mir has lost two of his last three fights while the relatively unknown is McCully has won his last three fights. I wonder if Mir will ever fight in octagon again. I've never been a huge fan of Mir's and I think it is time for the UFC to move on and try to bring the division back to life with newer, hungrier fighters. With the likes of Couture, CroCop, Brandon Vera, and Andre Arlovski in the Heavyweight division Frank Mir might serve best as a "gate keeper" for future up and comming fighters.

Holy shit, Couture wins!

2007-03-05T14:17:00.000-08:00

Holy shit, Tim Sylvia gets dominated by Randy Couture. This was one of the best matches I've seen in a long long time. MMA at it's finest, exceeding my expectations for the night. Couture came in looking ripped as always but seemed to look healther at 222lbs. More comfortable and natural as a heavyweight than a light heavyweight. Going into the fight, I predicted that Silvia was going to knock the head off of "Captain America" which I don't think was too far fetched considering Randy got knocked out by Chuck Liddell twice. I've always been a fan of Couture by was honestly discouraged when he announced his retirement comeback. And then to take on the Ulitimate Fighting Championship's Heavyweight title holder Tim Syliva? Deathwish I thought. However, as the fight got closer, I did start to give Couture a bit more of a chance. Not sure why, maybe intuition. I'm just glad I wasn't in Las Vegas as I would have likely put some cash down on Silva.

UFC 68 Fight Results

2007-03-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

Jamie Varner def. Jason Gilliam - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) round 1 Gleison Tibau def. Jason Dent - Decision (Unanimous) Jon Fitch def. Luigi Fioravanti - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) round 2 Matt Hamill def. Rex Holman - TKO (Strikes) round 1 Jason Lambert def. Renato Sobral- KO (Punch) round 2 Matt Hughes def. Chris Lytle - Decision (Unanimous) Rich Franklin def. Jason MacDonald - TKO (Corner Stoppage) round 2 Martin Kampmann def. Andrew McFedries - Submision (Arm-triangle choke) round 1 Randy Couture def. Tim Sylvia Decision (Unanimous)

UFC 67 Results

2007-02-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

Here are the fight results from Saturday night's Ultimate Fighting Championship event in Las Vegas, "All or Nothing." Dustin Hazelett def. Diego Saraiva Decision (Unanimous) Ryoto Machida def. Sam Hoger Decision (Unanimous) Frank Edgar def. Tyson Griffin Decision (Unanimous) Terry Martin def. Jorge Rivera KO (Punches) first round Patrick Cote def. Scott Smith Decision (Unanimous) Quinton Jackson def. Marvin Eastman KO (Punches) second round Roger Huerta def. John Halverson TKO (Strikes) first round Mirko Filipovic def. Eddie Sanchez TKO (Strikes) first round Anderson Silva def. Travis Lutter Submission (Strikes) second round

Pride Shockwave 2006 - Fight Card

2006-12-19T11:14:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-14T09:06:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

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%