Fighters Give Their Anderson Silva vs Dan Henderson Predictions

From Punchdrunkgamer.com

Some fighters from the UFC and outside the UFC give their input about the superfight on Saturday.

Bas Rutten: “This is a difficult fight to call. It all depends on if Henderson can take the fight to the ground which he is very capable of doing. He has a hard head and he will push the action forward but then he will encounter Anderson’s ability to back-up and strike. Henderson will probably look for the clinch but he will have to make sure that he doesn’t leave any space or he will get drilled with one of those knees Silva throws. If Henderson can get him on the ground I think he can do very well with the GNP and win by decision. If Silva is able to land those knees or sharp punches from the stand-up then he will win by KO.”

Joe Lauzon: “I think it will be a good fight, but I think Henderson will be too much for him in the clinch, on the ground, and everywhere. I think Henderson has the ability to throw that right hand, charge in, and take people down – just press people. I think it is going to work against Anderson, where he is wanting to keep his distance.”


“Razor” Rob McCullough: “I was training up in Big Bear with Dan Henderson – we were at the same gym, and he told me it was the first time he had done high-altitude training – so he is definitely taking his training to the next level. And him being such an elite grappler, I think that he is going to give Anderson Anderson Silva, I love to watch that guy too, he’s a great striker – he’s awesome, and he has good hips – but I think Dan Henderson is just going to close the distance, tie him up, and put him on his back. I think [Dan’s] going to take the fight.” Silva a serious problem.


Travis Lutter: “If I was betting I guess I would be on Anderson, but with that being said I don’t want to bet [laughs]. I think it is going to be a tough fight. I think Dan has the tools to beat Anderson, but it is going to be tough. The way I see it is, Dan’s wrestling is definitely, without a doubt better than Anderson’s – but I think Anderson’s jiu-jitsu and his length is going to give problems to Dan once he does take him down. I think it is going to be fairly dangerous for Dan to be down there. Maybe I’m wrong, but I just think that he’s so long. I see Dan maybe winning the first round and maybe falling into the same thing that he’s done before where he falls into a kickboxing fight. I see Dan probably losing on a five-round decision, but we’ll see. I think it will be a good fight.”


Jake Shields: “That is a tough one to call. Dan Henderson and Anderson Silva are probably my two favorite 185-pounders. It’s one of those fights that I don’t think I would bet on. If I had to pick I think might go with Anderson. Henderson gets so wild and likes to strike, throwing those big overhands, and Anderson has looked so precise on his feet. I’m not very sure for that prediction. For me this is one of the fights I’m super excited about. It’s also one of those fights where it is hard to tell how it will end. It’s also hard to tell how Henderson will fight – is he going to take him down or is he going to try to strike with Anderson? The smart thing to do would be to take [Anderson] down, but we’ll see – Dan’s a stubborn fighter sometimes. Sometimes [Dan] loses fights he should win.”

Frank Trigg: "I am taking Henderson. I think he brings aspects of the game that Anderson hasn't seen before. He is a bully, a guy that is not scared to get hit and a walk straight into you. You can't run from Anderson, you have got to get inside. Fighting Anderson Silva is the equivalent of fighting Vladimir clinch Co., you have to get inside an attack them. That is what no one has done yet to him but that is exactly what Henderson does. Everyone says stay away from Silva's dirty boxing but that is exactly what Greco-Roman is. Henderson has a great shot at it, I mean he went to two Olympic Games. Silva though is a true practitioner and true Brazilian jujitsu black belt but he doesn't have any takedown defense. So at some point he is going to end up on his back and Henderson is going to pass the guard. That is the game that is going to be played and I think Henderson wins it. I think Henderson will win rounds to three and four after losing round one and then round five will be a crapshoot. Henderson may get hit but he will continue to do the takedown and control in that should be enough to win the fight."

UFC 82 Weigh-ins Video

Here are the weigh-ins, all fighters make weight.

Dana White, Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson Finally Make Up!

Don't send a lame eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Props to MMAtko.com for the idea.

Michael Eisner Video Interview With Dana White

Excellent video interview with Dana on "Conversations with Michael Eisner".

New ESPN Video Interview with Anderson SIlva

Great video of Anderson, hitting on a number of topics, including his upcoming bout with Dan Henderson.

EliteXC Expected to Announce Deal with CBS

This is courtesy of MMAjunkie.com, this could be a hit to the UFC, but the UFC will always have PPV.

The announcement will come just weeks after EliteXC’s successful “Street Certified” event in Miami, Fla. In addition to drawing a sold-out crowd and setting a live gate record at the BankUnited Center, the event reportedly drew more than half a million Showtime viewers.

The fact that EliteXC — and not the UFC, the worldwide MMA leader — landed the first network-television deal is a bit of a surprise.

Beginning in October, UFC president Dana White stated that he was confident the organization would reach a deal with a major TV network, most notably CBS or NBC. In November MediaPost Publications reported that the UFC and CBS were in “advanced negotiations” and that the announcement of an official partnership was expected to happen at any time. UFC 81, which took place earlier this month, was expected to be the first UFC event to air on CBS.

However, the deal eventually fell apart — reportedly over issues with the creative control of the events. Those same issues kept a deal between the UFC and HBO from coming together last year, as well.

ProElite has been on a shopping spree during the past year, purchasing organizations such as ICON Sport, Cage Rage, King of the Cage, and Spirit MC. Additionally, the organization has recently signed long-term deals with notables such as Nick Diaz, Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson, Robbie Lawler, Jake Shields, Murilo “Ninja” Rua and Gina Carano.

Read the Rest Here

Dan Henderson Video on the Jim Rome Show Today

Big props to reader Harry M. Wang! Gotta love that name!

3 MMA Fights to Show Your Girlfriend So She'll Watch it Too or at Least Stop Bugging You About It!

Its been a long night on the town and you and your spouse/girlfriend just wanna relax, so you go home and she suggests that you watch a movie. Tell her that you have a better idea and that you want to share something with her that makes you happy. Now explain to her that its really important to you that she sit down, relax and watch what you put on the television. Proceed to show these fights in this order to your loved one, so she'll appreciate why we love this sport so much or least let you watch your MMA in peace. Remember this is only if your spouse/girlfriend has no knowledge of the sport, for those woman who do, God Bless You.


3. Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79- First things first be sure to explain the rules like no groin shots etc. Its very important that you show this fight first. One, because Chuck Liddell is probably the only fighter she has seen or knows anything about, and two, because there is virtually zero ground game in this fight and its way too early to show any ground work. Now explain to her the magnatude of this fight and that its been many years in the making. Give her some background on Wanderlei and maybe even pull out the old laptop and hit up some Silva highlights on youtube. Start the fight, of course the first thing she'll say is "Is that the guy from Fear Factor?" you say "Yes, honey". Now let her watch the fight, sit back and enjoy the ooh's and ahh's. After the fight tell her its only going to get better and no she can't marry Chuck Liddell.


2. Fedor Emelianenko vs Kazayuki Fujita at Pride 26- Before beginning the fight give her some history on Pride. Now explain to her who Fedor is and that he had just beat the best fighter in the world to win the belt. Again, youtube is your friend when explaining who fighters are, tell her how big of an underdog Fujita is although she'll probably figure that out by the announcers. Also, Rampage is a guest announcer in this fight so that will certainly get some laughs from her and explain who he is also. Tell her the things that make Fedor one of the best fighters ever, you know what I'm talking about. Start the fight, now this is the first time she will see a submission so let her know that these guys are professionals and that choking someone out is really not a big deal and they know what they're doing so the fighters know the difference between a choke that puts you to sleep and a choke that kills you. Hopefully she was rooting for the underdog and got excited when Fujita landed that punch, but then hopefully she appreciated the determination and recovery of Emelianenko to come back. Show her the fighters laughing and embracing afterwards.


1. Mirko Crocop vs Wanderlei Silva 2 at Pride Final Conflict Absolute- She will already be familiar with Wanderlei so she'll have someone to root for right off the bat. Again, explain some background on Crocop and youtube it for some highlights. Tell her about Crocop being in the Croatian army and that he's a very important person over there. Explain to her that many fighters have college degree's, and maybe even some accounting college, and their not just dumb jocks. Also explain the weight difference and the fact that this is an open weight grand prix and that this is their second fight against each other. Start the fight and enjoy the reactions. This will be her first Knockout, hopefully she'll enjoy it, but explain to her that there are doctors ringside and that the fighters are taken care of immediately. Make her watch Crocop's interview after this and the respect he shows Silva, I think this is important(As was the after fight embrace of Fedor/Fujita) to show her that the fighters don't hate each other(usually) and that its only a sport.

This is just for one night to get the ball rolling. Ease her into it and down the road she can start to appreciate all the things you love about mixed martial arts. Like, the gracefulness of Anderson Silva's strikes, the heart of Minotauro, an amazing ground battle, the dedication of the fighters, the athletiscism of GSP, the smaller organizations, the agelessness of Randy Couture, and thats just to name a few. If she still doesn't take to it, then maybe it was at least enough for her to respect MMA.

Dan Henderson Talks UFC 82 Video Interview

Great interview with Henderson about his upcoming fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 82.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4

Inside Xtreme Couture Reality Show: Episode 1

The new reality show, go inside the lives of Randy Couture and his wife Kim as their run their business and train for their MMA fights.

Kurt Angle vs Randy Couture Later This Year?

In an interview on the Scott Ferrell show Wednesday Kurt Angle stated that he would like his first MMA match to be against UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture. Now I've read reports on wrestling sites about this, but no MMA site seems to be reporting that Kurt Angle all but confirmed that the fight was already in the works and it will be in Los Angeles later this year. He wouldn't confirm who was going to promote the fight, but stated that it was neither the UFC nor Mark Cuban. He also stated that it was unlikely that he himself would win the fight. Is this just Kurt Angle blowing smoke up our butt again? I don't know, but if he is Randy Couture can't be happy about it because the way he was talking was as if the fight has already been agreed upon.

Mix of Drugs Led to Ryan Gracie's Death

Here is the story on the autopsy of the late fighter. Here is the meat of the article from sherdog.

Two months after his body was found in a Sao Paulo jail cell, the "Fantastico" television program on Rede Globo in Brazil cited a toxicology report conducted by experts that indicated Gracie had consumed marijuana and cocaine. He also had the following anti-anxiety medications in his system: Midazolam, Alprazolan, Prometazina, Clozapine and Haloperidol.

The medications were given in therapeutic doses, according to the official report. Yet official investigator Paulo D'Amico Jr. said it was the combination of drugs, not their measurement, that caused Gracie's death. D'Amico explained that the drug cocktail affected Gracie's heart and also noted the fighter's history of dependence.

Psychiatrist Sabino de Farias Neto administered the medication.

"For 31 years I have treated patients who use marijuana, cocaine, [alcohol]," Neto said. "And use medications exactly at this level."

Psychiatrist Marcelo de Mello, who had no connection to the case, commented during the "Fantastico" program's report on the effects of several drugs in the body.

"The thing you will notice is the amount of drugs that were used at the same time," Mello said. "One interacts with the other, which can increase the number of side effects. In this case, especially the heart. The heart may start to knock off the pace, [beat] more seriously -- it can lead to cardiac arrest."

The use of cocaine can exacerbate the situation. Furthermore, problems were likely compounded when Gracie left the Legal Medical Institute and returned to jail.

Read the Rest Here

If John McCain Wins the Presidency, Will Mixed Martial Arts be Banned in America?

For those who don't know, in the early days of Mixed Martial Arts in America it had alot of problems with angry politicians. I actually wrote an article awhile back on the rise of mixed martial arts that explains McCain's role. Here is what I wrote-Senator John McCain was so adamant about banning the UFC he was successful in making it illegal in all but 3 states. McCain, who is known for having connections in boxing, also had it removed from 90% of pay-per-view providers. Since then the sport has bounced back and is the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. today. Now what we don't know is if McCain still has strong beliefs about this issue. Its not likely that he changed his mind, the question is if he really wants to push the issue if he gets the presidency. I'm not a big supporter of his politics and this is an issue I wholeheartedly disagree with him on. As Dennis Miller used to say "Now I don't want to go on a rant here, but".

MMA is a sport, a beautiful sport and there are many reasons that this sport is growing so fast and yes one of them is the violence. The violence is probably what turns most people on at the beginning, but violence is also what turns people on to football, boxing and many others. Its just outright stupidity to want to ban a sport like MMA and endorse a sport like boxing, which is what McCain did awhile ago. Boxing has had more serious injuries and any person with half a brain can see the medical difference between getting hit, kicked or submitted for a short amount of time to getting punched in the head over a hundred times in a longer time period.

It really pisses me off when people who have never watched this sport automatically assume its "human cockfighting". If people(including Mr. McCain) would actually sit down and watch these fights, after awhile they would start to appreciate the incredible skill and intelligence these fighters exhibit, the way I and numorous fans do. It is a sport, there are rules that prevent the bouts from resembling street fights in any way.

So the question remains will McCain push the issue if he is elected? In my opinion its not likely to happen anymore because MMA is sanctioned in so many states around the country now. It has become big business and in that sense big business is hard to bring down for anyone, even the president. My advice to Mr. McCain, sit down, relax and watch a fight like BJ Penn vs Georges St. Pierre, Fedor vs Crocop or Tyson Griffin vs Frankie Edgar and speak to me about MMA being "human cockfighting". I will send the DVD's to Mr. McCain myself. In closing it is likely that if he gets elected that he will make some fiasco about it, but hopefully the people of the U.S. can see MMA for what it really is, a wonderful and a beautiful sport.

New Rampage Jackson Video Interview- Talks Ultimate Fighter 7

Enjoy! Rampage is colorful as usual.

Randy Couture Signs Contract with HDNET Fights

According to Adam Swift from mmapayout.com and sherdog contributor, Randy Couture has a contract with Mark Cuban's HDNET Fights. Here is the meat of the article.

New details of the action have been revealed in the complaint obtained by Sherdog.com. According to the filing, HDNet Fights has entered into a contract with Couture that is scheduled to commence upon the expiration of his Zuffa promotional agreement. At that time, the company plans to promote a fight between Couture and Fedor Emelianenko in Dallas, assuming terms can be reached with the highly regarded Russian heavyweight.

The existence of an actual contract between HDNet Fights and Couture is believed to be key to the company's action in Texas. Without it, it is unlikely that the court would find an actual controversy ripe for adjudication.

According to the filing, Couture has stated that he believes his Zuffa promotional contract expires with the stated term of the agreement in July, while Zuffa maintains that the contract remains valid indefinitely under the infamous "retirement clause." In the complaint, HDNet Fights characterized Zuffa's contention as "outrageous."

"Zuffa's position regarding Couture is both illegal and involves critical timing," the filing states. "First, like all fighters, Couture's ability to fight at a championship level will diminish as he ages. Through their actions, Zuffa seeks to ensure that Couture is prevented from gainful employment and practicing his craft until he cannot be an elite fighter. Importantly, the law in Texas is clear that indefinite employment restrictions such as Zuffa claims to be enforcing are per se illegal and against public policy."

Read the Rest Here

Our Voice Was Heard! Spike TV Extends UFC Fight Night 13 to 3 Hours!!

We have succeeded in extending this stacked card to 3 hours. Here is the story from mmajunkie.com

The MMA fanbase recently kicked off a letter-writing campaign to Spike TV executives asking that the broadcast run three hours rather than the usual two. UFC President Dana White recently stated that the decision was Spike TV’s — and Spike TV’s alone — to make, which prompted a campaign fueled by MMA blogs and message boards.

April 2

Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon
Thiago Alves vs. Karo Parisyan
Tim Boetsch vs. Matt Hamill
Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin
Nate Diaz vs. Kurt Pellegrino*-Just Added!!!
Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard
Marcus Aurelio vs. Spencer Fisher
Josh Neer vs. Din Thomas
Clay Guida vs. Samy Schiavo
Roman Mitichyan vs. George Sotiropoulos
Anthony Johnson vs. Tommy Speer

Props to everyone who took the time to send the email.

25 Interesting Facts You May Not Know About MMA

25. Tank Abbott was knocked out exactly 43 seconds in his fight against both Kimbo Slice and Paul Buentello.

24. UFC Light Heavyweight contender Forrest Griffin's very first MMA bout was against Dan "The Beast" Severn.

23. Evan Tanner has more triangle choke submission victories than anyone in MMA ever.

22. Karo Parisyan's last 8 of 11 fights have went to a unanimous decision, Karo going 6 and 2(GSP and Diego Sanchez).

21. The first publicized spectacle of MMA last century wasn't UFC 1 or even Vale Tudo it was a fight between Hercules O'Brien (a British Boxer) and Huo Yuan Jia (a Chinese Wushu fighter) in Shanghai in 1909.

20. Rickson Gracie (claims to have won over 400 fights without a loss) the supposedly undefeated in all competitions has at least one loss from the 1993 U.S. Sambo Championships in Norman, Oklahoma, where he was defeated by American Ron Tripp by Total Victory via uchi-mata in 45 seconds. Rickson disputed this loss, claiming he was misinformed of the rules of the event.(props cavar)

19. Anderson Silva allowed Travis Lutter to take him down in their fight at UFC 67 so that he could beat him on the ground to avenge Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons, Anderson's training partner who lost to Lutter via armbar.

18. Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira doesn't lose fights he just runs out of time, 4 losses in 36 fights all decisions.(props to jrb655)

17. Chuck Liddell was in a 1981 movie with Jack Nicholson called "The Postman Always Rings Twice". Here is the video below.


16. UFC 14 was the first event where the "baby gloves" were made mandatory(props Bullitt68).

15. The UFC 28 fight between Josh Barnett and Gan McGee was the first and only Superheavyweight fight in UFC history.(props Bullitt68)

14. Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture both fought in the Rings King of Kings tournament in 2000. They would have fought but Fedor was cut by TK and Couture was submitted by Valentijn Overeem.

13. The much discussed Fedor loss due to a cut against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, was actually a cut reopened. Fedor suffered the cut in his fight with Ricardo Arona prior to fighting TK. Fedor still claims that TK used an illegal strike.

12. Brad Imes is the only fighter in MMA history to have 2 wins via gogoplata submission.

11. UFC Ring announcer Bruce Buffer has a Jiu Jitsu black belt and fought as a kick boxer.

10. Matt Serra was in Japan ready to fight in Pride 9. Unfortunately his opponent got injured by a pyrotechnic and he could not fight. He was never invited back to Pride.(props Deviant Icon)

9. Japanese Superstar Genki Sudo was a contestant on the show "Ninja Warrior" here is the video below.
Genki Sudo on Sasuke

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8. Aaron Brink who has fought fighters like Andrei Arlovski, Rich Franklin, Alistair Overeem and Jeremy Horn is also an ex porn star.

7. Travis Fulton has an MMA record of 185-45-9 and of those fights only 20 went to decision, his nickname of "Ironman" is fitting.

6. The 2000 PRIDE Grand Prix was the first to feature live American commentary. Bas and Quadros added commentary to the earlier events after they already happened. This is evident by the fact that Bas commentates on fights while at the same time cornering Mark Kerr.(props bullitt68)

5. PRIDE 12 was where the term Lay and Pray was coined. Quadros coined the term while calling the fight between Kazuyuki Fujita and Gilbert Yvel.(props bullitt68)

4. At the pre-fight staredown between Quinton Jackson and Igor Vovchanchyn at PRIDE 22, Rampage gave Igor a note allegedly from his mother that said, "Please don't hurt my son."(props bullitt68)

3. In the pre-fight staredown between Josh Barnett and Mark Hunt, while the referee was issuing the rules, Barnett added, "No flying ass drops."(props bullitt68)

2. Shooto is the oldest MMA organization on the planet. It started in 1985.(props cavar)

1. Japanese and Pride MMA Legend Kazushi Sakuraba actually won one of the very first UFC tournaments- UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan 1.

Post Fight Interview With Kimbo Slice and Bas Rutten

Thanks to Pancrase.org.

EliteXC Kimbo Slice vs Tank Abbott Weigh-ins Video

The video of the weigh-ins for tonites EliteXC Street Certified event.

March 15th DREAM Fight Card

At the good old Saitama Super Arena!

Lightweight Grand Prix (16-Man Tournament) Fights:

-Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias Calvancanti

Others Confirmed For Tourney:

-Gilbert Melendez
-Tatsuya Kawajiri
-Caol Uno
-Mitsuhiro Ishida
-Joachim Hansen
-Kazuyuki Miyata
-Andre Dida
-Luiz Buscape
-Kourtetsu Boku
-Artur Oumakhanov
-Jung Bu-Kyung

Non-Tournament Fights:

-Mirko CroCop vs. TBA
-Denis Kang vs. TBA
-Marcelo Garcia vs. TBA

No word yet on whether it will be on PPV or HDNet, but this will be something to look forward too for any MMA fan. I'm hoping to see Hansen vs Melendez and Kawajiri vs Ishida. Here's hoping Crocop gets back on a winning streak.

DREAM Video:Crocop, Royce Gracie, JZ and Others Speak at DREAM Press Conference

DREAM is the new organization that Crocop will be fighting in and from the looks of it many other former Pride fighters and popular fighters in Japan. Former pride owners and K-1 are the ones behind this new promotion. Is this the new Pride?

Props to Pancrase.org for the Video

"Fighting Fedor" M-1 Global New Reality Show Trailer

Here it is, the new reality series from M-1 Global, here's the video trailer it speaks for itself.

Dana White's Reaction to Crocop Leaving the UFC

This is courtesy of MMAnews.com. For those who are not up to speed on the whole situation here is a LINK explaining everything.

The following is a message from Cindy Ortiz, a friend of UFC president Dana White (who happened to book Mr. White on MMANews.com's old "CFZ Radio" program a few years ago and still has a friendly relationship with him to this day):

I just talked to DW and this is what he had to say:

The split was amicable and the terms were decided on in advance. Cro Cops $350k (plus bonuses) contract had a clause in it stating that if he lost two consecutive fights Zuffa had the right to void the existing agreement and negotiate a new one.

CC never dreamed that he would be so overwhelmed by the level of competition he has faced in the UFC so far and and the losses have impacted him mentally.

The UFC did NOT cut Cro Cop from the roster nor did they threaten to make him sit out until his contract expired if he didn't take the pay cut deal.

Rather than negotiate a new contract with the UFC right now (and risk racking up more losses), Cro Cop wants to get a couple of tune up fights (and wins) in some of the smaller shows (no more tune up matches for him in the UFC) in hopes of rebuilding his confidence and getting himself back on track.

DW understood completely and supported Cro Cop in his decision. The last thing DW wants to do is shell out a six-figure purse to a fighter that isn't fighting worth a dayum. Even though it would have been lower than the original figure, it would still be a waste of money and resources.

Cro Cops ultimate goal is to win the UFC HW championship belt and DW believes he still has the potential to accomplish that goal. CC's plan when he signed with the UFC was, "I will become Champion after three matches. I will need two and a half or three months off between each match. I expect to hold the UFC belt by the Summer. Then I want Pride Champion Fedor Emelianenko, Vs Me the UFC Heavyweight Champion on New Years Eve."

Tim Boetsch Replaces Stephan Bonnar for April Fight Night Against Matt Hamill

This is some good news, here is the article from MMAWeekly. Boetsch was extremely impressive against David Heath at UFC 81, now we will see if he can handle a wrestler the caliber of Hamill.

Tim Boetsch will again step up for the Ultimate Fighting Championship on short notice, this time taking over for the injured Stephan Bonnar. He will take on Matt Hamill as a part of the April 2 UFC Fight Night in Broomfield, Colo. as confirmed by MMAWeekly.com with sources close to the fight.

Boetsch made a very impressive debut for the UFC just earlier this month, finishing David Heath in the first round. He took the bout on extremely short notice when Heath’s original opponent dropped out due to injury.

The Pennsylvania-based light heavyweight looked devastating in his first fight with the UFC, displaying strong stand-up and tremendous power throughout his match-up with Heath.

Hamill is fighting for the first time since his very controversial decision loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 75 in September.

No official word from the UFC if the bout will be on the main card as Bonnar vs. Hamill was originally intended to be, but an announcement about the final card is expected in the near future.

Top 10 Greatest Upsets in MMA History

10. Kazuyuki Fujita vs Mark Kerr-Pride 2000 Grand Prix
Mark Kerr was probably the favorite in this whole tournament and thats saying something because at the time this was the deepest pool of talent ever brought together in MMA. Kerr truly was a beast in the ring with amazing strength, wrestling and the best striking of any wrestler at the time. This was only Fujita's 4th pro MMA bout so not much was known about him. As the fight began Kerr looked like he was gonna walk right through the Japanese wrestler and landed a huge knee to the chin of Fujita. But "Iron Head" just ate the knee that would have knocked out any normal human being(of course now we know about his legendary chin) and ended up outworking Kerr for a decision win.


9. Randy Couture vs Vitor Belfort-UFC 15
If you know anything about MMA you knew before even reading this article that Randy "The Natural" Couture was gonna be on this list and probably more than once. Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort was truly gonna be the young Mike Tyson of MMA. I mean this guy ended fights quick, the longest fight he had before he met Couture was a minute and 17 seconds. This is the fight that started the legend of Randy Couture as he just completely dominated the Phenom with wrestling, dirty boxing and ground and pound, eventually stopping Vitor at 8:16 of the first round.


8. Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera-Pride 23 Body Blow
Back in good ole 2003(bad if your a Cubs fan like myself!)Minotauro Nogueira was an unquestioned dominate fighter, he had won 13 consecutive fights and most recently avenging a loss to Dan Henderson. Not much was known about Fedor except that he dominated the RINGS organization for a awhile and won his first 2 fights in Pride (Semmy Schilt and Heath Herring) with relative ease, but Nogueira was the man. What followed was a beautiful display of punching someone's face over and over and over again, but seriously Fedor put on an MMA clinic against Nogueira. Fedor just completely dominated the best fighter in the world at the time and he even went to the ground on purpose to show that Sambo was better than jiu-jitsu.


7. Randy Couture vs Chuck Liddell 1-UFC 43
Chuck Liddell was running through people before he faced Randy Couture. It was clear from the sound of the bell that Couture had a good gameplan and he was gonna stick to it. Using his incredible Greco-Roman wrestling and an unorthodox striking style Couture just stayed on Liddell like a shadow, he did't let him breathe for a second. He eventually got the stoppage in the third round to seal the upset.


6. Forrest Griffin vs Mauricio Shogun Rua-UFC 76
This is a fight that quite frankly astounded me when I watched it. Shogun was just coming over from Pride and he was a machine. Shogun would just come at his opponents with tremendous cardio, muay-thai, aggressiveness and heart. Which is why when he gassed against Forrest I was pretty damn shocked. Taking nothing away from Griffin but most in the MMA world were expecting Shogun to not let Griffin out of the first round.


5. Takanori Gomi vs Nick Diaz-Pride 33
This fight is one of the best fights you'll ever see in the history of MMA and produced one of the best submissions in MMA also. The outcome was a pretty big suprise, Gomi was considered the best lightweight in the world. We knew Diaz was good but against Gomi most thought he couldn't handle the Fireball Kid. Diaz got rocked in the first round but quickly regained his composure and kept a torrid pace on Gomi. Long story short Gomi gassed, and fell into a beautiful gogoplata by Nick.


4. BJ Penn vs Matt Hughes 1-UFC 46
Matt Hughes literally tore through his opponents in the welterweight division before running into the Prodigy. Everyone knew Penn was talented, but he had failed to win the lightweight title and was trying a move to welterweight. The only way to describe this fight is complete and total domination by Penn, this is a fight that started the MMA fan's love affair with the Prodigy. Penn sunk in a rear naked choke to seal the deal in the closing seconds of the first round.


3. Kevin Randleman vs Mirko Crocop-Pride Total Elimination 2004
In 2004 Crocop was considered the man that would finally take down the Russian Experiment Fedor Emelianenko. He was running through everyone and in brutal fashion. Randleman was a solid fighter, but he was a wrestler and Crocop basically owned any pure wrestler that stood in his way. The Monster Randleman caught Crocop with a beautifully placed left hook and dropped the Croatian Sensation and finished him with some brutal ground punches that ended the fight in under 2 minutes.


2. Gabriel Gonzaga vs Mirko Crocop-UFC 70
Crocop was at the height of his career at the time of this fight he had just won the Open Weight Grand Prix tournament, beating Wanderlei Silva and Josh Barnett. Also dominating in his first UFC fight against Eddie Sanchez. To the suprise of most watching the fight, Gonzaga landed a Crocop-like high kick that completely knocked the croatian unconscious. Crocop also went on to lose his next UFC fight against Cheik Kongo, another fight he was heavily favored to win.


1. Matt Serra vs Georges St. Pierre-UFC 69
Matt Serra was just coming off winning the Ultimate Fighter 4, the show where fighters with experience had a shot to resurrect their careers. Georges St. Pierre looked like an unstoppable force at the time with his amazing athletic skills and coming off beating some impressive opponents. In succession he beat Jason Miller, Frank Trigg, Sean Sherk, BJ Penn and then Matt Hughes for the title. Well, easy pick right, wrong Serra came out confident and showed some heavy hands stunning GSP on numorous occasions. Finishing with a flurry of uncontested shots to GSP's face on the ground. This was the greatest upset in MMA history in my opinion.

There have been so many big upsets and especially the last year that its hard to boil it down to just 10, but this is my list of fights that really shocked me.

Stephan Bonnar Forced Out of Matt Hamill Fight, Injured in Training

This is absolutely horrible news, this is a fight I was so pumped for. This just sucks, here is the meat of the article from Kevin Iole at yahoo sports.

Bonnar said he was working on his jiu-jitsu in preparation for his April 2 light heavyweight bout against Matt Hamill in Denver. He said he heard a pop and later learned that he had torn the lateral collateral ligament.

"I was doing nothing out of the ordinary, just working on my (jiu-jitsu) getting ready for my fight," a downcast Bonnar said. "I heard a pop and I thought, 'Damn, what is this?' I walked around on it a little, but when I got home, it was really stiff and swollen."

Though it was initially diagnosed as a partial tear, an MRI revealed a complete tear. He'll have surgery soon in Los Angeles. A ligament from a cadaver will be placed into his knee.

Bonnar, who became one of the UFC's most popular fighters after his rousing fight with Forrest Griffin in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 1, hasn't fought since submitting Eric Schafer at UFC 77 on Oct. 20 in Cincinnati

Read the rest here

Dana White on Off the Record, Talks Ortiz, UFC 83 and Couture

Dana was recently on the same show as Serra and GSP, here is the video.

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO

Video: Joe Rogan Talks About Fedor/Dana Situation

My respect for Joe Rogan just went up a notch.

Fedor Emelianenko's Open Letter to Dana White

Courtesy of M1Mixfight.com

Letter.

Fedor Emelianenko on Dana White's statements and Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture

Numerous times have I read mister White’s statements on Internet concerning myself. In my opinion, allowing yourself to say those things is not a sign of a gentleman or a grown man at all! If he candidly wants to prove himself right then let my fight with Randy happen or let me face the reigning UFC champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. In the future I wouldn’t want to hear those unfounded statements in my address ever again.

My last fight in Japan proved that I’m ready to fight anybody with any size advantage, skillset or experience. I have fought and still wish to fight the best athletes. The Randy fight is my goal number one right now, he’s a great fighter and this is a very unfortunate situation when too strict and one-sided UFC contracts don’t let this fight happen.

The whole world is eager to see me fight your champions instead of listening to your press-conferences. I’m signed with M-1 Global and this promotion is ready to organize such fights under our banner or in co-promoted events.

Matt Serra on Off the Record Video

This is an excellent video with Serra and others.
Thanks to Undertow for finding it!

Part 1


Part 2

Petition: Extend UFC Fight Night 13 to 3 Hours

The following is an email I recieved.

Hi:
I know ur a die-hard and i know u wnat this as much as i do, so if u culd post this on ur website this wuld be awesome. Its a petition to extend the stacked UFN 13 card to 3 hours as opposed to the regular 2.

Fightlinker started the petition and here is how you go about submitting your petition

E-mail feedback@spike.com with the following.

SUBJECT: UFC Fight Night on April 2nd

Hi
I’m writing to ask that the UFC Fight Night on April 2nd be given three hours of time instead of two. The card is one of the best UFC cards ever put on Spike, and it deserves a longer timeslot. The entire fight community is looking forward to seeing this event, and I am sure you’ll have a significantly higher number of viewers if you decide to show more of the card.

Thank you for your time
[your name]
Sounds good to me, here is that stacked card.

Main Bouts
Joe Lauzon vs Kenny Florian
Matt Hamill vs Stephan Bonnar
Karo Parisyan vs Thiago Alves
Houston Alexander vs James Irvin

Undercard Bouts
Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard
Clay Guida vs Samy Schiavo
Spencer Fisher vs Marcus Aurelio
Din Thomas vs Josh Neer
Tommy Spear vs Anthony Johnson

Now thats a fight card! Better than alot of PPV's I've seen. So copy and paste and send the email so we can see more of this card! Who knows maybe we can make a difference for once. This idea was sent to Spike by Dana White, so it didn't just come out of nowhere, here is a link to that story.

New Sean Sherk Video Interview

Rawvegas caught up with Sherk who discusses BJ penn and his stripped lightweight title.

Tito Ortiz Says "Dana White is Exactly Like Don King" on Howard Stern

Tito and Jenna were on the stern show this morning here is some of what Tito said, thanks to phillyburbs.com

Tito will be fighting Lyoto Machida on May 24 in Las Vegas, NV for UFC. Tito confirmed this once again this morning, taking some steam away from UFC’s impending announcement. I believe that Tito is being booked by UFC to lose, which isn’t a bad thing if he is on the way out. Machida is undefeated in his last four matches, yet he has never beaten anyone the caliber of Tito Ortiz.

Tito compared Dana White to Don King during the interview, saying they were exactly alike. Tito said that the only difference between the two is that King is black. Tito went on a diatribe about the pay scale in UFC. Ortiz said that UFC makes $43 billion a year, yet he makes $200,000 for a fight (leaving out his bonuses). Tito’s biggest outrage isn’t all about him, but for the younger fighters who are only making $5-10,000 a fight. I wrote about this when I first came to phillyBurbs.com and $10,000 after training costs is nothing compared to the revenue that UFC generates for an entire show.

Read the whole article here.

Chuck Liddell on Conan O'Brien Video

Chuck promoting the book on Conan.

Chuck Liddell's Book Signing Tour Dates and Cities

I thought this would be of interest to everybody, it sucks that he isn't coming anywhere near my state.

New York City area 1/29/08 1:00 PM


BORDERS BOOKS & MUSIC- WALL STREET

#566

100 Broadway

New York, NY 10019




1/29/08 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST


BOOKENDS

232 East Ridgewood Ave

Ridgewood, NJ 07450

Store: 201.445.0726




1/30/08 6:30 PM


VIRGIN MEGASTORE-TIMES SQUARE

1540 Broadway

bet. 45th and 46th

New York, NY






Las Vegas, NV

1/31/08 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM


MANDALAY BAY/ READING ROOM

3930 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89119

(702) 632-9374




Phoenix, AZ 2/1/08 5:00 PM


WALMART-PHOENIX

18551 North 83rd Avenue

Gendale, AZ 85308




Albuquerque, NM 2/4/08 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM


HASTINGS BOOKS

840 Juan Tabo NE, Suite A

Albuquerque, NM 87123-1444

(505)296-6107




Texas 2/5/08 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM


HASTINGS- KILLEEN, TX

2200 E. Veterans Memorial Blvd

Killeen, TX

(254)680-5313




Ohio 2/7/08 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM


JOSEPH-BETH

Legacy Village

24519 Cedar Rd.

Lyndhurst, OH




California 2/9/08 1:00 PM


WALMART

2300 North Tustin St

Orange, CA 92865






2/12/08 7:00 PM


BORDERS- SAN LUIS OBISPO

243 Madonna Road

San Luis Obispo, CA 93405




2/15/08 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM PT


CAMP PENDLETON

15100 Camp Pendleton Country Store

Camp Pendleton, CA




Washington State 2/16/08 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM PST


MCCHORD BX

AAFES

Bldg 504 Barnes Boulevard

McChord AFB, WA 98438






12:00 PM to 2:00 PM PST

FORT LEWIS

AAFES

Bldg 5280 Pendleton Ave

Ft Lewis, WA 98433

10 Things I Learned from UFC 81 Breaking point

Its become tradition to write one of these after every UFC pay per view.

10. Tim Boetsch is one of my new favorite fighters. That throw that sent David Heath flying like a little girl was amazing and I always love a fighter that uses the front kick, one of the most underrated attacks in MMA.

9. Referee Yves Lavigne has amazing guard defense as exhibited in the shortest fight of the night-Kyle Bradley vs Yves Lavigne! Bradley was so out of it after the fight he held the ref for a good 20-30 seconds.

8. It seems the fans are finally starting to give Tim Sylvia some love. His fight with Noguiera was a great fight and he was very classy after losing.

7. Steve Mazzagatti may have took a point away prematurely, but stopping the fight was the right call. The rules for hitting in the back of the head are the same as groin shots, the fighter gets as long as he needs to recover.

6. How many pro wrestlers have abandoned their plans of getting into MMA?

5. I can't remember if it was Goldberg or Rogan but after Nogueira won they said "Mir and Nogueira, the 2 best heavyweight jiu-jitsu fighters ever." I have to argue that Fabricio Werdum has better Jiu-Jitsu than Frank Mir. Also Goldberg said before the Lesnar/Mir fight that Lesnar was facing "one of the best of all-time", come on.

4. Nate Marquardt is a very good fighter, but Anderson Silva is probably a guy he'll never catch up too.

3. Tim Sylvia vs Antonio Nogueira-worst biased commentating I have ever seen and thats all I'm gonna say about that.

2. Brock Lesnar's next fight should be Eddie Sanchez, don't give him another BJJ black belt like Fabricio Werdum or Gabriel Gonzaga. Eddie Sanchez is the perfect match to get him on the winning track because he has the potential to be a good but not great MMA fighter.

1. Antonio Minotauro Nogueira has amazed me once again with his ridiculous chin, unmatchable heart, incredible technique and amazing transitions. I really thought Sylvia was gonna finish him after he dropped him in the first round, shame on me. Minotauro's name should be in the dictionary next to "Fighter".

And A big congrats to Eli and the New York Giants!

UFC 81 Breaking Point Quick Results

Quick results from UFC 81.

1 Robert Emerson def. Keita Nakamura by Decision (Split) 3 5:00
2 Marvin Eastman def. Terry Martin by Decision (Unanimous) 3 5:00
3 Tim Boetsch def.David Heath by TKO (Strikes) 1st rd. at 4:52
4 Chris Lytle def. Kyle Bradley by TKO (Strikes) 1st rd. at 0:33
5 Tyson Griffin def. Gleison Tibau by Decision (Unanimous) 3 5:00
6 Ricardo Almeida def. Rob Yundt by Submission (Guillotine Choke) 1st rd. at 1:08
7 Nathan Marquardt def. Jeremy Horn by Submission (Guillotine Choke) 2nd rd. at 1:37

8 Frank Mir def. Brock Lesnar by Submission (Kneebar) 1st rd. at 1:30
9 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Tim Sylvia by Submission (Guillotine Choke) 3rd rd. at 1:28

One of the few times my predictions were right, Mir and Nogueira showed some beautiful jiu-jitsu. Sick kneebar on Brock by Mir, although Lesnar did better than I thought he would. Nogueira shows once again his iron chin and ridiculous transitions. Tim Boetsch was really impressive in what will probably be fight of the night even though it was one-sided.

UFC 81: Breaking Point Weigh-Ins Video

Here are the weigh-ins from earlier tonite. Thanks to Undertow for the heads up!
****If this video doesn't work on my site click here to watch****

Shogun Confirms Fight with Chuck Liddell in June

****Update, This Rumor is absolutely true Click Here for the full story****

This is according to a brazilian website named TATAME, I was able to get a translation of what Shogun said. Keep in mind I don't know how reliable this is.
Here is what Shogun had to say to this website.

In the high-way to the Rosa Beach in Santa Catarina, where he will spend the holidays with his wife, Mauricio Shogun confirmed to TATAME his fight with Chuck Liddell in June. "I confirmed that fight yesterday, everything is set for June and I hope to fight well and represent my new team, the University of Fighting (UDL)" said Shogun, who hopes to avenge his friends loss.

"For sure I will avenge Wanderlei" assured the athlete who wants to do go to America and train there sometime with Wanderlei. "I called Wanderlei and we taled a lot, we will do the exchanging for sure, I don't know when, it all depends with my strategy of the fight"

"Liddell has good boxing and a very good Wrestling. His game is more stand-up, so it can be a mistake to try to take him down all the time, because it demands too much energy. I will still plan my best tactic with my coach Alejo Morales (note : against Forrest he had no game plan), with my brother and the rest of the team. But I can strike with Liddell and beat him there, no problem.

Original Brazilian Source Here

I'm not sure if this is anything but a rumor. Liddell has stated many times that he wants to fight Keith Jardine next. Maybe Chuck fights Jardine soon and then Shogun at the end of June, I dunno.