Tank Abbott Says He Could KO Brock Lesnar in 10 Seconds

Odds of Ortiz Getting his Head Softened

During the third season of the hit show The Ultimate Fighter, Matt Hamill, a world-class, medal-winning collegiate and Olympian wrestler, won the hearts and minds of the fighting world when, despite his disability (deaf), he proved to be a beast in the octagon. Although Matt had to drop out of the season due to injuries, he returned for the Spike TV finale and defeated Jesse Forbes by KO.

Since then, Matt has been one of the more likeable fighters in the UFC. Although his fights are few and far between, Hamill gives his all when he’s in the ring, and with one of the more vicious ground games ever seen in the sport in terms of straight wrestling, this ox-strong 34-year-old is more than a threat.

After losing in a controversial decision to his friend and fellow TUF 3 costar Michael Bisping on The Count’s home turf, Hamill all but faded away from headlining fights. He’s coming back for UFC 121, however, against the always big-mouthed and maybe-past-his-prime Tito “Yes, I Can… Beat Shamrock” Ortiz.

Ortiz knows Hamill well. He was Matt’s coach on TUF 3 and trained him for a while after. However, Tito made some pretty unsavory comments about Hamill, suggesting that, because Matt’s deaf, he has a “soft head.”

Matt’s trainer and Hamill himself have both stated that there’s no bad blood over the comment, and Tito has since apologized, but what does something like that do to the odds of the fight?

Realistically, the odds of the fight are still looking about like a 3:1 bet at roulette online, with Hamill edging out Tito -170 to +140. However, the motivation factor cannot be downplayed.

Other than being a very technical boxer and having a spectacular ground game, eerily similar to a younger Ortiz, Matt also has freakish power. He is to MMA what Tim Lincecum is to MLB – a guy whose arm packs an unexplainable wallop.

One of the biggest criticisms Hamill faced after losing that controversial decision to Bisping was that he never seemed to want to “fight” Michael. Matt seemed more intent to try to “out-technical” his opponent instead of getting down and dirty and using his advantages.

But since Ortiz has lit a fire under Matt by insulting the deaf community, smart money is on Matt coming out like the beast we all know he can be.

Prediction: by the time Hamill is done with Tito’s head, Ortiz will wish he’d had stayed back in the locker room to play baccarat online instead of stepping into the octagon with a determined and skillful Hamill.

If fighters live by any rule, it should be this: never wake a sleeping giant. Past his prime and facing an opponent capable of some freakish mystery strength, Tito might be in ZZ land before round two is over.

UFC 122 Trailer

Freddie Roach: "There's Not One Fighter in MMA That Can Stand with James Toney"

Courtesy of "Inside MMA" which will air tomorrow night at 9:30pm EST

Legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach had an interesting quote on the show about Toney's foray into MMA.

“I think they’re using James as a way to say MMA fighters are better than boxers,” he said. “If he fights a quality ground guy, once he goes to the ground he’s gonna get killed. But if a guy chooses to stand up with James, James is gonna destroy him. That’s why they call him ‘Lights Out.’ I really don’t think there’s one fighter in MMA that could stand with James.”

I have to agree with Mr. Roach here. The level of boxing technique is absolutely abysmal in MMA and times it by ten when it comes to the heavyweight division. After BJ Penn, the drop-off in good clean boxing is pretty horrendous and James Toney will wipe the floor with anyone who wants to stand with him.

Heath Herring: "Dana White's Got Six Ferraris. Hell, I Just Want One."

Heath Herring addressed the UFC brass and pay scale in an interview with Fight Night Radio via MMA Fighting

They've got their guys they want to push, guys they want to market. Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir are the guys they want to push and market. The problem is if you're one of the guys who's not one of their favorites, they want to keep you out of the competition

I'm trying to make money for myself, feed my family, and these guys are trying to do everything they can to make it impossible for me.... With the way the UFC's pay scale is and as much as it costs me to get ready for a fight, at the end of the day I made like 40 grand.

These guys are literally making money off our blood, sweat and tears. We don't get any health insurance. If you get hurt training for a fight, you're screwed. It's really kind of crazy.

Dana White's got six Ferraris. Hell, I just want one.

Dana White on Possible Pride Revival: "Anything is Possible"

UFC President Dana White was asked if a Pride revival was ever possible by The Scrapyard. He responded by saying the "Best of Pride" series on Spike TV pulled a solid rating and discussed further the possibility of a Pride resurrection.

“You never know, anything is possible,” said White when asked if he’d consider hosting an event or two in a ring under the Pride brand.
“For its time slot on Friday night, the first episode pulled a good rating so we’re excited about that. We’re hoping that series will continue to do well.”
“I don’t want to say the Pride name is dead. It’s still a strong powerful brand. But the reality is that us running Pride in Japan, that completely fell apart.”

Oh what a glorious day it would be in MMA, unless the rules were changed and it was completely Americanized of course. Get Yuji Shimada in("give up"), get Bas and Quadros to do the announcing and make it happen. Wishful thinking I know.

Jackie Chan Not A Fan of MMA

International movie star Jackie Chan weighed-in on what he thinks of mixed martial arts via Sherdog.

“I don’t like to see Ultimate Fighting,” Chan said. “As a martial artist, I find it too violent putting them in a cage. At the end, it’s not fighting anymore. That’s not the martial arts. Martial arts is about respect. When somebody is knocked down, stop. I really respect Sugar Ray Leonard. Come on, [when a guy is down] stop. Don’t fight. That’s not the spirit. When you’re down, I’ll grab you up. Are you okay? Should we continue? That’s the martial arts spirit. That’s what I want.”

Not everybody will like or respect mixed martial arts and that's fine, but there's something disheartening when a fellow "martial artist" calls it too violent and in the process trashes the intelligence of ground fighting. It's feels as ignorant as when somebody doesn't use Overnight Prints coupons or CVS coupons just because they don't like paper. I'm a fan of Jackie Chan, but it would serve him well to do a little more research on our beloved sport.

Top 5 "Extra"-Ordinary Moments in MMA

5. Don Frye Gets Into A Fight with Bodyguard Sonny Westbrook
For any fan of MMA that has been following the sport since the beginning, Don Frye is a legend. Perhaps the two words "tough guy" were invented for Don Frye. Here's a guy that will fight anybody, anytime, anywhere and he is notorious for telling crazy stories that happened to him outside the cage/ring. Below he got into a fight in a hotel lobby with bodyguard Sonny Westbrook, here's the back story courtesy of anabolicminds.com

First off Westbrook is a bodyguard employed by Dog the Bounty Hunter. He was with Leland Chapman (Dog's son) at an MMA event that Chapman was scheduled to compete in. The event ended up getting cancelled by the California State Athletic Commission after the cage they were going to use that night wasn't able to be assembled correctly.

Anyway the promoters promised the fighters 20% of their purses if the event was to be cancelled. Well during a meeting between the promoters and the fighters, the fighters found out that they wouldn't be receiving any money at all. An argument ensued and its unknown exactly how Frye and Westbrook started fighting but Frye obviously ended up losing. Reports of Frye being drunk also vary.

I've also heard that they ended up fighting again later that night and Frye was knocked out completely and taken to the hospital but others have claimed that it wasn't true since Frye was at the arena signing autographs at a wrestling convention later that night.

4.Mauricio Shogun Rua vs. Mark Coleman Aftermath
Shogun and Coleman squared off at Pride 31 what transpired was one of the craziest aftermaths to a fight ever. Shogun breaks his arm trying to defend a take down and after the ref stops it Coleman continues to punch him. The entire Chute Box and Hammer House gangs jump into the ring thats not to say they jumped into wedding rings or even tungsten wedding bands, it wasn't that crazy and it continued backstage after Mark Coleman tried to apologize and Wanderlei accuses him of stomping his face during the in-ring brawl.



3. Mark Coleman Goes a Little Crazy After Losing to Fedor Emelianenko
Coleman loses via arm bar the first time to Fedor Emelianenko at Pride: Total Elimination 2004 and afterwards cameras catch him losing it. Call it "Roid Rage" if you prefer or maybe it was just a passionate fighter really upset with the mistakes he made in the ring. Coleman calms down and hi and Fedor shake hands and probably had about 45 shots of vodka between them later that night.



2. Wanderlei Silva: "My Belt"
Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson is the greatest rivalry we have ever had in our sport next to Sakuraba vs. The Gracies. Like Ali vs. Frazier these 2 bring out the absolute worst and the absolute best in one another. It all started at Pride 25 when Rampage called out Wanderlei after knocking out Kevin Randleman.



1. Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett Goes to Sleep During Backstage Fight with Cristiano Marcello
Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett had a little beef with the Chute Box camp and it culminated in this. Bennett would later claim that he knocked out Wanderlei Silva backstage, which Silva vehemently denies. It started when Bennett and the Chute Box camp were sharing a locker room at Pride Shockwave 2005 and Bennett started insulting everybody. Marcello was a corner man and had just finished with the fight. What ensued was a brawl that ended like an MMA fight and how sweet it was.


I am sure I missed many "extra" moments, if you have any, post links in the comments.

Lyoto Machida's Father Says He Must Fight Anderson Silva

I wrote an article a few days back entitled 10 Things MMA Could Live Without in 2010 and one of my gripes was friends or teammates not fighting each other. Shizio Machida, Lyoto's Father, did an interview with PVT Mag in which he agrees that Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida need to go at it at some point.

There is only one champion, so I believe this fight must happen. It's a professional issue, and I believe they can fight. Deep down, everyone wants to know who is strongest. Friendship is friendship, but they're not amateurs. The eventual winner isn't my concern. What matters to me is how they win, and their strategy. This would be a mental battle...I really like Anderson. He didn't train Karate, but knew it instinctively. Standing switches, stances, how to use his waist, moving with purpose as he advances and backs away, dancing without getting hit. The future of MMA isn't who can take more punishment, but the one who leaves with a clean face. Many fights are pure slugfests, but people don't see things ten years into the future.

I think Shizio sums it pretty well when he says its a professional issue and they're not amateurs. Of course it's ultimately not up to him, but the 2 fighters themselves and even if Shizio convinces Lyoto, Anderson still must agree. So it's still far fetched in my opinion, but we can dream.
(Pic Props Sherdog)

Gray Maynard UFN 20 Post Fight- "It Turned Into a Scrap"

Gray Maynard won a split decision over Nate Diaz last night at UFN 20 in a rather uneventful main event. In the video below via Sherdog Maynard talks about how his game plan went out the door when Diaz starting taunting him in the center of the octagon.

Elite MMA Gear Discount

For those of you that train MMA, I'd like to introduce EliteMMA.com. They're a MMA equipment supplier which carries great fight gear brands including Fairtex, Throwdown, Sprawl, Top Contender and, Lucky.They list their inventory on-line so you know what's in stock and orders before 3:00 ship the same day.

They've provided an exclusive coupon for 15% off their thai pads valid until Jan 24. The code is scrapthai15. They've got a pair of leather Top Conender thai pads for $59.99 before the coupon, which is pretty good. Check EliteMMA.com out and leave a comment about what you think.

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Man in Mask at WEC 46 an Iraq War Vet

WEC General Manager Reed Harris cleared thigs up on the UG about who the guy in the mask was last night at WEC 46.

"Guys-
He's a soldier I met when we did the show in San Antonio at the Brooks Military Hospital.

He was burned in Iraq when an IED blew up his vehicle. I flew him out to Sac. as he was Ben Hendersons biggest fan. Trying to do something nice.

Thanks
Reed"

(Pic Props BloodyElbow)