10 Things Learned From UFC 87

(Photo Courtesy MMA Weekly)

10. Demian Maia's BJJ transitions are as good and smooth as any I've ever seen in the sport, but his stand-up needs alot of work. Training with Wanderlei Silva will certainly help.

9. Manny Gamburyan= Over hyped, Over promoted and Overrated because of TUF.

8. Cheick Kongo will never threaten for a title. He can be as arrogant as he wants, I just don't think he has the tools to ever wear a championship belt.

7. You can take Brock Lesnar out of the WWE, but you can't take the WWE out of Brock Lesnar. Of course MMA fans are giving him hell for his antics, which I think is partly right. He was excited to get his first win and thats understandable, but he acted like a dick to a well-seasoned and well-respected mixed martial artist. If it was a fighter, like him, that was just starting out then I would see it different. Other Fighters take notice and he could pay for it down the road.

6. As far as fighting goes, Lesnar was pretty impressive, and it will be hard for anyone to stop that takedown.

5. Kenny Florian vs Roger Huerta was a good scrap, albeit pretty damn one-sided. Florian was just too elusive and implemented a well-thought out gameplan.

4. This was the first time I've watched a UFC event in High-Definition, its definitely worth the extra money.

3. Awesome job by the UFC for the improved audio for in-between rounds corner talk. Most of the time you can't even hear it, but this time it was perfect.

2. I think Georges St. Pierre can beat BJ Penn in what will surely be one of the greatest fights ever. Hopefully, it will happen on New Year's this year.

1. Jon Fitch is one tough SOB, most fighters would of been gone in the first round, not to mention numerous other times during the 5 rounds. In my eyes Fitch moves up the welterweight rankings just for hanging in for 5 rounds. Lets face it, GSP is on another level.

Top 10 MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Blogs

The MMA Post is fairly new to the MMA blogging community, hopefully it can make my own personal ranking of the top 10 MMA blogs in the blogosphere. These are blogs that I've read for awhile and constantly get news and ideas from. Video blogs like my MMA Scraps are for another discussion.

10. Punch Kick Choke- One of the first MMA blogs I started paying attention to. If you're an aspiring fighter then this is where you need to be. Instructional videos and training tips are the highlights of this wonderful blog.

9. Boondock's Highlight Videos Blog- The best MMA highlight maker in the land has a blog where you can see all of his videos, what are you waiting for?

8. MMA Fight Girls- The only MMA blog I know of that focuses on the beautiful women of Mixed Martial Arts. Updated frequently with new and quality content.

7. Yahoo MMA Experts Blog- With familiar and respected names in the MMA community like Dave Meltzer, Kevin Iole, Dave Doyle and Steve Cofield contributing to make up this blog, it should be in every MMA fan's bookmarks.

6. MMA Mania- MMA Mania has a large dedicated community thanks to quality writing and exclusive fighter interviews. Their fight breakdowns and predictions are always good reads.

5. Five Ounces of Pain- Well respected and popular MMA journalist Sam Caplan founded this blog that now has many well known contributors. Often ground-zero for breaking MMA news.

4. MMA Junkie- Basically the online "New York Times" of our beloved sport.

3. Fight Linker- The Low Blow radio show, JackelTV and pretty much everything else on Fight Linker is funny and/or entertaining. Constant updates of happenings in the MMA world and very opinionated articles make this MMA funny blog a daily read for me.

2. Cage Potato- Cage Wiki is awesome and so is the rest of this blog. Opinionated, funny and entertaining, Cage Potato is a must for any MMA fan.

1. Bloody Elbow- BE is my favourite Mixed Martial Arts blog and has been for a long time. Luke Thomas(Editor-in-Chief) and Kid Nate(Founding Editor) are on top of everything that goes on in our beloved sport. The new Fanshots and Fanposts allow for amazing community interaction. BE is the best MMA blog around.

Top 4 Most Underutilized MMA Moves

4. Sticking with Side Control- Side mount or half guard is often given up for the more dominant position of full mount. I've seen it many times, but in transition to full mount or even after they achieve full mount the fighter is often swept or gives up an easy backdoor escape. This is especially relevant when your opponent is bigger than you. Even after the smaller fighter gets the full mount he is easily bucked off by the bigger opponent. Side control, although not as dominant, can allow more control and a fighter still has many options to finish the fight. Many fights I've felt could've been ended by sticking with side control, but is lost after they are reversed in the process of going for the full mount.

Top 3 Fighters who Utilize Side Control
1. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
2. Randy Couture
3. Fedor Emelianenko

Top 3 Fight Examples
1. Quinton Jackson vs Mikhail Illoukhine- Pride 26
2. Randy Couture vs Chuck Liddell 1- UFC 43
3. Randy Couture vs Tito Ortiz- UFC 44

3. Body Attacks from Top Position- When a fighter has worked ridiculously hard to get a takedown it seems they automatically become headhunters. Of course the fighter on bottom works equally as hard to protect his face, often leaving him open for body attacks. Too few fighters, I believe, take advantage of this and continue to attack the head through their opponents hands and arm defense, instead of going for a wide open body punch. This is something, just like in number 4, that Quinton Jackson does better than any other fighter. Forcing Chuck Liddell's corer to throw in the towel in their first fight after numerous ground body blows is a prime example.

Top 3 Fighters who Utilize Ground Body Attacks
1. Quinton Jackson
2. Georges St. Pierre
3. Mark Coleman(Early Years)

Top 3 Fight Examples
1. Quinton Jackson vs Chuck Liddell 1- Pride Final Conflict 2003
2. Georges St. Pierre vs Matt Serra 2- UFC 83
3. Mark Coleman vs Akira Shoji- Pride 2000 Grand Prix

2. Offensive Front Kicks- The front kick or rear push kick, is often utilized as a defensive maneuver, but fighters who can use it as an offensive weapon get the most out of it. Often billed in MMA as a "jab" to keep your opponent away, the front kick can be used to cause some serious damage instead. Two or three good front kicks to the body can be devastating to an opponent both physically and mentally.

Top 3 Fighters who Utilize Front Kicks
1. Semmy Schilt
2. Cung Le
3. Tim Boetsch

Top 3 Fight Examples
1. Semmy Schilt vs Pete Williams- UFC 31
2. Tim Boestch vs David Heath- UFC 81
3. Cung Le vs Tony Fryklund- EliteXC: Shamrock vs Baroni

1. Low Kicks- Ever since I started watching mixed martial arts, I've always thought that the low kick was way too underrated and underutilized. I remember watching Pride in the early days and hearing long time announcer Bas Rutten get extremely frustrated when a fighter would land some nice low kicks and then for some reason stop not throw anymore the rest of the fight. Of course Bas used the low kick in his career more often and more effectively than maybe any other fighter in history. The low kick has even been a measuring stick to see if someone is tough enough for MMA in local gyms, as stated in an ESPN the Magazine article on the Militech camp awhile ago. Just recently at UFC 86, Forrest Griffin was crowned the new UFC light heavyweight champion because of some well-placed low kicks on then champ Quinton Jackson that changed the whole flow of the fight. Bottom line, low kicks hurt, alot.

Top 3 Fighters who Utilize Low Kicks
1. Mirko Crocop
2. Thiago Alves
3. Ricardo Arona

Top 3 Fight Examples
1. Mirko Crocop vs Hidehiko Yoshida- Pride Critical Countdown Absolute
2. Bas Rutten vs Ruben Villareal- WFA: King of the Streets
3. Pedro Rizzo vs Randy Couture 1- UFC 31

6 Idiotic Reasons People Hate MMA

As MMA becomes more and more popular there are more and more people speaking out against this wonderful sport. These are 6 of the stupid reasons why people hate MMA.

6. Close Mindedness- The most obvious reason people don't like the sport is the same reason people can't embrace a number of things, close mindedness. I have friends that no matter what I tell them they just will not watch one single fight and they just can't understand why I'm so enthuastic when I speak about it. It goes in one ear and out the other just because its something new to their world, and that just scares close minded people off immediately.


5. The Violence- This is probably the most popular reason not to watch MMA and is absolutely absurd. Our society is a violent one, no one can deny that and thats why people watch football(the most popular sport here in America), boxing, pro wrestling, and other contact sports. Take pro wrestling, anybody who knows about pro wrestling knows that these "bumps" that wrestlers take are real and result in numorous injuries and death. Think about it would you rather have your kid mimicking MMA or pro wrestling(jumping off your roof)? Just turn on your local news channel and then talk to me about MMA violence, its a media(fox news) manufactured lie that its too "brutal", give me a break.


4. There's No Skill Involved, Its Just a Street Fight- When I hear people say this(and I have) all I can do is laugh my face off. Well if thats what you think, start an MMA organization, sign lets say Fedor Emelianenko or Anderson Silva, then find the greatest street fighter in the world(not Kimbo, he actually trains, but would still lose miserably to the aforementioned fighters), sign him, put them in the cage and prove your point. What would happen is the street fighter would likely be KO'd or submitted in under a minute with ease. Its just an outright spit in the face to any good MMA fighter to say there's no skill involved.


3. Its Boring, All They Do Is Lay on Each Other- This is a sad reason people can't embrace MMA. Often times its just rotten luck of the person who might walk-in in the middle of a boring fight and that turns them away forever. Its common knowledge among MMA fans that when bringing someone new into the sport, you show some stand-up wars first like Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar 1 or Quinton Jackson vs Chuck Liddell 1, two great fights that have little to zero ground game. Further down the road as they watch more fights its almost inevitable that they will start to appreciate a Fedor/Nog 1 or a Griffin/Edgar.


2. I'm a Boxing Fan- Utterly retarded reason for hating MMA, thats right I said it. "Duh, I like watching people get punched in the face, but only if they wear those big red shiny gloves and I know the guys names". I don't have a problem with boxing, a good boxing match is entertaining and skillful, but its not an actual fight, its a punching war. Ask a boxer like Oscar De La Hoya or Pretty Boy Floyd(who swears he could do it, LOL) and ask them to take 3-4 low leg kicks from Thiago Alves, Crocop or even a retired Bas Rutten without crying like a little girl. Better yet ask them to defend a Matt Hughes, GSP, Matt Hamill or Randy Couture takedown without having their spine rearranged. Its 2 different sports, but boxing guys like Jim Lampley have to run their mouth after every boxing event or go on ESPN/Fox to "defend" their sport. Its a ridiculous argument in which to hate MMA and they know it.


1. Ignorance is Bliss- Of course the number 1 reason is just plain old ignorance. Here's talking to you Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, John McCain(although we've pretty much won him over), Jim Lampley, Bernard Goldberg and pretty much every old boxing enthusiast or Fox News analyst. The number 1 reason these people hate MMA is that they've never watched it! Its like saying you hate a movie without watching it. These idiots have it engrained in their little minds that this sport can have no redeeming factors, no grace, no skill, and no intelligence, the fighters are just bar room brawlers. All old time boxing enthusiasts and all Fox News analysts can stick it because believe me when I tell everyone that it is they who have no redeeming factors, no skill and most of all no intelligence.

Now I'm not saying MMA is for everyone, its not, there are people that will not watch anything violent, but just because you don't watch it doesn't mean you can't respect it because these are elite athletes just like baseball and football players and they put it all on the line every time out for us fans. If you aren't into MMA, that's fine, but hopefully its not for one of the reasons above.

Top 10 MMA Movie Ideas

With so many MMA movies coming out this year, I figure I'll give the producers some ideas.

10. No Country for Weak Chins- A thriller with James Thompson in the starring role. After Thompson stumbles upon dead bodies, heroin and 2 million dollars in cash, easy knockouts ensue in this action-packed film. Also starring Andrei Arlovski.

9. The Terminator 4: Rise of Andor- In this exciting film starring Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko, parts of both the machines are put into one super robot and sent back into time to prevent the extermination of the human race. Andor becomes a worldwide role model.

8. Saving Private Franklin- An epic drama starring Rich Franklin. Franklin signs to fight Anderson Silva again, while friends and family do everything in their power to prevent it. Franklin's wife says, "come on honey I like your nose where it is".

7. Groundhog Day 2- Starring Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva. Jackson relives the same day over and over as he tries to escape the many knees to the face. No matter what strategy he uses the day always ends the same as he wakes up looking at his own blood and dangling on the ropes. The movie also explores Jackson's better side in fighting Chuck Liddell.

6. How High 2- A euphoric comedy starring Nick Diaz and Joe Rogan. Nick decides to one day smoke something magical, which eventually helps him to beat one of the best lightweights in the world.

5. Earmageddon- A thrilling disaster film starring Randy Couture, Matt Lindland and Dan Henderson. When a deadly outbreak of cauliflower ear sweeps the nation, the top 3 experts in the field are brought in to prevent disastrious results.

4. Being Dana White- A fighter discovers a portal into the UFC president's mind. For 15 minutes you see, hear, and feel whatever DW is doing, then you fall out by the New Jersey Turnpike. Dana decides to sell these trips for $49.99, but eventually everyone sees him for what he really is.

3. The St. Pierre Redemption- After being wrongly accused of losing to a mediocre fighter, GSP sets out for redemption. He eventually forces the fighter to tap out and apologize.

2. The Assassination of Randy Couture by the Coward Dana White- Dana White, who's idolized Randy Couture since childhood, tries hard to join Randy's gang, but gradually becomes resentful of the fighting leader. Things finally come to a head when Dana begins vastly underpaying fighters.

1. Sean Sherk and the Holy Needle- King Sherk and his knights embark on an adventure for the Holy Needle. They pretend to fight clean, but eventually find themselves at a trial. Co-starring Tim Sylvia, Stephan Bonnar and Ken Shamrock.

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."

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.

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.

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.

Cage Rage to Air on Showtime

As I was watching ShoXC last night and enjoying the fights, it was announced that the U.K. based Cage Rage would be airing on Showtime. The event on March 8 will feature Ken Shamrock vs Robert Berry, Cage Rage 25, no other bouts were announced, but click HERE to see how the card is taking shape. Why am I so giddy about this? Because Cage Rage is one of my favorite promotions, and they always put on a good show. This gives U.S. fans a means to watch the organization, other than the internet telecasts on proelite.com.

7 Things You Don't Want to See in MMA in 2008

I got this idea from a sherdog forum post. Of course there are many things we need to see, but there are many things that we don't need to have any part of.

7. Horrible Judges Decisions- Seriously do we need another Hamill/Bisping, judges need to be people who are obsessed with watching fights. They need to be fans of the sport and not just people who are doing a job.

6. More Fighters being Suspended for Steroids, HGH, etc.- I've said it before and I'll say it again steroids is the ultimate form of cheating in any physical sport. If you take PED(Performence Enhancing Drugs) your already doubting your ability to win a fight.

5. Smaller Organizations Go Under- I love the UFC, but I also love Cage Rage, M1 Global, WEC, Elite XC, HDNet Fights, K1 etc.. Some of the best MMA fights you will ever see will come out of the smaller orgs. Maybe the best fight I saw of 2007 was Marius Zaromskis vs Ross Mason at Cage Rage 22, track it down and watch it you will not be dissapointed.

4. Great Pride Fighters not Fighting- Where is Takanori Gomi? One of the best most exciting fighters in history isn't fighting anywhere. How about Mark Hunt, one of my personal favorite heavyweights, he should be fighting the best in the world. Get these guys in the ring, cage, my backyard or wherever and let them scrap.

3. Wanderlei Silva, Crocop and Mauricio Shogun Rua Losing- Three of the most exciting fighters in history, I hope they can turn it around for every MMA fans sake. Whether its the rule changes, the cage or whatever these extremely entertaining fighters need to figure it out because if they keep losing we might not see the dream matches we all hope for.

2. Chuck Liddell Fighting Rampage Again for the Title- I'm sorry but when you beat a guy so decisively 2 times in a row, that guy should'nt get a third crack at it. Same goes for Rich Franklin vs Anderson Silva, there's no point in it. So if Liddell and Franklin land a haymaker in the third fight, does that mean that they're better fighters? Don't think so, we already know who the better fighter is.

1. Fedor Fighting Cans- How in the world does Aleksander get to fight Josh Barnett before Fedor does? This is the best fighter I've ever seen, he should be fighting fighters who actually have a chance at beating him. We don't need to see him fight Semmy Schilt or Bob Sapp, which are some of the new rumors going around, because we all know what the outcome will be. Hopefully the Randy Couture fight will take place this year.

Clay "The Carpenter" Guida to Return to Action on April 2 at UFC Fight Night 13

Anytime there is Clay Guida news I will be covering it. Guida is always entertaining win or lose and one of my favorite fighters. Guida is set to face Samy Schiavo, a fighter I personally don't know much about except that it will be his UFC debut and he comes from Cage Rage with 10-4 record.

For more in-depth info about the news CLICK HERE

Tito Ortiz vs Lyoto Machida Confirmed, Ortiz to Leave UFC After Bout

According to Loretta Hunt over at thefightnetwork.com another popular UFC fighter is speaking out against the promotion. Tito Ortiz also confirmed a May fight with UFC light heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida. This news comes from an interview Ortiz did with Sirius Fight Network radio on Monday. Here is the meat of the article.

“They don’t want the fighters to get as big as a 'Tyson' or a 'De La Hoya' or one of those types because all of a sudden, they’ll be expecting to see a lot more payment,” said Ortiz. “The UFC makes about 99 percent of the money, and the rest goes to the fighters. That one percent ain't nothing compared to what they make on merchandising, on pay-per-view, and everything else they make around the world.”

Ortiz is not the only marquee fighter to take Zuffa to task. UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture resigned from the organization on Oct. 11, citing compensation and poor treatment within the company as his main motivations. Couture walked away from his title, two contracted fights and a separate employment contract for commentating and promotional duties. Zuffa filed suit with Couture last Monday for breach of his employment contract.

A polarizing former UFC light heavyweight champion, Ortiz confirmed he will face Lyoto Machida (12-0) at a UFC event on Saturday, May 24 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The bout will satisfy the final fight of his UFC contract.

Expecting a rematch with “The Ultimate Fighter 2” winner Rashad Evans, Ortiz (15-5-1) said he begrudgingly accepted the bout with the Japanese-Brazilian fighter who toppled PRIDE sensation Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou with a second-round submission at UFC 79 “Nemesis” on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas.

“I was expecting a bigger fight. I think the fans were expecting a bigger fight,” said Ortiz. “I got pressed into it, and all of a sudden, it’s all over the Internet that Tito Ortiz won’t fight Machida. I’m just looking to get my final fight over with the UFC.”

Read the Full Article HERE.

10 Things Learned From UFC 80

10 things I learned from watching UFC 80.

10. Kendall Grove may have been a little overrated.

9. The new UFC ring girl is ridiculously hot, I was watching UFC 80 with a girl and she was infatuated with how hot she was.

8. There is no point in me making predictions anymore, but I'll still do it anyway, so I can gloat the one time I do get them all right.

7. A perfectly placed elbow can change any fight in favor of the one throwing it, even though the 2 fights that had elbow cuts were already in favor of those fighters(Penn and Paul Kelly) it certainly helped their cause even more.

6. Did Gabriel Gonzaga just gas or was he overhyped? I say a little bit of both.

5. Fabricio Werdum's defense on the bottom is excellent and his standup is underrated.

4. Marcus Davis has a chance to rise in the welterweight division, but as long as Georges St. Pierre is in front of him he is gonna have a problem getting a title shot.

3. If BJ Penn is in shape like he was at UFC 80 he is in the top 3 pound for pound fighters in the world.

2. Joe Stevenson has alot of heart and has alot of potential, but this was just the wrong fight at the wrong time for him to make a big impression.

1. I don't care who is fighting, when their are 6 knockouts on a UFC pay per view it was worth the money and we got to see all the undercard fights except Sam Stout vs Per Eklund which I heard wasn't very entertaining anyway.

Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture Staredown During Commercial Shoot

This was shot for Affliction, I thought everyone might enjoy this. Its not exactly a "Staredown" but still, it seems this fight will take place at some point.

UFC 80 Reaction

Well my predictions for UFC 80 were pretty bad as usual with the exceptions being Penn, Davis, Sakara, Stout and Hardonk. Good for Werdum he impressed me alot as did the newcomer Paul Kelly in a terrific fight against Paul Taylor. Penn dominated Stevenson and after the bout saying "Sean Sherk is Dead" is classic, then Sherk came in and got booed. The first 3 televised bouts were all over pretty quickly and all in KO fashion. So we got too see all the undercard fights except the Sam Stout fight. All in all a very solid pay per view I thought. Can't wait to see Penn fight Sherk.

Top 10 Things I Learned From UFC 79

UFC 79 was a great event, here's what I learned.

10. Lyoto Machida is no joke, whether or not you like his fighting style, the guy wins. Soko is a talented guy, but I think we all underestimated Machida's skills.

9. Melvin Guillard and Rich Clementi should not be allowed back in the UFC. Talking shit to each other is fine, hating each other is fine, but the way these 2 guys acted is just idiotic.

8. Okay UFC we get it, you hated the Pride Fighting Championships. The whole "we're not in Japan" thing is getting old.

7. I still don't understand why the UFC doesn't show ALL undercard fights, for 40-50 bucks most people want all the action they can handle and many times the undercard fights are great.

6. Georges St. Pierre will be the welterweight champion in 2008.

5. Take it from GSP, if you wanna beat a world class wrestler(Hughes, Koscheck) put them on their back.

4. Wanderlei Silva remains on the top of my list as the most entertaining fighter ever.

3. When Chuck Liddell wins, Dana White is the happiest man on earth.

2. Biased commentary is getting a little out of control. I watched the Liddell/Silva fight 3 times and you would think Chuck was fighting a nobody. All the replays were Chuck highlights and the knock down for Silva was discredited as a simple slip.

1. I don't care what anyone says Wanderlei Silva vs Chuck Liddell is in the top 3 greatest fights I've ever witnessed and for me it lived up to the hype.

Sean Sherk Will Not Be Stripped of His Title

****UPDATE, Apparently Sherk is now being stripped! Here's a LINK to the story****
UFC Lighweight Champion Sean Sherk will remain the champion, despite testing positive for steroids. Here's the meat of the article from mmafightline.

UFC president Dana White has gone back and forth on whether he would strip Sherk of his title were he to lose his appeal to the NSAC. First, White told Yahoo!Sports' Kevin Iole that Sherk would keep the title regardless of the outcome of his appeal, then a few days later, White backpedelled on those comments stating during a conference call that Sherk would probably be stripped of his title if he were to lose his appeal.

Read the rest HERE

Sherk has denied the positive test from the beginning and some in the MMA community would question the way CSAC has handled the whole situation. In any case Sherk and B.J. Penn need to get in the cage and fight. Until that happens many fans will still consider the lightweight belt in limbo.

New Video Interview with Frank Mir About His Upcoming Bout with Brock Lesner

Frank Mir weighs in on his fight with former pro wrestler turned MMA fighter Brock Lesner. Also an interview with Frank Trigg about his clothing line Triggonomics.

Modern MMA's First Death Occurs

MMA fighter Sam Vasquez has passed away after complications from an MMA bout on October 20th he was 35. Heres a snippet from sherdog.

The Harris County Medical Examiner, which confirmed Vasquez passed at 8:15 p.m. CT, has not yet released the cause of death, the report said.

After enduring separate surgeries to remove blood clots from his brain as well as a massive stroke, Vasquez was discharged from downtown Houston's Saint Joseph Medical Center Critical Care Unit and transferred to an area hospice on Nov. 26.

On Wednesday Sandra Vasquez, the fighter's wife, told Sherdog.com, "He's about to go." Two days later, Vasquez, the father of a 7-year-old boy, lost his battle with the apparent affects of a regulated mixed martial arts fight.

Read the rest HERE