Saturday, June 30, 2007

It Sucks to Be a Replacement (But It Pays)

Imagine the big boss, not your supervisor, calling you into his office and saying that he wants you to do a big project, but it has to be done quickly and at the highest caliber. You have no preparation and you have to get ready to work with material you may not have worked with before.

It happens in MMA all the time, especially in high level organizations like the UFC. Injuries happen in training, and so fighters getting ready for their big matchup occassionally have to call in sick. None of the guys ever wants to, but alot of the time it becomes a political issue (when the Nevada State Athletic Comission will not license them to fight with the injury) and an issue of performance (no one wants to put on a poor showing, because then they have to really start thinking about their next pay check).

It really sucks to be the fighter who has to call and tell UFC management that you cannot compete in your next matchup for whatever reason. It sucks because you know that you aren't going to have that nice shiny paycheck coming in and, if you're a new guy, you have to consider how long it's going to be before they call you again.

However, when a door closes for one guy, it becomes open for another. The issue then becomes whether or not the fighter is in shape, whether he's prepared for the opponent and whether he can make weight.

You see, a matchup never goes off a card because one fighter can't make it. If you can't fight in the UFC, they will find someone to fight instead. They have that kind of money and prestige.

Being the guy that gets the nod to come in and fight as a replacement has its perks. You get to fight in the biggest organization on the planet and you get to fight a top flight opponent, but at what cost.

When you get called up by the UFC as a replacement, it is almost always close to the fight date. At most, it gives a fighter two or three weeks to be ready for a fight against an opponent that has been training for six or eight, preparing his strength and cardio to go 15 minutes with an opponent that has been training as hard as he has.

Fighters, like every athlete, track their training schedules so that they peak at fight time. When you get called two weeks before, that's a pretty small peak.

That isn't to say that the fighter ever comes in as the pillsbury doh-boy (unless they always look like that), but they don't have the same level of conditioning that comes from training their ass off for ten weeks getting ready to tear an opponents head off.

The other major issue is weight. Almost all fighters, in this day and age, have to cut weight. If you don't have a good deal of notice, this can leave you drained for the actual fight.

The cost of being a replacement is high. You have to rush to be ready, but if it pays off, it pays off. Fighters who win as replacements almost always get called back, even if they have to take their opponent to a decision, because the management knows that they won, even though they weren't at 100%, and that's what makes the big boss excited.

When a fighter comes in as a replacement and puts on a great show, if he finishes his opponent or at least goes to war with his opponents (even in a loss) he can get alot of attention for himself.

Eddie Sanchez came in as a replacement for current UFC #1 heavyweight contender Gabe Gonzaga and made his UFC debut on short notice against Mario Neto. When Sanchez KO'd Neto the fans weren't all talking about it, but it was clear that the management was. After all, they gave Sanchez an incredible matchup for his second fight: asking him to fight Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic, the best striker in the heavyweight division, ranked #2 in the world at the time.

While Sanchez was destroyed by CroCop, he got the opportunity to fight a top flight fighter.

Being the replacement has it's disadvantages, but the management of organizations like the UFC know that. They don't expect the replacement to pull it off, but if it happens, they know that they need to call that guy back, they need to find out what he can do.

No one expects the replacement to win, but when he does, it pays.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Ken "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Shamrock

To alot of new fans to the sport, they know Ken Shamrock as the fighter that Tito Ortiz kept beating up, but Ken Shamrock is a pioneer in the sport, he's one of the few guys that I can honestly say is responsible for the sport being where it is today.

Of all of the spokesmen for the sport over the 13 years since the UFC was founded, Ken Shamrock has been there. Ken was at UFC 1, where he beat Patrick Smith before losing to Royce Gracie.

Shamrock fought in the Pancrase organization before the founding of the UFC, but as soon as he was given the opportunity to fight at UFC 1 he dove in, fighting at UFC's 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 before returning to Japan to fight in the PRIDE organization.

Over the course of the first 9 UFC events, the sport began to evolve and when Ken Shamrock fought Royce Gracie at UFC 5, the torch was officially passed from the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu fighter who won the first 2 UFC events to the self-proclaimed "World's Most Dangerous Man."

Ken Shamrock was a submission fighter who specialized in leglocks, but his athleticism and strength, as well as his understanding of the sport made him dangerous whether the fight was standing or on the ground.

Shamrock became the first Superfight champion after UFC 6, when he defeated Dan Severn. He would defend the Superfight belt at UFCs 7 and 8, but would lose it to Severn at UFC 9 before he left the UFC until his return at UFC 40.

While Shamrock's career as a fighter was not the most impressive of his generation, his charisma and his ability to articulate the purpose and artistry of the sport made him a spokesman for MMA in America.

Shamrock openly debated with Senator John McCain on Larry King Live. He questioned the logic in McCain's opposing MMA but allowing boxing (a sport with a considerable higher mortality rate than MMA, which has managed to maintain a rate of 0).

Ken would return to the UFC as an icon because of his candidness about his support for the sport and his ability to speak up and articulate the feeling the the MMA community.

When Ken returned to the UFC, he would be plagued by an inability to beat, really, anybody of merit. He lost to Tito Ortiz in his return to the Octagon at UFC 40, followed by a win over the aging Hawaiian fighter Kimo Leopoldo. Shamrock would then lose to Rich Franklin, proving that his age might be too severe a handicap for him to compete with the younger generation of fighters.

After losing to Franklin, Shamrock returned to PRIDE where he lost to Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba. He would then return to the UFC and lose two more times to Tito Ortiz.

While the end of Shamrock's career seems uncertain, it isn't certainly not as glorified as it should be, given his contributions to the sport as a champion and a political advocate.

Shamrock brought fighters to the helm of the movement to legalize MMA and, though the movement would be solidified later by UFC President Dana White, Shamrock made it possible by not allowing politicians to label the fighters as heathens.

Shamrock is one of 4 UFC Hall-of-Famers, along with Royce Gracie, Dan Severn and current UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture.

While Shamrock's fighting career may prove his mortality, his contributions to the sport as a figurehead and an icon are indisputable.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

On 7/7/07, the day of UFC 73: Stacked, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will be welcoming a PRIDE legend into their heavyweight division. His name is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Nogueira is one of the most dangerous heavyweights in the world and most rankings have him listed in the top 3 heavyweights.

Nogueira is a legend in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts for a handful of reasons. His world class boxing skills and his legendary Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu abilities are among them, but what sets him apart is something even more incredible.

Nogueira, affectionately known as Big Nog to man MMA fans, started his professional MMA career in June of 1999, submitting his way to prestige and gaining entrance to the RINGS organization, which also birthed many other stars that would later become famous in the PRIDE organization.

Nogueira's first loss came at the hands of Dan "Hollywood" Henderson, who would later go on to become the first fighter in history to hold belts in two different weight classes at the same time. Henderson is the only fighter to do so and currently holds the PRIDE 205 and 185 pound titles. While Nogueira did lose on the judges scorecards, the fight was close and he beat the Olympic silver medalist on one scorecard.

Nogueira then went 13-0-1, finishing 10 of his opponents with the Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu he quickly became known for. Among the opponents he beat were former UFC Heavyweight Champion Mark Coleman (submission), Gary Goodridge (submission), Heath Herring (Unanimous Decision), Bob Sapp (submission), Semmy Schilt (submission) and a cleansing of his only loss by beating Dan Henderson (submission).

After the displays of his groundgame, Nogueira was considered one of the most dangerous fighters in the world, but his next fight would be a challenge that many would never forget.

Nogueira stepped in the ring with Fedor Emelianenko at the PRIDE 25: Body Blow event in 2003 and though the fight would prove to be the most grueling of Nogueira's career and establish a hold on the PRIDE heavyweight division that Emelianenko would never let go of, Nogueira showed the world what he was really about.

For 20 minutes the fight between Emelianenko and Nogueira went on, and Emelianenko's standing ground and pound attack would overwhelm Nogueira and keep him from getting any of the leverage that he needed to pull of a submission victory, Nogueira hung tough and though he took punch after punch from Emelianenko.

The future PRIDE champion was unable to finish Nogueira and though he won on the judges scorecard, Nogueira became famous for his ability to take punishment and not give up.

Nogueira has only lost to one other fighter besides Emelianenko since then, a split decision loss to Josh "The Baby-Faced Assassin" Barnett which he avenged on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2006.

While Nogueira has accumulated another loss to Fedor, he has still never been finished, a feat that is very impressive, given the level of competition he has fought.

Nogueira is ranked by many the #3 heavyweight in the world and will be making his UFC debut on the UFC 73: Stacked card against Heath Herring for the third time. It promises to be a new chapter for the UFC heavyweight and gives the UFC two of the sports top 3 heavyweights under contract.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Controversy At The Ultimate Fighter Finale

The Ultimate Fighting Championship created one of the most lucrative recruiting layouts ever by creating The Ultimate Fighter, a reality show run on cable TV featuring a tournament layout that offers a large final prize. With the exception of 1 season, that contract has entailed a six figure contract with the UFC and other prizes that can take a fighter's career to the next level.

Yesterday night, June 23, the UFC held the finale for the fifth season of the Ultimate Fighter, a season that, unlike previous seasons, had all of the fighters competing in the same weight class. The UFC took the opportunity to feature their new, blooming 155 pound lightweight class, making the show an opportunity to showcase two of the greatest fighters in history at 155 pounds as the coaches.

BJ Penn and Jens Pulver coached the series and became the first coaches from a TUF season ever to fight each other on the finale. Penn was victorious in their fight, winning by submission due to a rear naked choke in the second round and Nate Diaz won the tournament after accidentally dislocating opponent Manny Gamburyan's shoulder while stuffing a takedown, however, that's not what I'm writing about.

Something happened on The Ultimate Fighter finale that I have never seen before. I've been a fan of the sport for a while, and so it's always exciting when I see something new. However, last night I was a little bit appauled and, frankly, a little bit pissed off.

The fight I'm talking about was between two fighters from the show who fought on Team Penn, Robert Emerson and Gray Maynard.

I'm not going to lie, I thought Maynard was a heavy favorite in this fight, and he clearly dominated the early going of the fight, in my opinion. He controlled position and he controlled the pace of the fight. He took Emerson down when he wanted to and didn't get beaten standing up, where many, myself included, figured Emerson would be better off.

The first round was exciting and, technically, fun to watch, but the trouble started in the second round.

Maynard went in to take Emerson down and scooped out both of Emerson's legs into a double leg takedown, the standard wrestling attack in mixed-martial arts. He proceeded to lift Emerson above his hands and, as strong fighters (especially wresters) often do, he slammed Emerson down to the mat.

Emerson suffered a rib injury and he grimaced in pain and tapped out.

At first, I jumped off of my couch. I had never seen a fighter tap out after being slammed. It was also one of the most impressive slams I had ever seen from a 155 pound fighter.

I watched Maynard roll back onto the canvas, his arms outstretched, staring at the roof of the Pearl and the Palms.

I thought all was well and good, until Joe Rogan, one of the color commentators for the UFC began to talk about Maynard being KO'd by the slam.

Referee Steve Mazzagatti concluded that the fight was a No Contest, that Maynard was unable to continue the fight after the slam and, as a result, Emerson could not have lost the fight.

Now, I want to get this clear, I like Joe Rogan. He's a good commentator and he does a good job at giving MMA fans insight into the sport from a fighter's perspective. I hope he has a good long career as an MMA commentator, but he slipped up.

I also like Steve Mazzagatti, he is one of two of the referees who slips up very rarely (the other being the legend and UFC icon, referee Big John McCarthy). He also slipped up.

Maynard did suffer a flash knock out after slamming Emerson to the mat, that is not a doubt in my mind. I saw his head hit the canvas and one of the angles that was presented. I also so his leg's stiffen up in the moments before Emerson tapping, perhaps even up through the tap.

Where I disagree with the call is in the moments after. When Maynard rolls off of Emerson his eyes are staring up, not back into his head as Rogan said they were, which indicates consciousness. He also stood up and went back to his corner after being pulled up by his corner men.

Maynard looked winded heading back to his corner, but not dazed. He wasn't slurring words during the post-fight interview and he was actively celebrating with his corner before the official decision was announced. Maynard was conscious.

I understand that Mazzagatti believes that neither fighter was able to continue, but I disagree with that judgment call. Maynard recovered quickly from his flash KO, and there have been fighters throughout the history of the sport that have recovered from flash KO's and gone on to win fights using their groundgame once knocked down by the strike that put them out for a second.

Case and point: Pete Sell v Scott Smith at the last TUF finale. Pete Sell landed a body shot to Smith that sent Smith the canvas, but as Sell moved in, Smith landed a big right hand that put Sell to sleep. Neither fighter would have been able to continue, but because of the difference in condition between Sell and Smith, with Sell being unconscious and Smith simply being injured beyond being able to resonably continue.

Why did Scott Smith bring how the win while Gray Maynard was left with a No Contest?

It's a rhetorical question. I don't want it so sound like I'm questioning the Smith v Sell understanding. That was a great fight and I feel that the right call was to give the W to the fighter who did the most damage. That was Scott Smith.

However, I feel like a flash KO is not grounds to stop a fight. A fighter has to show that he cannot defend himself.

Maynard didn't display an inability to defend himself. After all, Emerson wasn't attacking him. Emerson was giving up.

Emerson's condition was worse that Maynards simply because he couldn't recover from it in the moments following sustaining it, the way that Maynard got up from the canvas and hugged his corner men. Emerson sustained more damage, Maynard suffered a smack in the face and, though he went to sleep for a second, he could have finished the fight after regaining composure had Emerson not tapped out right then.

That's just how I see it.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Fedor Emelianenko

So, I had an idea today that will, hopefully, lead to a recurring segment in the blog. I'm going to be running profiles of great fighters, both known and unknown and look at their up-coming events and where they stand in their weight classes.

It seems only fair, if I'm going to run a profile on great fighters, that I start with the best there is.



Fedor Emelianenko stands an unimposing six feet tall and looks, to use the words of PRIDE commentator Jay Glazer, "like a slimmed down version of the Pillsbury Doh-boy." While Fedor and his pot-belly weigh in at around 235 pounds, his unimposing, some might say "doughy", physique still seem intimidating, and it isn't obvious. When he competes, his face is expressionless and his undefined jaw and receeding hairline don't offer looks like Brad Pitt. Some would tell you, however, that this uncharismatic Russian heavyweight fights at a level that only haunts most fighters nightmares, because they all know that they can never be that good.

Fedor is widely considered the #1 heavyweight in the world by hardcore MMA fans. He has wins over top heavyweights like former K-1 kickboxers Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic (Unanimous Decision) and Mark Hunt (Submission - Kimura), as well as ground wizards like Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu fighter Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and NCAA wrestling legend Kevin "The Monster" Randleman.

While Fedor was a relative unknown when he made his debut in PRIDE fighting championships, many of the scouts thought that the up-and-comer from the Russian RINGS organization would be an interesting fighter to watch, because of his well known Sambo skills.

Fedor made his debut in the PRIDE Fighting Championships against the giant Semmy Schilt and, though Fedor had wins over well known fighters like lightheavyweights Renato "Babalu" Sobral (Unanimous Decision) and Ricardo Arona (Unanimous decision), no one expected him to manhandle the 6'11 Dutch Kickboxing champion the way that he did.

Fedor defeated Schilt with a decision and, while he kept the fight on the ground the way he intended to, he had not yet shown off the brutal standing punches that he would use to dominate grounded opponents.

In Fedor's second fight he was set up against a very dangerous opponent, the "Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring. At the time, Herring was one of the most well respected of the PRIDE veterans, who had become only the second man to smash NCAA champion and MMA legend Mark "The Smashing Machine" Kerr and had managed to take the submission wizard Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira all the way to a decision.

Many fans of the sport from out side of Russia still did not know who Fedor was. All they knew was that he had beaten Schilt in his debut. No one thought that his ground skills would be on par with Nogueira, and so they weren't sure that Herring was over matched.

Fedor destroyed Herring and the doctors called a stop to the fight after Fedor delivered a cut that left the Texan unable to continue. Despite initial thoughts about whether or not this twenty something Russian showing signs of early onset balding would be able to hang with a veteran like Herring were removed when Fedor threw Herring to the ground like a rag doll throughout the first round and began to apply the ground and pound tactics for which he would become famous.

Fedor's next matchup was against the legendary Nogueira, widely considered PRIDE's most dangerous ground fighter. Nogueira's only loss was over a controversial split decision and, though Fedor and Nogueira had both fought in RINGS, Nogueira was considered more experience, because he also held wins of Schilt and Herring, but he had also beaten Dan Henderson (the fighter who had given him his only loss) and American fighters Mark Coleman and Gary Goodridge.

Going into the fight, many wondered if Fedor could do what the former NCAA champion Coleman could not, and ground and pound Nogueira without being submitted.

Fedor shocked the world, dominating Nogueira for 20 minutes and taking over the position as the most dangerous man on the ground.

Fedor returned to RINGS for one fight, which he won by submission and then went on a tear:

Smashed hard skulled Kazuyuki Fujita (Submission - Rear Nake Choke)



TKO'd Gary Goodridge and Yuji Nagata

Submitted NCAA champions, former UFC Heavyweight Champions and training partners Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman in back-to-back armlocks.

Submitted Naoya Ogawa

Beat Nogueira decisively again

TKO'd the only man to beat him, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (Kohsaka won a loss over a cut not obtained by a legal strike, and so the win was controversial and widely disputed anyway)

Defeated the #1 striker in MMA Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic, avoiding the majority of CroCop's powerful striking and, impressively, hanging with the Croatian on his feet.

And then Fedor did something that no one had ever seen before. He knocked down a 400 pound fighter with one punch, beating "Zuluzinho" Wagner De Conceicao Martins in 26 seconds.

After his victory over Zuluzinho, Fedor was forced to have reconstructive on his hand and spent 10 months in recovery, until August of 2006.

In his return to PRIDE he defended his title against Mark Coleman, defeating the original UFC heavyweight champion by submission with an armbar in the second round. Fedor admitted that he let the fight last so that he could shake off the ringrust.

Fedor then defended his title again, two months later on New Year's Eve, defeating kickboxing legend Mark Hunt with a kimura armlock.

After defeating Hunt, Fedor submitted the worlds #1 middleweight, Matt "The Law" Lindland in the first round of their fight in Bodog, a fight that drew controversy because Fedor was under contract with PRIDE. Fedor's PRIDE contract allowed him to fight on any card in Russia, but it is a clause that has been attacked by UFC President Dana White.

It has been rumored that Fedor may follow in suit of fellow PRIDE veteran's Mirko Filipovic and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and fight in the UFC, who recently bought out the PRIDE Fighting Championships. There are rumors of negotiations between the two and there have been announces of verbal agreements, but nothing with extraordinary merit.

When Fedor does come to the UFC, bringing his PRIDE heavyweight title and the most impressive record in the sport, he will, undoubtably, be the heavy favorite in every one of his bouts, as he has been for some time.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Boxing v MMA

This is a regular debate and I thought that I might throw my two cents on here, because I'm pretty opinionated when it comes to this issue.

I honestly believe that boxers don't have the same level of skill as MMA fighters. The point is arbitrary and arguable, but that's generally my first point in connecting the two sport, and here's my logic.

1) There are hundreds of ways to finish an MMA fight. There are hundreds of different submissions and dozens of different strikes that a fighter can use to finish a fight. Boxers can punch each other in the face.

2) MMA fighters need to regulate distance, control clinches and, generally, have more spatial knowledge than boxers. In boxing, the refs control the distance by separating the fighters. In MMA, you better know how to seperate your self if that's not somewhere you want to be.

3) In MMA, a fighter has to be aware of the 3 dimensions of the sport (standup, takedowns and groundgame), but even the standing element is much more difficult to understand because you have to worry about the distance, like I said, you have to be able to endure kicks to the legs and body, you have to be aware of knees and elbows that can dish out nasty cuts and you have to be aware of your opponent setting up the takedown. In boxing, you have to not get punched in the face.

That's my logic. Anyway, comparing the two sports is like comparing apples and oranges, really. I like apples, you may like oranges. Both have their time and place.

I do think the one point worth making is that boxing is not what it once was. They used to be able to call boxers "fighters." Some people make the mistake of thinking that they are synonomous. They aren't.

The fact is, boxing is motivated by money and statistics. MMA doesn't have so much money in it yet that it can be motivated by anything other than the love of the sport.

When it's about the love of the sport, it becomes much more about trying to win, while boxers spend all of their time trying not to lose. That's why boxing bores me. Yes, I watched Mayweather v De La Hoya. It made me need Rampage v Liddell that much more.

In MMA, the biggest insult that you can give a fighter about his style is to say that he fights to not lose. It was said about former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver for years, and people made a big deal out of it. At least he could be credited with fighting smart and, still, finishing fights when he had the opportunity.

Boxers simply pad their statistics by taking fights to decision. In MMA, if you take the fight to a decision when you could have fought harder and finished, you are oblidged to apologize to the fans, and you will probably not get a title shot. Ask Andrei Arlovski.

In boxing, fighters get excited about winning a unanimous decision. That's a big deal in the upper echelons of boxing. In MMA, if a champion wins with a decision, his dominance is disputable. If you don't finish, it's hard to say that you deserve to hold that belt. The only reason I don't hesitate to recognize Randy is because he is so much better as a champion than Sylvia was, and at least he tried to lay it one the line.

The point is, boxing is dying because the men who were once fighters stopped being fighters. When boxers started competing in boxing, when they started making it about money, it became just another sport, as far as I'm concerned. I want to watch a competition for the love of the game, for pride, for self respect and for honor, I don't want to watch a fight over the winners purse.

In a fight, a great fight, there has to be more on the line than money. That's why the UFC gets geared up for grudge matches, for the chance for a fighter to avenge a loss and for the chance for a fighter to take a belt, the ultimate symbol of dominance in his weight class. The sport doesn't need money to fuel those fights, they play out incredibly on their own.

Honestly, I have alot of issues with the way this is argued by big commentators because I don't see it as a matter of ratings and ticket value and what celebrity shows up at the fight. I see this who issue as a matter of what sport has the better fighters, the better fights and the better standards set for both of those.

I honestly believe that boxing was the greatest sport in the world for a long. When Jack Dempsey was fighting, when Muhammad Ali was fighting, it wasn't about the money. That might have given them the opportunity to fight full-time, but it as about the respect, it was about the glory of the whole thing. It was a sport that was symbolic of a greater struggle, a physical struggle between two men where there is no interference by the outside world.

Boxers stopped making it about those core martial principles and we have seen the sport slowly deteriorate as a product of that. Now, if you want the pride of being a great fighter, you fight in MMA. MMA offers that opportunity, it offers that chance for fighters to be heroes, representatives of greater cause, while boxers remain, simply, the representatives of the greater paycheck.

That's just my two cents.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

For The UFC Fan

I know that in America, even fans of the sport aren't aware of other organizations in other parts of the world, so I can use names like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, and everyone knows who I'm talking about, but as soon as I start talking about PRIDE fighters like Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Josh Barnett, people get lost. That's fine. I understand that the UFC has such a monopoly on the American MMA market that it's hard to find anything else and, though WEC and a handful of other smaller organizations are coming into their own, the UFC is still the only one people pay attention to.

This article is dedicated entire to the UFC fan who wants to learn about the guys who will be coming over soon.

The first guy that will be making his debut at UFC 73 is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, known probably best as Big Nog or Minotauro. I'll just call him Big Nog.

Big Nog will be making his UFC debut on the Stacked card against Heath "The Texas Crazy Horse" Herring. While Herring is probably not the biggest name fighter in the world, and many UFC fans were not impressed with his debut loss against Jake O'Brien (mostly because it wasn't an impressive fight) it's partially because Herring isn't the fighter that he once was, but Herring is a good opponent and will make every fight as challenging as he can.

I don't want to make this sound like a close matchup, because it isn't. Big Nog is widely considered the #3 heavyweight in the world, behind PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic. Yes, Nog is ranked ahead of UFC Champion Randy Couture and #1 contender Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga.

Here is a brief overview of Big Nog:

- Blackbelt in Brazillian Jiu-jitsu
- Considered to have one of the three most dangerous ground games in the sport (contending with Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett)
- Teaches Brazillian Jiu-jitsu to UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva
- A member of the Brazillian national boxing team
- Has never been stopped in his career
- Only top five heavyweight with a Brazillian Jiu-jitsu blackbelt

What's probably the most important part of Big Nog's career is how hard he is to finish. Over the course of his career, despite having fought numerous top ten opponents, Big Nog has never been finished.

The second fighter who will be making his debut is the only fighter in the world to holding multiple belts.

Dan Henderson is going to make his UFC debut in a fight that will unify the 205 pound titles for PRIDE and the UFC. Dan Henderson currently holds the 185 pound and 205 pound titles in PRIDE. He won the welterweight grand prix to gain his 185 pound title and defeated long standing champion and seemingly invincible Brazillian kickboxer Wanderlei Silva to take the 205 pound belt.

The big deal with Henderson is that he will be fighting Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in Jackson's first title defense. Rampage fought in the 205 pound division in the PRIDE fighting championships for many years and, though he was a top fighter, he never dominated the division.

While UFC fans will consider Rampage, who is coming off of his victory over Chuck Liddell, where he smashed the many-time defending UFC champion in the first round, the heavy favorite. In my opinion, though, you have to consider that Henderson is on the top a mountain Jackson never managed to climb, so I think that Henderson (the smaller fighter) has a big advantage going into this fight.

The third fighter is probably the biggest one and the most important one for long time UFC fans to watch.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is, far and away, the most dangerous fighter in the lightheavyweight division. People don't believe me when I talk about his credentials, but he's for real.

Shogun has one legitimate loss in his career, to the opponent he is expected to make his debut against Renato "Babalu" Sobral. He also has a loss against Mark Coleman after recieving a broken arm while trying to stuff one of the former UFC champion's takedown attempts.

Since Shogun's loss to Babalu he has improved more over a short period of time than any fighter I have ever seen. He has beaten everyone worth beating in the PRIDE 205 pound division except for Henderson and his training partner, former 205 pound champion Wanderlei Silva. During the course of his rise through the ranks of the 205 pound division Shogun has beaten current UFC lightheavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and, most recently, former UFC heavyweight champion and collegiate wrestling legend Kevin "The Monster" Randleman (who, in addition to being one of the strongest fighters, pound for pound, in the sport, was also beefed up by steroids at the time). He defeated both of them in the first round.

Also among fighters Shogun has beaten with his brutal striking are Brazillian Jiu-jitsu wizard Ricardo Arona and Dutch kickboxer Alistair Overeem.

While Shogun does not hold a belt, he is widely considered the #1 ranked fighter in the world at 205 pounds. His UFC debut is, clearly, a match-up, he is favored to win and if he defeats Sobral using the devastating striking his is known for the world over, expect him to be fighting for the unified 205 pound world championship relatively soon.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Results From Belfast, Northern Ireland

Today UFC 72 in Belfast, Northern Ireland was held and there was, as always, some controversy, some winners and some losers. For some, it was a night that would bring them into the spotlight, for others, it was a night to forget, or a night to whine about. Here's the fight by fight:

Dustin Hazlett v Stephen Lynch

The hometown boy Lynch suffered a tough defeat at the hands of Hazlett, who won by submission do to a choke from the half-guard at 2:50 in the first round.

Colin Robinson v Eddie Sanchez

This fight was a little bit more difficult for Sanchez than I expected it to be, but he did perform and finish as I expected him to.

Robinson managed to take the fight to the ground without being hit by Sanchez's heavy right hand. He got into the mount position, where Sanchez was finished in his last fight against the legendary Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic. Robinson, however, was unable to finish Sanchez and, though he locked what looked like a very deep and painful armbar, Sanchez escaped and mounted Robinson until the end of the first round.

The second round fell into place for Sanchez, and he put Robinson to sleep with a big right hand in 32 seconds to win the fight.

Marcus Davis v Jason Tan

I will admit, that I thought Davis was a little overrated. I did not think that his wins over decent fighters like Shonie Carter would hold up that much longer, but he pulled off an impressive victory over Jason Tan, knocking him out in 75 seconds. The referee quickly pulled Davis off of a stunned Tan.

Ed Herman v Scott Smith

Ed Herman won in style, dominating Smith from the start of the first round, when he took the fight immediately to the ground. While he did not finish Smith in the first round, he dominated positions throughout the round and won the round decisively.

The points that the judges marked down would never be used, as Herman finished Smith with a rear naked choke at 2:25 in the second round.

Tyson Griffin v Clay Guida

Perhaps I underestimated Clay Guida, perhaps I overestimated Tyson Griffin and his ability to rebound from his first career loss. Either way, my prediction of the fight was completely wrong.

Griffin and Guida went back and forth for three rounds. Griffin won the first round but I thought that Guida had the last two rounds won, finishing both in a good position and doing alot of damage to Griffin on the ground.

The judges did, however, hand Griffin a split decision. Still, I expected more from his return after the loss to Frankie Edgar.

Jason MacDonald v Rory Singer

It almost seems like I should start calling Jason MacDonald "the Ultimate Fighter Killer" since he is now 3-0 against veterans of the reality show.

I predicted that MacDonald would use his creative submissions and solid ground control to finish Rory Singer. I was partially right.

MacDonald took superior position on the ground in Round 2, mounting Singer and demolishing him from the mount. The referee stopped the fight at 3:18. Singer was upset by the stoppage, but the rule is in place to protect the fight and if a fighter appears unable to defend himself, if he is not working actively to get into a better position or to finish the fight, the referee's job is to protect that fighter and stop the fight. Yves Lavigne did just that.

I, personally, thought that the ground-and-pound finish looked eerily like the way Franklin destroyed MacDonald when they fought.

Forrest Griffin v Hector Ramirez

I will say that Ramirez performed better than I expected him to. He didn't just roll over and play dead.

While Griffin dominated the seemingly uncomfortable Ramirez, Ramirez landed some solid punches and cut Griffin in the first round.

However, one of Griffin's most redeeming qualities as a fighter is that he never gets demoralized. It seems like every time Forrest Griffin gets hit, he gets angrier. That was true for Ramirez, and as soon as the blood started to flow, Griffin went to work.

I've always thought of Griffin as a moderately technical fighter, but his technique standing up was very good against Ramirez. He used the whole arsenal of attacks, counter-punches, jabs, knees in the clinch and leg kicks. Really, he threw everything but the kitchen sink at Ramirez and won a well deserved unanimous decision.

Rich Franklin v Yushin Okami

There seems to be a trend tonight of expecting dominance. I expected Rich to come out and blast Okami with his standup, to outbox Okami on all levels, but Okami held up very well and took punishment very well.

I, personally, thought that Franklin came conditioned as well as he has in any fight, that the biggest difference was that Okami performed on a level that was much higher than my expectation.

Okami was outwrestled for most of the fight, and so Rich kept the fight standing for the first two rounds and controlled the standup very effectively.

In the third round Okami took the fight to the ground and got some impressive submission attempts, but Rich won the fight with a decision earned by winning the first two rounds.

It is looking, more and more, like Rich is back on track towards a title shot at the winner of Anderson Silva (champion) v Nate Marquardt (challenger) at UFC 73.

Friday, June 15, 2007

A Look At the Weight Classes

When I talk about the weight classes in MMA people get really confused, because there are alot of them and it's very easy for people to confuse fighters across the weight classes, as well as confuse alot of rankings in the weightclass. As the UFC has, for the most part, a monopoly on the sport, I'll just outline the UFC weight classes really fast.

Heavyweight: 206-265
Lightheavyweight: 186-206
Middleweight: 171-185
Welterweight: 156-170
Lightweight: 140-155

There is also a superheavyweight weightclass in other organizations for fighters +265 and the superlightweight, bantamweight and flyweight classes for the guys -140.

There is also alot of confusion about who fights in what weight class. So let me just outline my personal look at the world's top ten ranked fighters in each weight class.

Heavyweight

1) Fedor Emelianenko
2) Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic
3) Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira
4) Josh "The Baby-Faced Assassin" Barnett



5) Randy "The Natural" Couture
6) Gabriel "Napau" Gonzaga
7) Mark Hunt
8) Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski
9) Fabricio Werdum
10) Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia

Lightheavyweight

1) Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
2) Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
3) Dan "Hollywood" Henderson
4) Wanderlei "The Axe-Murderer" Silva
5) Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell



6) Rameau Thierry "The African Assassin" Sokoudjou
7) Ricardo Arona
8) Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira
9) Alistair "The Demolition Man" Overeem
10) Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz

Middleweight

1) Matt "The Law" Lindland
2) Dan "Hollywood" Henderson
3) Paulo Filho
4) Denis Kang
5) Anderson "The Spider" Silva



6) Rich "Ace" Franklin
7) Nate "The Great" Marquardt
8) Robbie Lawler
9) Yushin Okami
10) Kazuo Misaki

Welterweight

1) Shinya Aoki
2) Matt "The Terra" Serra
3) Matt Hughes



4) Georges "Rush" St. Pierre
5) John Fitch
6) Josh Koscheck
7) Hayato Sakurai
8) Karo Parysian
9) Diego Sanchez
10) Josh "The People's Warrior" Burkman

Lightweight

1) Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi
2) Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen
3) B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn
4) Gilbert Melendez
5) Tatsuya Kawajiri
6) Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto
7) Genki "Neo-Samurai" Sudo
8) Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk
9) Hermes Franca
10) Frank "The Truth" Edgar

There is alot of dispute over rankings, these are just my opinions about the ladder right now and the guys that are at the top of it.

UFC 72: Victory

UFC 72: Victory in Belfast, Northern Ireland is tonight, so I thought I'd give a little backround on the fighters, as well as my picks for the event. I'm not going to go through all of the undercards, just the matchups that I think are worth watching and will have an impact on the UFC in the coming months.

Eddie Sanchez v Colin Robinson

It's a hard matchup for anybody to come in and face a UFC veteran, but Eddie Sanchez is one of the hardest matchups a guy can have for his debut.

Eddie Sanchez has only had two fights in the UFC and has a record of 1-1. He won his debut over Mario Neto with a KO in the seconds round. He intimidated Neto the first round and even though Sanchez was the underdog in the fight (he took the fight on short notice as well), his heavy hands and superior striking seemed to worry Neto. Obviously, there was something the worry about.

Eddie Sanchez's seconds fight was against the worlds #2 heavyweight and marquee striker Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic. To come into a fight with CroCop with fewer than 10 fights under your belt is a huge disadvantage and so, even though Sanchez was destroyed in the first round, it wasn't a bad guy for him to lose to. After all, if you are going to lose, it might as well be to the best.

I am seeing Eddie's typical brand of stalking striking until he swings hard and puts Robinson to sleep.

My pick: Eddie Sanchez by KO in Round 2.

Rory Singer v Jason MacDonald

Rory Singer is a veteran of the Ultimate Fighter television show, but, honestly, I don't think the title fits him. Rory lost to Ed Herman in the second round of the 3rd TUF seasons Middleweight tournament and, for some reason, the UFC decided to bring him back and give him a contract.

Jason MacDonald has recently made a career out of beating up TUF veterans. MacDonald came to the UFC and in impressive back to back victories he submitted Ed Herman (who, as I said, beat Rory on Season 3) and Chris Leben (also a TUF veteran) to work his way into title contention. Though MacDonald's loss to Rich Franklin set him back, he is in position to beat another TUF vet and get back into the mix.

Because Rory lost to Ed Herman via submission (an area of the game where we already know MacDonald is much better than either of them) I have a hard time believing that Singer is going to be able to keep this fight off of the ground.

My pick: Jason MacDonald via Submission in Round 2

Tyson Griffin v Clay Guida

Tyson Griffin holds a UFC record of 1-1, with an impressive win over British fighter David Lee in the first round by submission and a tough loss to Frankie Edgar. Griffin recently suffered his first career loss at the hands of Edgar, so it is impossible to know how he will bounce back. However, I think that his return to the octagon will be an exciting one and the small, thick wrestling style will be very hard for alot of his opponents to handle.

His opponents is Clay Guida an accomplished submission fighter with a good record in the octagon. Guida is a very strong 155 pounds, almost as strong as Griffin, so it will be interesting to see how well he holds off Griffin's strong fast brand of wrestling or if he chooses to work from the guard.

This fight rests heavily on Griffin, because it all really depends if he comes back angry and hungry for a win or if he is still reliving the loss to Edgar. My hope is that Griffin will bounce back and bring an impressive showing to put himself back in Lightweight title contention.

My Pick: Griffin by TKO in the First Round.

Forrest Griffin v Hector Ramirez

Forrest Griffin is a fun fighter to watch. He is the winner of the first TUF show and, though he lost recently to Keith Jardine, he is ready to be back in the octagon. He likes to mix it up and he has a decent ground game. However, expect him to try to keep the fight standing and don't be surprised if he eats alot of punches. Forrest Griffin just doesn't care.

Hector Ramirez is a very tough opponent with a good all around game and heavy hands but, in my opinion, he is just the UFC's way of getting Griffin back on his feet after the dissappointing loss to Jardine.

My Pick: Forrest Griffin by KO or TKO in Round 1.

Rich Franklin v Yushin Okami

Rich Franklin, former UFC middleweight champion, is one of the greatest fighters in the world at 185 pounds. He's strong, he's smart and he's not afraid of taking some hits. Make no mistake, Franklin is huge at 185, and even though he had a tough loss to current Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva a little while ago, he bounced back with a big TKO victory of Jason MacDonald, a rare competitor who is almost a match for Franklin's height and build.

Yushin Okami has won alot, but he hasn't really beaten anyone impressive. He has put himself in title contention by dominating undercards and the lower half of the main card. It is a hard transition to the competition that you get in the main event, especially against someone who has held that Middleweight belt and knows what it takes to get there. Any time that Okami steps in the cage he rolls over his opponent, but Franklin isn't the kind of opponent that Okami can easily take down and maintain a top position over.

I see Okami having a very hard time with Rich's wrestling and being overwhelmed by Rich's very impressive boxing skills.

My Pick: Rich Franklin by KO in round 2.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

MMA on The Daily Show

Sorry, I meant to put this up monday night, but my internet crashed.

I was watching the Daily Show and John Stewart ran a segment on MMA. Thank god he didn't call it Ultimate Fighting.

Anyway, I've been a fan of the Daily Show for a while, after all, there's really nothing else on when I'm trying to go to sleep at 11.

The show is, generally, a satyr, but he asked some questions that I thought were pretty interesting.

His first question was "Why an octagon?" Obviously, I'm paraphrasing a little bit, but that's what he meant.

There are alot of reasons, but in order to keep this post short, I'll just focus on the main one.

When people think about something, they want it to be something that they can recognize, something that they can remember and easily associate with the sport, but still differentiate it from other organizations. This is one reason why Royler Gracie and the other original founders of the UFC chose to avoid using the traditional boxing ring that organizations like K-1, Pancrase and PRIDE did.

They refrained from it being a square, because then it would have just been "The Cage." Frankly, square cages are already heavily associated with professional wrestling. That was definitely an association that the UFC wanted to avoid, because they wanted to emphasize that their organization was not staged.

They wanted the cage to have an even number of sides and corners so that, like a professional boxing ring, the corners would be directly across from each other and you would not have a weird effect where the fighters would not be looking at each other between rounds (or before the fight).

So what has more sides than a square, an even number of them and is a recognizable shape. An Octagon.

Let's face it, it's pretty easy to rule out a decagon or a sextagon.

John Stewart's second question was a little bit more important, in my opinion, because it involves the actual purpose of the sport.

"Boxing, wrestling and karate all have rules, and a tradition. When you mix them all together, don't you lose that?"

Obviously, I'm paraphrasing again, but the point is there.

Anyone who takes this stance doesn't have a grasp on the martial arts, that's not a potshot at Stewart (I think he's hysterical), but it overlooks the purpose of martial arts in general.

Martial arts, as styles, were designed for a single purpose: self-defense. When you overlook that, and many styles have in light of their own forms of competition, it loses its purpose and its abilities.

The purpose of the original UFC was to see what style was the best. The Gracies made a point by funding it and winning it, but they also made a point about sports like Karate and wrestling and boxing. While they might be great sports, these guys aren't fighters.

Mixed-martial arts was originally founded to return to the purpose for which the styles were intended, as a simulation of real combat. Combat might be different on the street, but the point of MMA as a sport is to try to recreate a combat situation to see who the better fighter is, not who the better athlete is.

MMA is the greatest sport in the world, as far as I'm concerned, because it's not about box-scores or records or any of that beaurocratic crap that is ruining boxing and is trying to kill collegiate wrestling. The point of MMA is to be the better fighter. Period.

Any martial artist who says that MMA is an abomination is not a martial artist, because he is denying that he studies martial arts for self-defense and the discipline that such a commitment entails.

Maybe MMA doesn't have the tradition and the belts and the stringent regulation and honor system that martial arts have, but the fact is, without MMA, martial arts have no way to excersise their purpose in competition. All they have is a way of pretending that they are capable of real combat, and that's not what the martial arts are about.

Monday, June 11, 2007

For Those Who Don't Know About MMA

Mixed martial arts is the ultimate combat sport, with martial artists and athletes from all corners of the world and with styles that ranging from Muay Thai kickboxing to Brazillian Jiu-jitsu to wrestling.

Since the nineties mixed martial arts has spread like wildfire, with organizations developing in the United States (most notably the UFC), Canada (TKO, among others), Russia (RINGS), East Asia (PRIDE) as well as competitions across the world established to showcase different parts of the mixed martial arts fighters' styles, like K-1 Kickboxing and the Abu Dhabi Combat Club.

Over the last something-teen years the sport has made a place for NCAA wrestling champions like former UFC champion and collegiate wrestling legend Kevin Randleman and current UFC heavyweight champ Randy "The Natural" Couture and Olympic gold medalists like Hidehiko Yoshida (Judo) and Rulon Gardner (wrestling), as well as giving the world an opportunity to figure out who the greatest martial artist in the world really is.

The leader in the sport, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is regularly the highest grossing pay per view show in the nation with their semi-monthly events and extremely successful cable television show The Ultimate fighter. If you haven't seen or heard about the UFC, I don't know what to tell you, only that you must not Sports Illustrated at the rock that you live under, because the UFC was on the cover of a recent issue.

At this particular moment, for those new to the sport, the man who holds that title is Fedor Emelianenko, probably best known just by his first name. Other elite heavyweight fighters include Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, "The Baby-Faced Assassin" Josh Barnett, Randy Couture (or as I like to call him, Rocky 2.0), Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski and Gabriel Gonzaga.

I'm not surprised if you haven't heard of Fedor, because he lacks the backing from the marketing machine that is the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but the UFC has made stars out of many fighters from it's lightheavyweight division including Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, who have appeared on a handful of prime-time television shows.

The overall success of the sport is why I'm here, as well as to keep everybody informed about what is going on in the sport today.

The First Post

One of my friends and I were talking about the sport and I told him about my work at mmaforum.com and suggested that I should start my own blog. I don't do much blogging, but I figured, what the hell, its always good to throw my ideas out. If you're interested in learning more about the sport, check out mmaforum.com, my sn is IronMan.