Interview with Marcelo Garcia!

I just got an email back from someone who works for Marcelo about an email I sent them a while ago. Marcelo will let me do an interview over the phone, so now I'm fishing for additional questions.

If anybody has questions that they want me to ask, either post a comment or shoot me an email: josh@mmaopinion.com.

UFC 91 Conference Call

Alright, so the recap of the UFC 91 conference call is posted on FightTicker. I suggest everybody go check it out.

The content is for Pramit, so I'm just referring people back to the site to check it out and post comments.

MMAOpinion Podcast: Pre-UFC 91 and WEC 36

Alright, so I have a lot going on this week. I put out an issue of the podcast (or subscribe on iTunes).

Check out the article coming out in the upcoming issue of Fighters Only for my piece on the future of jiu-jitsu in MMA.

MMAOpinion Podcast: UFC 89, EXC and UFC 90 Preview

Alright, the seventh episode of the podcast is up on the site, and on iTunes.

I'll be putting all of the episodes of the podcast up on the youtube channel over the next few days, so keep your eyes open.

Dana White Smashes EXC and they Died

Priceless

Footage From Helio Gracie's 95th Birthday

Courtesy of the Gracie Academy youtube channel.

Pre UFC 90 Vlog

Post UFC 89 Thoughts

UFC 90 stuff will be up soon.

Picks for UFC 89

This is the first post for the new MMAOpinion vlog. Please subscribe if you haven't already.

Anderson Silva's Retirement: The Most Important Issue of our Generation

I have posted a full piece at MMAOpinion, but the text is also below.



Anderson Silva has announced plans to retire in 2009, and the reality is that, while he may continue through six more fights (as those six fights remain on his UFC contract), there seems to be a coherent rational for his retirement. When I first heard the news, I was shocked, and almost considered calling Anderson Silva out as delusional. After all, a fighter who says “my time is over” while still ranked the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and considered to be one of the greatest athletes on the planet, must suffer from some kind of delusion.

The reality, though, is that most media outlets aren’t talking about the whole story, and the casual fan who reads the news off of sherdog may come to believe that Anderson is, as I did upon hearing the statement, absolutely insane. When one watched the full tape of the interview (which is linked in that article, though the translations are incomplete), the logic is lucid, crystal.

There are fighters who’s weaknesses are exposed, who’s games are picked apart by the architects of the sport, the great minds who find the fighter’s kryptonite, but Anderson has not found himself in this situation. A fan who has watched great warriors, #1 ranked fighters in all sports fall apart as they age, might think that this is the driving theory behind Silva’s logic. That’s not the reasoning, it would seem.

Anderson doesn’t care about money, he doesn’t care about over extending himself and collapsing, he cares, genuinely (it would seem), about the future of the sport, and his goal, in the Gospel according the Anderson, is to make room for the fighters of the future. Anderson, now 33, seems to consider the future of the warrior in his decision to leave the sport, so that he could allow other fighters to rise to dominance, and focus his time on honing the young up-and-comers.

My first thought, in all honesty, was to write a piece that would incite outrage in the MMA community, that would allow for an uprising of fans and supporters of this great warrior to speak out and tell him that we are great fans, but, as the Beatles say, it’s worth our while to let him be. The peripheral effects, beyond giving Anderson a chance to share his knowledge with the world, are significant.

We may come to believe, ten years down the line, that we have never seen a fighter like Anderson Silva since he left. This is a delusion. What Anderson is doing is perpetuating the level of evolution by creating competition in what is (and may very well remain, until 2009) his dominion. He is giving great fighters a goal that they can aspire to. That is not to say that there would not be challengers to his title if he were to remain, but the reality is that we will not recognize the challengers as legitimate, nor their chances as substantial.

If Anderson should choose to stay, that is his decision, but that’s really the point. This is not the position of the MMA community, as it may be argued. There are consequences to his staying, both positive and negative, and there are rewards to his leaving, though we loose one of the most impressive and profound talents we have seen in the brief history of this sport. Someday, though, when hindsight is twenty-twenty, we should evaluate the validity of the decision. Not today.

MMAOpinion Podcast with Antwain Britt

It's up. You can stream it on the web or download it on iTunes.

Interview with Shane Nelson

Alright, so I sat down with The Ultimate Fighter's Shane Nelson today. You guys are welcome to check out the interview at MMAOpinion or FightTicker.

Also, I spent part of this afternoon recording the next episode of the podcast with Curtis Clontz and special guest Antwain Britt. It'll be up tomorrow.

Big Day at MMA Opinion

Curtis breaks down Kimbo Slice.

I talk about GSP's signing with the biggest talent agency for athletes.

Jim Rome smashes EXC.

MMAOpinion Podcast: Episode 4

Alright, Episode 4 of the MMAOpinion Podcast is up, talking about Elite XC - Heat.

Stream it on the site or download it on iTunes.

MMAOpinion Podcast: Episode 3

Curtis and I recorded Episode Three of the podcast yesterday. Check it out on the site or subscribe on iTunes.

If you have any input, send me an email at josh@mmaopinion.com.

KID: Badass

I talk a lot on the message boards about Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto, the man who should fight Urijah Faber. For those who don't know who I'm talking about, enjoy:

MMAOpinion Podcast

So, Brandt DeLorenzo (the man in charge of MMAOpinion) and I did a podcast over the phone this weekend. It turned out really well, so I hope you guys all enjoy it.

Please check it out, download it and shoot it around the boards.

Normally, I don't like to self-promote, but I'm doing it alot with this one.

Countdown to Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans

Shinya Aoki Highlight

Enjoy.

KnowYourMMA.com

My good friend, Brandt DeLorenzo (who's also the owner of MMAOpinion), has started up a social networking site for MMA fans, writers and fighters.

The site is called KnowYourMMA.com, and it's a pretty cool layout, especially given that it's still just getting rolling.

It's worth checking out, and if you want to add me as a friend, my extension is "IronMan."

The Stupidest Article I've Ever Read

No, I’m not joking. I’ve called out a lot of idiot “journalists” on what they have to say about great fighters and the sport in general, but this guy takes the cake.

I won’t reprint all of the stupidity, because there’s a risk I may shoot myself, but this guy’s stupidity befuddles me.

So, since I’ve done this on forums, I’ll pick apart the insanity piece by piece, as sort of a Joe-Rogan-esque slowmo walk-through. I’m not Joe (or Frank Mir, for those who prefer the WEC commentary), but I’ll do what I can.

Now,hold on.. ..I personally have done a little time behind bars and i know that uttering death threats can get you 2 years in jail here in canada..but baby jay penn does it in front of millions of witnesses and gets nothing!!; and besides that (its ignorant and unsportsmanlike) conduct.

Alright, now lets set aside the fact that B.J. Penn is an American, that the comments he’s talking about were made within the United States an the fact that, in the lovely country I live in and write from, we have the first amendment, which defends B.J.’s right to talk smack. The fact is, this is smack talk.

B.J., admitedly, doesn’t have the most creative smack talk, but if you’re going to hate a fighter for using insults to psych himself up for a fight, then that’s fine. Still, to assert that there should be a criminal penalty implies that guys like Muhammad Ali should have been subject to fines for talking about how bad they were gonna whup their opponents.

Not only is it a bizarre claim, it’s ignorant of the culture of mixed martial arts, the culture of boxing, and the roots of many areas of the sport in professional wrestling promotional styles (which, realistically, trace themselves partially back to Ali).

Next up:

My first dis-like of penn came when he beat matt hughes.Penn still had 2 fights on his contract,but rather than honour his contract he takes off for japan and fights in k1 at 205 ..(made no sense to anyone but him).matt hughes avenged that fight in a rematch.And then the stage is set for him to meet Georges St.Pierre,GSP was looking to get a title shot ,and a win over bj would make that very likely.So the fight is on!! [I skipped stupid allegations about intentional eye-poking]

GSP had to go to the hospital after the fight to have his eye repaired.So then baby Jay Penn tells dana he is moving down to 155 so he can get a belt.Fast forwardto today he has the belt and he wants a rematch with georges st pierre (maybe he will poke both gsps eyes out this time).

O.K. So lets focus on this guy’s knowledge of MMA history, for which he would only have to reference Sherdog.com or “The UFC for Dummies.” Penn fought for the early part of his career at 155 and had his first title shot at that weight. Maybe that part happened while Einstein here was in prison.

Then you have the fact that the second Matt Hughes fight came after Penn fought Georges St. Pierre, though, since that portion of the article was impossible for me to translate from crazy-eeze, I’ll just ignore it.

What is really most absurd, to me, is that this guy thinks B.J. dropped down because he wanted a belt. B.J. dropped down because he wanted to fight Jens Pulver and Sean Sherk. He likes having the belt, to be sure, but those were the two guys that everybody wanted to see him fight.

Then, this guy veers off his bullet train to cuckoo town:

If Penn wants GSP so bad, have him earn it- as Silva is doing in LHW. Have Penn fight every 3-4 months (instead of the 7-10 he is now) so he can still defend his title that he wanted back so badly and have him work the ranks before getting GSP… hell, put him in the cage with Thiago Alves for #1 contender - at least that’d be something and he can say he deserved to fight GSP then.

I’m sure B.J. would love to fight Thiago, but Thiago’s not a #1 contender, and anyone who pays attention to the sport knows that bringing in a guy who has missed two weight cuts and tested positive for illegal substances over the course of his UFC career is just not something that you can do without being seen as the Don King wannabes you are.

Honestly, this article made me sick, but I’m glad it was sent to me.

If people are going to form opinions about B.J. Penn, make sure they’re based in fact and reason, not because the voices in your schizophrenic fantasy told you that all Hawaiians are evil and fat and lazy (which seems a lot more reasonable to me, because at least that voice in your head would be a source).

My Review of Matt Hughes' Book

Made in America: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History by Matt Hughes

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Before I had opened the book, I had damned it peripherally for a subtitle that is terribly dishonest. As a long time MMA fan and an analyst of the sport, I found it unfair that Matt Hughes should feel any right to claim his post as the most dominant champion in history, as his title reign was interrupted by BJ Penn in 2004, which would insinuate that Frank Shamrock and Tito Ortiz, the fighters with similar numbers of victories and no interruptions would have the right to claim that title.



That said, this is a chance for Hughes to feed his ego, and if you are a hardcore fan of the former UFC welterweight champion, as my brother is, then you will enjoy the book. If you see the world as it really is, and are honest with yourself about the sport, then you will have a much harder time choking down his immodest bullshit.


View all my reviews.

Silva vs. Irvin

TEXTAREA_ID

Preview for Affliction: BANNED

I've been looking over the UFC's July 19th card alongside the Affliction card and the thought that keeps crossing my mind is "Why are there no pictures for any of these guys?"

Obviously, that's indicative of the larger problem. The larger problem is that the UFC is making Anderson Silva's 205 pound debut on a night that should belong to the company that put together the better card, and that is, without a doubt, Affliction.

With all of the low-profile debuts on the UFC card, it's nice to look at the Affliction card and a card that has fight-for-fight quality.

So, here are my thoughts (bottom-to-top):

Edwin Dewees vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

I'm shocked that Babyface is such a huge underdog, because I think that Little Nog is aging and that his career is nearing the close. Still, I'm not surprised that people are picking Nog.

It's easy to look at this fight and see the guy with better jiu-jitsu and boxing (Nogueira) technically picking apart Dewees. I'm going to say, for the sake of picks: Nogueira by Round One Submission.

Still, if you are seeing the sometimes 5/1 odds that I am, throw down some money on Dewees. Those are way better odds than the fight actually is. The chance of another Nogueira collapse in the wake of the Sokoudjou fight and at his age, against a young, seasoned Dewees is a possibility.

Mike Pyle vs. J.J. Ambrose

This another fight where the odds are swinging hard in favor of Pyle. I think that's appropriate and think that Pyle will take this fight pretty easily. I'm going with a Round One TKO in favor of Pyle.

Vitor Belfort vs. Terry Martin

This is another fight with absurd odds. Belfort is a heavy favorite and that makes sense, since Martin's 205 pound career isn't phenomenal, but Belfort has been less than dominant lately, and it's not a stretch to call him a shadow of his former self.

That said, for the sake of picks, I'll go with the probable Vitor Belfort by Round 2 TKO, but I'm going to keep the possibility of a Belfort collapse in my periphery and remember that Martin dominated now highly touted UFC 205 pounder James Irvin for a full five minutes before taking a knee to the forehead.

If you see good odds for Martin, toss a little down. It's always a possibility, especially when a guy has Martin's power.

Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell

Arlovski is a top ten heavyweight, make no mistake. I think that Rothwell will lose this fight, the real question is how he loses it. Rothwell can make an argument for himself as a low top ten guy if he takes Andrei the distance, and if he mixes it up more than Werdum did.

Rothwell loses this fight everywhere to a more athletic, more skilled Arlovski, and while I think, for the sake of picks, that Arlovski will take it by Round 2 TKO. Still, Rothwell will work hard to take it the distance.

Justin Levens vs. Ray Lazama

This is an easy call in favor of Levens. He's more experienced and he's got alot more power. Ray Lazama is one of the few guys on this card who isn't well known, so we'll see what he's got. Still, the smart money is on Levens by TKO, Round One.

Mark Hominick vs. Savant Young

Young vs. Hominick is one of the closest fights on the cards, in terms of odds, and it's also the most exciting, at least in my mind. Hominick is a small circuit legend and a 145 pound warrior (yes, I'm aware he doesn't fight exclusively at that weight class, but that's where he should fight). He's fought alot of great guys, he's had alot of great fights, and he's up for another appearance on what will be the best card of the year.

He's fighting Savant Young, and Young is an IFL superstar, if that's not too severe of an oxymoron. Personally, I like Savant. I think he's exciting and he throws bombs and he can take a shot.

Still, I'm going with Hominick in this fight. I think that the first two rounds will be exciting, and that Hominick will finish with a TKO towards the end of Round Two.

Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao

I'm juiced for the return of Matt Lindland. This is a guy who was, for a long time, the 185 pound king, and that only ever changed because he stopped fighting at 185, and the advent of Anderson Silva. It will be interesting to see if he has that power that he used to have, after all, he took down Fedor easily and he's done that to every opponent he's faced in recent memory.

The smart money is on Lindland, and, in fact, so is all of the money. Lindland is a heavy favorite, and there's a reason for this. I don't expect him to let Negao out of the first. I'm thinking Lindland by Round One TKO.

Renato Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead

Whitehead vs. Sobral is going to be a good fight, and I think that Babalu is waiting for this fight to hit the ground. Both of these guys are solid grapplers, and it's not clear whether Whitehead will try and put Babalu on his back, still, that seems like the probably gameplan.

If Whitehead doesn't try to get on top, he's really screwed, because Babalu could end up on top and finish way easier there.

I think Babalu will, top or bottom, catch the Submission in the First.

Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Paul Buentello

Alot of people will call Buentello a washout, and that's a little bit true, but he still knows how to throw the leather. I think that these guys will make it exciting, but I expect an early knockout for Emelianenko, as Buentello's chin is not what it once was.

They may trade a few punches, there may even be some nice movement in the pocket on the part of Buentello, but Emelianenko, being the giant thug that he is, will turn this fight into a brawl. So, we'll call it Emelianenko via knock out in the first.

Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo

This is a hard fight to call. Obviously, both have been inactive of late, and Rizzo hadn't fought a top tier opponent in a long time until he showed up and fought Jeff Monson. Still, Rizzo did something that few are capable of, and he knocked Monson out.

In terms of the matchup, this is a striker/grappler war. Expect Rizzo to look for some power shots, expect him to do some damage, but Barnett will look for that Greco clinch he knows so well, and he'll look to put Rizzo on his back.

The question is whether Barnett will be able to close the distance. If he can't, and Rizzo keeps him at bay for a full round or round and a half, he may do damage enough to put Barnett to sleep with a hard shot. Still, I think Barnett will get in there and Barnett will take it by Submission late in the first.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia

Obviously, this is the fight people care about, and what's sad is that I don't have alot to say that I haven't already said, and that hasn't been repeated by every critic and analyst and fan around the internet.

I think that Fedor and Sylvia will not stay standing long. I think that Fedor's clinch is going to be hard for Sylvia to stay out of, and I think that Big Tim will end up on his back. If that happens, I think Fedor will get a TKO by groundnpound or a submission from side control.

Even if this fight stays standing, and Tim fights off of his back foot, hiding behind that jab, I think that Fedor will do damage and come off looking like the aggressor. The only way that Tim can win this fight is to hurt Fedor a few times to win rounds, because the chances of a finish are not very good.

Still, I'm going with Fedor by way of a groundnpound TKO in Round One, proving that he is still the king of the big men.

Well, I was wrong...

... about Almeida vs. Cote.

Sorry guys. Shit happens.

Why Almeida vs. Cote is going to be a Massacre

I could simplify this statement to read: Cote's submission game sucks, but let me elaborate a little bit.

Cote has fought one serious jiu-jitsu fighter in the UFC, and that was Travis Lutter. Lutter decimated him, but it's not just that Lutter beat him, it's also that Almeida is a world better than Lutter.

Almeida has one of the best submission game's in this division, and while I'm not a Gracie Barra guy, I have to acknowledge that this guy is a warrior with some of the best skills on the ground that this division has ever seen.

Really, I don't see any way that Cote is coming out of this fight without tapping.

Idiots Should be Fired: Another Letter to Stupid People

By Me

To the Editor (of Town Times):

I just finished reading an article on mixed martial arts spawned by Chris Boulay and Jim Taylor, and, bluntly put, it made me want to vomit. Not since the 1990s have I been so disgusted by a piece of such phenomenal stupidity. Not only do the writers of the article demonstrate the fact that they know absolutely nothing about the topics on which they are reporting, they back up their unsubstantiated, uninformed opinions with a complete disregard for any facts what-so-ever.

Apart from the fact that your writers lacked enough knowledge of the sport to list three fighters (Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson, Ken Shamrock and Frank Shamrock) as men with “staying power,” a statement that any person with any knowledge of the sport would burst out laughing in the midst of, they compounded stupidity which might have been seen and justified as opinion by contradicting basic medical facts and rattling off rhetoric that was done away with almost a decade ago.

You authors make the rhetorical remark: “This ’sport’ is supposed to be immensely popular, but where are all of the stars?” Saying that boxing has bigger stars than mixed martial arts.

It is clear that the authors of the piece you have allowed to be slathered on your publication know as little about boxing as they do about MMA, because, if they did, they would know that mixed martial arts has created more success in crossing into the mainstream in fifteen years than boxing did in its first fifty years as a professional institution.

Let’s forget the fact that MMA has an incredibly successful TV program, inspired films (both fictional and documentaries) and has given rise to a half dozen big names in the Hollywood scene. Randy Couture, Quinton Jackson, Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell aside, the UFC (MMA’s major franchise) produces more celebrities at an event than any boxing match until the 1960’s and 70’s at which point boxing had been around for almost a century.

Even if I set aside the fallacious misrepresentation of the history and the clear lack of knowledge about anything, your writers make one statement that really needs to be emphasized for people to see how stupid this article is:

“Where will the disciplinary action come from in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, International Fight League, or other like-minded organizations should someone die?”

This statement was, at least in essence, spat from Senator John McCain’s mouth in the early 90’s, but I doubt your writers would have known that for the same reason they wouldn’t know that McCain was destroyed by Ken Shamrock in a debate over the issue and almost every credible medical professional to have released a statement on the sport has acknowledged that MMA is less dangerous than boxing, rugby, football or hockey, and that it is better regulated by state commissions than any of those sports.

It is my firm belief that if you don’t know something about a sport, you shouldn’t talk about it, and if your authors are considering writing another article, they should take President Lincoln’s advice.

“It is better to be silent and thought a fool then to speak and remove all doubt.”

Sincerely frustrated,

Joshua Stein

RIP: Ryan Gracie

I've been debating whether or not to talk about the death of Ryan Gracie for a while, and while it's not recent, it's significant.

It's important to realize that, when we talk about MMA fighters who die young the way that Ryan did, it's not just about their record, it's about the way that they fought and the way that they competed.

There's something that's weirdly nostalgic when I talk about Ryan Gracie, because even though he was never the best jiu-jitsu fighter, never the most notable brother, never the most dominant in the family, there was something about him that always made me excited when he was going to fight.

Ryan Gracie like to kill people, and when I was younger and wanted to see something visceral, Ryan's fights were on. For those who could not appreciate the technical nature of jiu-jitsu, Ryan was the most interesting Gracie, because he could win with a submission or he could win with a knockout, and he didn't really care which it was.

Perhaps that's what made him one of the most controversial figures in the Gracie family. Perhaps that's what made him the enigma that would often be described as a villain or a bad guy.

It's not strange to talk about a fighter who only had seven fights as a great fighter, as I believe Ryan was, but it is strange to talk about a guy who was only around for a short period of time as a legend. There are those who think that I might be romanticizing Ryan when I say that, but there is something legendary about the way that he fought, there was something about saying his name that reminds even the most traditional, calm jiu-jitsu practitioners of the most visceral practitioner in the martial art.

Ryan Gracie died, and while his death was under very strange circumstances, and his life was, at best, ethically questionable, he never lacked for an exciting performance, and he never neglected to put on a show.

He was not the greatest Gracie, and as an older and (at least I like to think) more mature fighter and fan, I feel strange that I once looked up to his visceral fighting style in my grappling training the same way that I looked up to Mike Tyson as a striker.

They were far from good role models, but they were, beyond a doubt, incredibly exciting for me to watch, and for me to misremember Ryan as anything less than one of my grappling heroes would do him a great disservice.

There are those in the grappling world who didn't much care for him, but Ryan Gracie deserves to be remembered, and I hope he will be.

Open Weight UFC Tournament

Someone threw out the idea of a UFC open weight tournament and I asked them to present some brackets and I'd give them my take, so here are my hypotheticals.

A: Lidell vs Werdum
B: Penn vs Big Nog
C: GSP vs Kongo
D: A.Silva vs Lyoto Machida

Liddell beats Werdum (TKO, Round 3) There's no way in hell that Werdum gets Liddell to the ground, because there's no way Liddell lets this fight get into the clinch and he's very hard to shoot on. Liddell wins with a big counterpunch.

Nog beats BJ Penn (Unanimous Decision) I don't think that Nog is going to be able to finish BJ, as BJ's ellusive, but BJ would definitely lose this matchup. He's way too small, and would get easily swept if this fight hit the ground (though his arms are too small for Nog to sink in a triangle or an armbar).

Kongo beats GSP (Round 2, TKO) Kongo is way too big. GSP may be a great wrestler and submission fighter, but it's hard to deal with that size advantage. Kongo would punish him at range and knock him out after beating him up well.

Anderson Silva beats Lyoto Machida (Round 1, TKO) Stylistically, this is the worst possible matchup for Machida. Machida lives off of being illussive, but Anderson will come after him in that technically explosive, percise way, put him in the clinch and finish. The size difference here is not a factor at all.

Nog beats Liddell (Unanimous Decision) Technical boxing display from Nog, but no big finish. Liddell is too tired from some exchanges with Werdum to do much, while Nog didn't expend as much energy handling BJ (because he was just fighting with his weight, no muscular pushing was really necessary). Nog is the fresher fighter and it shows.

Kongo beats Silva (2nd Round, TKO) Kongo, like Nog, is still fresh because he fought a fighter he could just throw his weight around against, while Silva had a legit challenge. Again, size plays a serious factor in this fight and the 20+ pound weight advantage for Kongo, along with the 4 or 5 inch reach advantage allows him to keep Silva at range and dominate. Maybe he finishes, maybe not, but I think that Silva is tired to the point where he will break down. Chasing Machida tired him out.

Kongo beats Nogueira (Unanimous Decision) Kongo has two matches where he's been the heavier fighter by twenty or thirty pounds, (Nog had that in the first one, but would get caught in some exchanges with Chuck, inevitably) and he's the better striker. Nog will not take him down, and if the fight stays standing, Kongo will win by using kicks and combinations at range.

Podium:

First Place: Cheick Kongo
Second Place: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Third Place: Anderson Silva

A: A.Silva vs Werdum
B: Lidell vs Kongo
C: GSP vs Penn
D: Big Nog vs Lyoto

Werdum beats Anderson Silva (1st Round, Submission) World championship BJJ and a thirty pound weight advantage make it easy for me to say Werdum would win this fight. Silva would strike, maybe do some damage, try to clinch up or close the distance, and he'd end up in a Greco clinch, be on his back, and the World class BJJ would trump Silva's blackbelt.

Kongo beats Liddell (3rd Round, KO/Unanimous Decision) Kongo can wear Liddell out, the fight will stay standing, and either Chuck's cardio will buckle and he will get knocked out or it won't and he will simply drop it on the scorecards.

Penn beats GSP (Unanimous Decision) This is a fight I'd love to see. It could go either way. I'm giving it to BJ, because I think that if he could get the fight to the ground, he'd maintain control positions and win. It's a fun fight, though. Still, it won't matter in the next round, and I'll explain why.

Nog beats Lyoto (Unanimous Decision) This is an incredibly boring fight. The judges will give it to Nog because Lyoto won't hurt him and Lyoto will be the one backing up.

Werdum beats Kongo (Round 1, Submission) I feel like this one speaks for itself. Kongo gets caught clinched up with Werdum, ends up on his back and gets tapped.

Nogueira beats BJ/GSP (Unanimous Decision) Nog will throw his weight around and control the fight, wherever it goes. He'll control it with his reach, standing up, and with his jiu-jitsu on the ground. All of the technical skills won't matter, because the size difference is really severe.

Werdum beats Nog (Unanimous Decision) Nog has spent 30 minutes fighting in the cage, he's exhausted and it shows. Even throwing his weight around in the second fight doesn't give him an edge, because Werdum spent most of the time resting after his submissions. Werdum will get in close, as Nog will be too tired to be seriously ellusive standing up, and get the fight to the ground. I think that Werdum would probably pass Nog's guard, but it doesn't really matter. Even if he doesn't, he'll win by being on top for three rounds while Nog fails to submit a superior grappler and fails to keep the fight standing.

Podium:

1st Place: Werdum
2nd Place: Nog
3rd Place: Kongo

A: Lidell vs Lesnar
B: Big Nog vs Rampage
C: Wand vs A.Silva
D: Werdum vs Machida

Lesnar beats Liddell (Round 1, TKO) Lesnar own a 60 pound weight advantage, as long as he doesn't have to cut to 265, and a superior wrestling background. While Liddell has power, I'm not delusional enough to believe that someone without a serious jiu-jitsu background is going to be able to take Lesnar on the ground. Lesnar will win this fight by sheer virtue of his physical power, as much as I had to say it.

Nog beats Rampage (Unanimous Decision) This would be an interesting fight, standing up, and I don't think that Nog has a serious size advantage in this fight (15 pounds, at most). Still, I think that his striking is a little more technical and he won't have the problem that most of Rampage's opponents have (that being Rampage's physical power) because they are the same size. Rampage wouldn't be able to finish Nog, and Nog's ability to work around strikes gives him in this fight in my mind.

Anderson beats Wanderlei (Round 1, TKO) If this was the old Wanderlei, I would give it to him easily. Unfortunately, even the win over Jardine does not make Wanderlei the fighter he once was, and Anderson is at his peak in terms of his career. So I'm gonna give this to Anderson, but it could be much more exciting and much more interesting than just the typical dominant performance we see from Anderson.

Werdum beats Machida (Round 1 Submission) This could actually be a straight up chase at one point, but I think that eventually Werdum would close the distance and get this fight down. I know Machida has a good submission game, but there's a difference between a blackbelt and a world championship. Werdum really would catch Machida on the ground and finish this, if only by virtue of his muscle advantage.

Nog beats Lesnar (Round 2/3, Submission) This fight will end up in Nogueira's guard, and when it does you'll see that inevitable Nogueira submission combination. Whether Nog catches it immediately with the triangle or armbar or whether Lesnar starts to muscle out and gets caught in the second or third attack doesn't really matter, because he's going to get caught.

Werdum beats Anderson (Round 1, Submission) If Anderson has a tough fight with Wanderlei, then he'll get killed by his own fatigue and collapse under Werdum's game. If it doesn't, he'll still lose a technical battle on the ground. Werdum is a really incredibly grappler, and, as I've said before, he is a level above the rest of the guys in this division.

Werdum beats Nog (Unanimous Decision) This fight would be a little bit closer, since we don't have Nog coming off of two decision wins. However, there's a chance Lesnar could leave him in as much pain as Sapp did, which would stop this fight before it even starts. Either way, this goes down the same way as the other match I've described. Werdum will get on top, and the judges will give him the win for his takedowns and control.

Podium:

1st Place: Werdum
2nd Place: Nog
3rd Place: Anderson Silva

Monson Calls Out Kimbo

This fight would be awesome. Monson would fucking kill Kimbo (who grapples like a second string guy on the Special Olympics wrestling team).

The Great Collapse

The UFC heavyweight division is falling apart.

At best, it’s a nag with two broken legs trying to race against a field of less known, but far more aggressive and focussed competition. I wrote in a piece in January saying that if the UFC heavyweight division didn’t get an injection of talent, it wouldn’t recover on its own, and since the only serious pickup the division has made in the last few months is Shane Carwin, who was impressive at UFC 84, it’s impossible to say that the division has done any real work to recover.



They haven’t invested their money in a single top ten heavyweight since signing Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, they’ve failed to put UFC champion Randy Couture back in the Octagon and they’ve turned Nogueira into their paper champion by matching him up with the incredibly undeserving Frank Mir, hoping that having both fighters coach a season of the Ultimate Fighter series will give them time to develop a serious contender.



In the meantime, Affliction has put together a single card consisting of four former world champions (three from the UFC and one from Pride), ressurected the career of legend Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo (a three time UFC top contender) and speckled the roster with more top ten big men than the UFC has on their entire roster.



In the last 20 UFC cards, there have been two heavyweight title fights, and while it’s understandable that the UFC might take some time to try and resolve the contract disputes with Couture, the contractual issues aren’t the reason why it’s taken so long. It’s the result of an incredible ineptitude for signing and resigning top talent.



It seems like any heavyweight that wins in the UFC automatically fails to retains his contract. Andrei Arlovski beat Fabricio Werdum to become the only fighter on the heavyweight roster with a winning streak and the UFC couldn’t sign him. Andrei has since been signed to Affliction and will fight on the Banned card. His opponent, Big Ben Rothwell, should have been signed by the UFC when he entered the free-agency after leaving the IFL. Rothwell is on a thirteen fight win streak.



The UFC brass also failed to resign former champion Tim Sylvia after he beat Brandon Vera. His ending of Vera’s undefeated streak may not have led people to consider him a contender to fight Nogueira, as he won by way of a boring decision, but given that most of the fighters in the UFC had lost one of their last three fights (including Mir, who’s now the top contender, Werdum, who’s behind him in line, and Vera, who gets billed as the next rising star), Sylvia looked pretty good.



There’s only a handful of guys who are arguably top ten heavyweight on the UFC roster, and while Fedor Emelianenko has had his #1 spot disputed because of his inability to fight top competition, there’s no doubt in my mind that the Affliction division he’s now a part of is far more exciting than the basket of cans now making up Nogueira body of competition.



You won’t see people doubt Nogueira’s ranking, whether they call him one or two, but he’s very much alone in the UFC division he’s now presented with.

I do have a solution for the UFC, and while it’s not a pretty one, it’s one that would work if they put some money into it.



Sign a dozen heavyweights. Pick up lesser names from small shows, guys like Christian N’Pumbu and Tony Bonello, and some cult legends like Bobby Hoffman and Travis Fulton. They aren’t expensive, but they are exciting and they’ll give fights with some story and some substance. The division may not improve immediately in quality, it may not get immediate recognition, but when fans see how exciting and how good some of the small show fighters are, it will ressurect some of the credibility of the division, and it’s so severely lacking right now that any credibility at all would be worth the money.

Hardonk vs. Sanchez

Here's the video. It takes a while to load up, but it's worth waiting for.

My only thoughts on this fight:

Oh my f*cking god.

Great come from behind win for Hardonk.

Should the UFC sign Kimbo?

Obviously, the answer is hell no.

Still, since the question was posted on the forum, here's the full length response.

He's worth about as much as they pay the other guys who mop the apron with their beards.

Realistically, Kimbo Slice is not an asset to any professional MMA organization that wants to be taken seriously, especially the biggest show.

Slice has no ground game, so what happens if you put Kimbo in the ring with Werdum, Gonzaga, Mir or even f*cking Brock Lesnar. He's the only guy Brock could submit.

Kimbo has no technical striking, so if you put him in the cage with Vera, Kongo, Hardonk or any other striker in the division he'd be picked apart and eaten like fried chicken.

Everyone is enamored with this guy because he has a chin and an account on youtube. So what?

There are dozens of solid strikers who have skills, and dozens more who have chins. Mark Hunt actually has a kickboxing background and you don't hear the UFC talking about signing him. (they should, but another vent for another day)

Really, this is a dumb question, but aside from that, once Brett Rogers knocks Kimbo out (and hopefully this will happen sooner rather than later), the Kimbo Slice hype train will have pulled into the station, then we can all go about our merry way like we did after Mir beat Lesnar and that hype machine died.

Faber vs. Yamamoto

These are my thoughts on the 145 pound dream matchup.

A thread was posted on the forum and I noticed alot of what seemed, at least to me, to be baseless Urijah Faber dry humping.

My response:

Move over Frank Mir, you need to make some room on Urijah Faber's nuts.

Come on, guys, let's actually look at this fight with out brains and not let ourselves be blinded by Urijah's cornrows.

Faber's striking is OK, KID's is savage.

Faber's wrestling is D-1, KID's is Olympic.

In terms of skill sets, these guys are on different planets. I'll be honest, I'm impressed by Faber's explosiveness, but he's hardly a flawless fighter. In fairness, neither is KID, but KID does everything better than Faber does.

Everyone seems to believe that Faber is a tank with the best wrestling at 145, but KID is a better wrestler.

At the same time, people seem to suffer from the delusion that Faber has beaten some of the best opposition in the world. While I like the WEC, and think it's a good organization, I'm not crazy enough to believe that Jeff Curran, Chance Farrar and Joe Pearson are on the same level as the guys KID fights.

If you think that guys Faber has fought are as good as Royler Gracie, or Genki Sudo, or Caol Uno, you're smoking some pretty strong sh*t, and I'd like to take a hit of it sometime, but it's time for you to put the bong down and remember that Faber would be a wrestler from the University of California at Davis (not Ohio State, or a different big corn-fed school) trying to take down a wrestler with a family legacy who's got an Olympic quality game.

What is Faber going to do?

He can't take KID down. He can't strike with KID. So I'll tell you what he's going to do.

He's going to get pounded.

"Styles" in MMA

So, I'm going to start doing something new, because I haven't really been posting on the blog that much, and I've dedicated most of my time to writing articles for MMA opinion. Because of that, I've decided that when I write posts on mmaforum, where I work, that I think are particularly good, I'll post them up here.

The forum gives me a great deal to think about, and I do some of my best writing, about some of the most interesting stuff, on there. Plus, I'm sick of just giving you guys the same stuff I talk about on MMA Opinion.

So, this one came from a "Fighting Styles" thread asking the perpetual question of "What's the best fighting style mix for MMA?"

Personally, it's a question I've answered before, but I thought it'd be interesting to really explain what I mean when I talk about this.

The original post said:

If there needs to be a combination of 3 fighting styles to use in your MMA i beleive it should be in no specific order , wrestling, juijistu, and boxing.

they cover all areas of MMA from standup to ground work, to having good hips.
i think if your strong in theese three styles no one can beat you... a perfect example is george st pierre

Obviously, this is the generic, storebought answer. Here's my response:

Sure, and there are dozens of other combinations that cover these three bases just as well. In fact, there are combinations of two styles that work better that these, and there are single styles that incorporate all of these elements. Look at Combat Sambo.

It's definitely true that the three primary areas that need to be covered in order to be a well rounded fighter are standup, takedowns/clinchgame and groundwork. That's just sort of a general rule in the sport.

Still, to say that the three styles of jiu-jitsu (by which you probably mean BJJ/GJJ), Muay Thai and wrestling is seriously played out. These are the classical dictum of mixed martial arts combination and its believed that these are the best combinations, but it varies from fighter to fighter, and even within these styles there are differences.

Personally, I come from an aggressive, Royler Gracie style Brazilian jiu-jitsu lineage with alot of modern submission wrestling integrated in, I have clinch based brawling for a standup game and a Sambo/Judo/Roman-Greco clinch and takedown game.

This style works for me.

It puts me on top where I work topside submissions, I'm very comfortable on my back and pull guard from time to time, I can strike, I can take guys down and so on.

I don't work within this classical generic mold of "Muay Thai/wrestling/jiu-jitsu" fundamentals and neither do the guys like Georges St. Pierre, who everyone seems to believe work off of that platform.

St. Pierre is a karate fighter, and while he's integrated Muay thai in to round out his clinch game, he still considers himself a karate based striker. (this delusion that Machida is the only guy who does that is a load of bullsh*t)

St. Pierre has wrestling and jiu-jitsu, too, but they are very specialized. He works very reversal based long distance wrestling, not classical Roman-Greco, not folkstyle. His jiu-jitsu is very oriented at the transition game, and his entire game is built around working quickly from one position to the other.

Not everybody fights like that.

Couture always slows the game down as he transitions from position to position. So does Jeff Monson and, for that matter, Fedor.

It's not that their style of fighting is in any way inferior (so that you don't misunderstand what I mean by the term "slower"), it's that their game is powerful and control based, where St. Pierre's is about moving quickly and attacking, attacking, attacking.

There was a second response to the thread, on Jeet Kune Do. Just so you get the feel, here's the post:

I would say all you need is Jeet kun do. as many of you know bruce lee invented it and it is mma. It takes the best moves from every style and puts it in to one.

The kicks of tkd
the knees and elbows from MT
the throws of judo
the takedowns of wrestling
holds of BJJ
speed and punches of kung fu
and many others

Of course, my response:

Jeet Kune Do is probably one of Bruce Lee's greatest regrets in history, and he even said so towards the end of his life.

The fact is, Lee wanted people to mix their own fighting styles, to think about techniques in a new and fresh way and JKD did that when he was at the helm of it, because nobody did that better than him.

Personally, every MMA fighter should work to create their own style that fits their body type, their background and what they like to do in the ring or cage.

This idea that there is a set grouping of styles that works efficiently is crap.

There are techniques within a style that a fighter is good at, and so the fighter takes those techniques and adds them to the arsenal.

There is another set of techniques in a different martial art that suit a different need, and the fighter adds those to the arsenal as well.

It's not this played out misrepresentation that fighters are blending the entirety of styles. Everyone is taking something different from their martial arts, because no one ever learns "muay thai," they learn techniques from muay thai. No one ever learns "BJJ," they learn techniques from BJJ.

Stop thinking so linearly, and you'll start to see that the game is far more multidimensional than everyone seems to think it is.

If you guys like what I'm doing, let me know. It's experimental, but I figure throwing something up is better than leaving you guys hanging.

James Thompson Interview

It's no secret that I don't understand the Kimbo Slice hype train. Honestly, I hope that Kimbo does get his ass handed to him on CBS this weekend because it would be really cool to see him go down on the big stage like that.

Thompson released this interview through FightHype.

When asked about what sets him apart from Tank and Cantrell, he says:

Unlike Cantrell, I'm gonna turn up to fight. Unlike Tank, I'm gonna train and not drink.

He forgot to add "I'm a legit fighter in my prime... and I watch DVDs."

My Picks for UFC 84

After watching the weigh-ins, I want to throw my picks out there, just as sort of a last minute lead in to the event. (we'll see how I do)

Christian Wellisch vs. Shane Carwin

NOTE: I think that this fight is going to be a great introduction to Carwin for UFC fans and while I'm worried that he may fail on the big stage, I think that he'll overpower Wellisch with his physical ability and his technical skill. He's also considerably more experienced that Lesnar and it's not like he's fighting a former UFC Heavyweight champion. Wellisch is good, but I think that he'll do exactly what the UFC expects him to: fold like a cheap plastic chair under Carwin's weight.

My Pick: Shane Carwin via Round 1 TKO

Jason Tan vs. Dong Hyun Kim

NOTE: This is one of two fights on the card I don't really care about. That doesn't mean it won't be exciting. I think Tan is gonna look for a submission, but I think that the grappling matchup is pretty much even. This is really a toss-up between new more or less unknown fighters (I've only seen about two minutes of Tan, and he spent most of that time getting punched in the face).

My Pick: Jason Tan by Unanimous Decision

Jon Koppenhaver vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

NOTE: This is the other fight I don't really care about. I find Koppenhaver's style of fighting not particularly endearing and there's nothing about him that I think makes him extraordinary. He's a middle of the pack fighter who happens to have been on a reality show. Yoshida has alot of cage experience, he's got some submission skills and some striking. I'm going with Yoshida from the little that I've seen, but mostly because I don't think that Koppenhaver is a great fighter, and I think that Yoshida may be the better man in this fight.

My Pick: Yoshida by TKO, Round 2

Rich Clementi vs. Terry Etim

NOTE: Rich Clementi has been on fire and has choked out two very tough strikers in Melvin Guillard and Anthony Johnson. Still, I find that I can't bring myself to bet on No Love, because he's only beaten strikers in the grappling game, and I don't think that he can do that to Terry Etim, who's a fantastic submission fighter. Etim is coming off a tough decision loss to Gleison Tibau, but I think he's got a great shot at winning this fight.

My Pick: Terry Etim by submission, Round 2

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura

NOTE: When you put two great jiu-jitsu guys or two great wrestlers in the cage, it becomes a matter of which guy has better skills in other areas of the game. In this fight, I hardly think there's any doubt that that is Sokoudjou. He hits much harder and can end this fight quick and hard if he lands a solid punch. Honestly, I think that's what he's going to do.

My Pick: Sokoudjou by KO, Round 1

Ivan Salaverry vs. Rousimar Palhares

NOTE: Ivan Salaverry is an underground legend in MMA, and so it's hard for me not to just pick him and be done with it. There are some who believe that he's on the last leg of his career, but I think he's got a few more left in him. He's fighting an opponent with great submissions skills, and so I'm not convinced that he's going to be able to finish, but I think that his UFC experience is going to give him the win on the judges scorecards.

My Pick: Salaverry by Unanimous Decision

Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes

NOTE: This is a no brainer. Mendes is a stepping stone opponent for Silva, who's going to be a title contender soon, and Silva is going to decimate him.

My Pick: Thiago Silva by TKO, Round 1

Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida

NOTE: I don't think that Machida's striking is as good as everyone says it is. He's illusive standing up, but he's hardly decimating all of his opponents with his hands. I think that Ortiz is going to put him on his back and once the former UFC champ gets on top, he's going to find himself in over his head with Machida's jiu-jitsu, which he's proved is very good.

My Pick: Lyoto Machida by submission, Round 2

Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic

NOTE: It's hard to be a jiu-jitsu fighter stepping into the cage against someone with better jiu-jitsu that you. Personally, I think that there's a reason why Goran Reljic is debuting this high on the card against such a high class opponent. Goran is a student of Roger Gracie, arguably the best grappler in the world, and he's a European champion at the purple belt level. The problem is that Gouveia's not a purple belt, he's a black belt, and there's a serious difference. I'll be cheering for Goran, because I think that a victory for him might play a roll in opening up talks between the UFC and Roger Gracie (a personal fantasy of mine), but I'll be betting on Gouveia.

My Pick: Gouveia by Unanimous Decision

Wanderlei Silva vs. Keith Jardine

NOTE: Alot of people are under the impression that I'm leaning towards Jardine in this fight because of Wanderlei's problems adjusting to the cage. Honestly, I still think that Wanderlei outclasses Jardine everywhere. He's a BJJ blackbelt and a world class muay thai fighter. I just think that Jardine is going to be in the cage and find that his opponent is a much better fighter.

My Pick: Wanderlei Silva by TKO, Round 2

BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk

NOTE: I'll be honest, I'm taking Penn in this fight in part because I like him. I think he's more fun to watch and a champion that wins all of his fights by UD is not something that I think should be happening in the versatile, explosive 155 pound division. Still, after seeing a slimmed down Sherk and a relatively ripped Penn at the weigh in, I'm very confident. There's no where BJ can't win this fight. He can submit Sherk off of his back or knock him out standing up, but we're all well aware that Sherk has one way to win. I think that the Muscle Shark is going to do exactly what he always does, and I think that Penn is going to hit him hard, shake him up and finish with a submission.

My Pick: BJ Penn by submission in Round 2

Top to bottom, this is a fun card.

Eddie Bravo Talks about the Marcelo Garcia fight

I was just watching for the tutorial and I found this gem. Very interesting insight into the Marcelo fight and very funny.

The Best Thing Sherdog's Ever Done

Usually I'm pretty hard on Sherdog, because of the amount of bullshit that flows freely from their site.

Still, this CroCop highlight is really good:

I'm on FightOpinion

I'll be honest, I was really excited when I saw a trackback to my article on Wanderlei Silva on FightOpinion.

Unfortunately, I have to admit that I was incredibly bored http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifby most of the other articles. Apart from the mainstream outlets like the British Sun, which acknowledged that "Jardine has a point to prove" (as if a fighter steps into the ring and says "you know, I don't think I'm going to make this an entertaining fight, because I want to piss off the fans"), all except .

Generally, I think Kevin's great at bringing MMA to people who don't watch it. The work he's done with Yahoo is really good. Still, the fact that the comments in his piece look exactly like a piece I wrote about two months ago bugs me a little. I'm aware that Kevin has some consistency in his views, and it's not like he hasn't been saying this, but I think it's better if the writers just leave this stuff well enough alone.

We have said we're not going to promote gimmick fighters, and, sorry Kevin, even talking about how we're not talking about them (especially at great length) is pretty paradoxical. I'm aware that your piece was on why other people are talking about the bearded brawler, but come on, it's been said.

Fighters as Capital

This is a fantastic piece. I definitely suggest that people check it out.

My Latest Work at MMAOpinion

For those of you who want to check out my pieces at MMA Opinion, I definitely suggest you do. I just published a piece on Sean Sherk, which was part two of my pre-fight bit. Part one, on BJ Penn, is also on there.

There's also a piece up there on the evolution of the mount, where I personally think it's going.

My Pick to Win Dream

My pick to win the Dream Grand Prix, and the man I think is one of the greatest middleweights in the world, has goten alot of people curious, because alot of hardcore MMA fans don't know who he is.

So, I present:

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza

LZ Granderson Should Be Fired

Apart from the inherent racism, his lack of knowledge about the sport is disgusting.

I'll start reading ESPN magazine for real when they get a good columnist who doesn't think that Kimbo is the personification of black American violence.

O'Reilly on MMA

For those who have the seen the video recently posted on mmaopinion, where I work and where the best news and analysis in the sport is.

Now lets forget Bill's economic stupidity. Let's forget that the 16-34 year old males are the second most potent viewer groups in the entire country (in, the minds of many producers of big advertisement buyers, like beer companies, the most important). Let's forget that the sport has been approved by state athletic commissions, that it has fewer fatalities than boxing, hockey or football.

Let's forget that when John McCain commented on the sport and called in "human cockfighting", Ken Shamrock destroyed him in civil debate on Larry King's live interview, one of the crowning moments for the sport, and one I would like to see Shamrock repeat. Personally, I'd be happy to debate O'Reilly myself, since he clearly knows nothing about the sport and about the way that it's marketed.

As far as the "redeeming moral value" of MMA that the twit Jane Hall, there's as much redeeming value in mixed martial arts as there is in football.

The sport teaches discipline and the value of pushing yourself. It teaches that the only person that can be held accountable in failure is ourself. It teaches that the fighter who develops his mind, his body and his craft wins, and that sometimes that guy comes from the school of hard knocks, and sometimes he comes from priviledge.

The sport offers us at least as much in terms of fantastic stories and tragic failings as any other sport. Some people love football, and just because, as my grandfather once described it to me, "it's just a bunch of fat guys running into each other," that doesn't mean they aren't entitled to watch it and that the networks aren't entitled to carry it. (for the record, I'm a football fan, go Raiders)

If Bill O'Reilly would attack the rights of a network to carry the fastest growing sport in the country, it just makes him come off like an angry pissant who's upset that it's not on his network. The money that the UFC has made Spike has turned the heads of every network executive who isn't an idiot. Obviously, this is why FOX is late to the table on this issue.

Big Bad Bill has tried to attack the sport for years, saying that he honestly believes that this sport is deteriorating the moral fabric of our nation. Really, Bill O'Reilly?

Is it deteriorating the moral fiber our country as quickly as you would like to deteriorate a network's right to broadcast anything you don't like?

Bill O'Reilly has bastardized and trivialized the rights of Americans, and makes every show he does an attack on somebodies right to do something for no other reason than because it doesn't straighten out his lap pinky. He's a shock jocky, but most importantly he's a hypocritical psycho who thinks that, for some reason, his opinions matter more than the facts.

If Big Bad Bill wants to get in touch with me, or anyone wants me to post their thoughts on this, feel free to send me an email at jstein.ironsport@gmail.com

Comments are welcome.

I realize that this is an old video, but it really is something that makes me want to puke when I see an idiot like O'Reilly try and justify his bigoted bullshit with no data and no knowledge of the topic he's flapping his lips about.

Results of Dream Opening Round

The Dream opener for their middleweight grand prix was awesome. The card was packed with serious fighters and serious fights, and the tournament only promises to get better as it goes on.

Shinya Aoki beat J.Z. Calvancante by unanimous decision, making him a top lightweight in the world in many minds.

The brief recap of the seven middleweight fights that opened the tournament:

Kiyoshi Tamura beat Masakatsu Funaki by TKO in 57 seconds. Unfortunately, even his highlight reel performance won't give him any weight as he moves to the next round, because there are some seriously legit fighters and he is not at the top of the bracket.

Zelg Galesic whipped out an armbar submission victory in a little over a minute and a half to advance to the next round. His muay thai skills are notable, but the fact that he's displaying some groundfighting is very, very good.

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza choked out Ian Murphy in Murphy's debut. The fight lasted almost 3:40. Jacare is still my pick to win this whole competition, as he is the best grappler in the tournament by far.

Taiei Kin upset Japanese fan favorite Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa on the judges scorecards, and he was convincing the whole way. It's not likely Kin will win the whole competition, as he couldn't finish Minowa and the Punk is hardly a top competitor, but it is a legit win that improves the look of Kin's 3-2 record. (Note: Kin's record is more impressive than it looks, as his losses are to top middleweights in Galesic and K-1 warrior Yoshihiro Akiyama)

Dong Sik Yoon beat out Shungo Oyama on the judges scorecards. This is Yoon's fourth straight win, which has brought him up to 4-4 for his career. Still, he's beaten Galesic before (with an armbar back in K-1 in mid-2007) and, though he lost to Sakuraba in his MMA debut, he's definitely looking to his momentum to carry him through this tournament. We'll see if he has it, though I don't really think so.

Kazushi Sakuraba finished Andrew Nakahara with a neck crank almost eight and a half minutes into the first round. Sakuraba seems to be one of the heavy favorites, especially among the Japanese fans, and we'll see if the Gracie Killer can hold this one together at his age. Many would like to hope so, for nostalgia's sake.

In the biggest shocker of the night, Gerard Mousasi choked out Denis Kang with a triangle. The fight makes the underdog Mousasi look more interesting and his record is very impressive, including the little sidebar that he's now finished his last seven fights. I'm liking Mousasi more and more, but we'll see if the skills he has been using in the smaller circuits pay off against bigger competition, they certainly did against Kang, who's no small fish and was, for many, the pick to pull this one out.

I had Jacare before this card started and I'll stick with him, because I have no reason to think that anyone else in this bracket is going to out-grapple him and, while I'm well aware that this is not Abu Dhabi, I'd like to see Jacare get some respect in MMA, as he definitely deserves it.

All Hail the King

My writeup on one of my longtime heroes, the great Fedor Emelianenko, is on MMA opinion. A copy is posted below.

I first saw Fedor Emelianenko fight in 2002, when he took on Heath Herring, and just by looking at the guy, I was not impressed. He’s not big, he’s not muscular, and he’s not angry. But, I didn’t really know what it meant to be a fighter. Sure, I knew about the Gracies, but the way I had figured it, Rickson was built like a truck and he was the best, so it wasn’t like Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was this huge exception, where athletic prowess was irrelevant.

There is a moment in the lone round of the fight with Herring where Fedor picks Heath up and slams him down into the canvas, and I remember being twelve years old, watching that slam and going, “Damn.”

To say I follow Fedor with personal investment in his career is overstating it. There are fighters that I believe that I have a much bigger stake in, fighters who I have backed a little bit more than I realistically should have because I want them to get some extra attention. Still, there is something about Fedor that makes me, and every hardcore MMA fan I know, revert to the child/enthusiast in them, yelling and screaming at the TV.

Fedor is not as polarized as Muhammad Ali, nor as well covered as Mike Tyson. He does not have the mass media appeal of Bruce Lee, or the beard of Chuck Norris. Still, there’s no doubt in my mind that Fedor is the greatest fighter in the history of combat sports. He has dominated in a way that not even Rickson Gracie did, because Fedor has done it in the presence of men who, without him, would have been just as legendary, and anyone familiar with the history of the sport knows that Rickson only fought a handful of guys worth talking about.

Mirko CroCop and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira are titans of our time in a way that Sonny Liston and Evander Holyfield weren’t, because they bring aspects of the game that no one else does. They don’t talk big like Liston or boast some of the flamboyance that Holyfield did. They are, very much like Fedor, stone cold killers, who are explosive and dangerous and respectable, and they are well feared by those who are going to step in with them, a respect that doesn’t get pushed aside by big-talking boxers trying to make names for themselves.

People will ask me why Fedor is the greatest fighter ever, and I pull up Fedor vs. Randleman on youtube, or (if the UFC pulls it off for copyright reasons) the DVD I have of the Critical Countdown 2004 event where it went down. If they say that’s only one fight, I’ll point them to the Zuluzinho fight, the Goodridge fight or both Coleman matches. For those who understand how big the matchups between Fedor and his top rivals (fighters like CroCop and Nogueira) were, I walk them through Fedor’s game, and how he controlled those fights, even when it looked like he didn’t.

The fact is, nobody in the sport has stayed as dominant as long as Fedor has and, while people will dispute his status because he hasn’t fought top tier competition in a little while (though the fight with Mark Hunt wasn’t that long ago), when he fights Tim Sylvia in Adrenaline, he’ll remind us something very important: there’s a reason why he’s feared, because he is dangerous anywhere and everywhere.

I, like many of my fellow long time Pride fans, will be watching the approaching Adrenaline card, as it has offered us the opportunity to see Fedor fight a top heavyweight, even if that heavyweight is Tim Sylvia. Certainly, a war with the former UFC champion/ogre will be exciting. It will be the second time Fedor has fought an opponent with a size advantage and a supposed advantage in the standup department, but if Randy Couture can put the Maine-iac down with a punch, who’s going to say that Fedor can’t end this fight standing, as well as on the ground.

The sport is changing, but Fedor seems to evolve even faster. Hopefully, we will see a new level of performance in his fight with Sylvia. While a debut in the UFC seems unlikely, at least in the immediate future, the presence of Fedor as a force in the world of independent MMA and as the most dominant heavyweight in the world seems unquestionable.

Travis Lutter Talks (and talk, and talks) to Pramit Mohapatra

Well, Pramit has done it again: he's officially struck interview gold.

Lutter spills his guts about everything, and it's pretty fucking funny, especially when he gets down to talking about Franklin and Silva.

A little excerpt:

I think most of them are dumb-ass kids. I’m not saying MMA fans. I’m saying the people that are writing me this shit. I think the average MMA fan rules. They’re following my sport. I like them a lot. But, the guy who is taking the time out of his day that lives in Kentucky to email me to tell me what a piece of shit I am. You really have to question, what is his motivation? How sad of an individual is that? I don’t know what to say to that. It’s like, “I saw you on TV so you suck. As a fighter you suck. You’ve got no cardio, blah blah blah.” What motivates these guys to send hate mail? I don’t understand it.

A Response to Kimbo Slice

... and anybody else who thinks that they should be fighting the best fighters in the world without any real MMA experience.

I posted the abridged version in the comments of our little Kimbo section on MMA opinion.

Here's the long, ranting version:

If you're going to be a fighter, shut your mouth. There's been a long tradition of great fighters who don't talk shit, and there are days that I wish that would extend to the ridiculous gimmick fighters in the smaller shows. Still, I guess that's not how it works.

Obviously, it's important to be real with Kimbo, because the guy is not a legitimate fighter and he should know that. He's fun to watch, he's explosive, he's got a cult following. But all of those things are true for Butterbean, the only difference is that Kimbo's management is arrogant enough to push him as the greatest fighter in the world.

It's like the kid in school who always acts the toughest and peacocks, acting out and disrespecting people. Being loud and obnoxious and arrogant. Then he gets into a fight with the real powerhouse at the school and his freinds, who spent that whole time talking shit too, have to clean his ass up off the pavement.

The point is, one of these days Kimbo is going to go on youtube and make a bad yo' mama joke about Fedor, and the King is going to show up at his gym, dangeda-dangeda Baz Rutten's old ass through a wall and then proceed to beat Kimbo down like the rookie he so clearly is.

Nothing annoys me more than people who don't show respect to the guys who have built this sport up from nothing. Honestly, when Tito did it that was totally different, because he was trying to get attention for the sport and draw in fans. All Kimbo is trying to do is build up the fanbase for his beard.

Maybe he has a God complex, maybe he thinks that he's beloved everywhere because he got to have his last fight in his home town. Let me tell you, though, Kimbo has a major problem with most of the MMA community at this point, because everybody is sick of him disrespecting the guys that built this sport with their bare hands.

What was Kimbo doing while Chuck was knocking out NCAA wrestling champions? Videotaping his grimy-ass backyard pit fights?

I'll point this out again:

Kimbo has yet to fight a serious athlete. He's fought two over the hill, out of shape brawlers. I love Tank as much as the next guy, but even in his prime he wasn't much of a fighter, and now that he's past that point, it's done.

If Kimbo really wants to fight Chuck, he should start by scheduling a rematch with Sean Gannon, to show that he actually knows enough now that he doesn't need his manager to jump in and protect him every time he eats a serious shot, because if one of those punches came from Chuck, Kimbo's beard would not be able to absorb the force, contrary to what superpowers some might believe it has.

So that's all for Kimbo, and I hope he fights Ricco Rodriguez, so that fat, unconditioned hot-air bag can ground and pound Kimbo into respect.

Adrenaline MMA Makes Fedor vs. Tim Official

Honestly, I don't care as much about this fight as I would have pre-Randy Couture ass whupping.

Still, I think that this is a great fight in terms of what it allows Fedor to do: show that he can still beat the shit out of top fighters.

A New Piece on MMA Opinion

Check out the second part of my inside the guard series.

If you missed the first one, check that out too.

My Response to SI's Top 25 Toughest List

Now, for those who don't know, Sports Illustrated released a list on the top 25 toughest athletes in the world.

Anderson Silva, the man that Americans are quickly starting to recognize as the most dominant force in the western hemisphere, was listed as number three, while Fedor was listed at 8.

Now, I like Fedor and Anderson, and I'm glad that we had 2 guys in the top ten. But when I first heard about this, I posted this short response on MMA forum. (and, yes, for me this is a short response):

I'm not sure that I understand the justification for putting Anderson higher than Fedor.

Has Anderson spent more time dominating the sport than Fedor?

Has Anderson been in more wars than Fedor?

Has Anderson beaten fighters from every generation and style of the sport?

I think that the answer to all three of those questions is no.

Fedor's beaten two K-1 champions, UFC champions, Pride champions and fighters from every stylistic component of the sport, and he beat most of them where they are good. (he beat Coleman off his back, he beat CroCop standing up, he beat Nog from inside the guard)

I think Anderson is a great fighter, but I do think that he's very much a man of the moment. I'm not questioning his legitimacy as a fighter, but I do think that he's been pushed very hard by the mainstream media while Fedor, who has been around alot longer and hasn't burst into the American scene since it's been huge, hasn't.

Just look at Fedor's record and look at Anderson's record.

There are a half dozen guys on Fedor's record who were top 10 when he fought them, and his fights with Nogueira, CroCop and most of his breakthrough fights weren't really originally thought to be in his favor. There are only two guys (maybe three, but I don't really count Marquardt) on Anderson's record that I looked at right before the matchup and thought was a toss up (Henderson and the first Franklin fight), and that includes the fights that Anderson dropped to Chonan and Takase. He should have dominated those two guys.

This really doesn't make sense to me, but given SI's long history of MMA-illiteracy, I'm not shocked.

Some New Stuff

For those of you who don't read MMAOpinion, you really should. I have two articles running on the ticker bar right now.

One is a piece on Matt Serra and his legitimacy as UFC welterweight champion. There will be a cooperative piece for this on Georges St. Pierre coming out soon.

The other piece is part one of a four part segment I put together on the evolution of the modern guard game.

Hope you like 'em, and hope that you check out MMA opinion often, as there are some great writers on there.

Knock That Shit Off (a note to some MMA writers)

Now, there are writers I disagree with. I don't agree with alot of the guys at sherdog, I don't agree with alot of the guys that the UFC hires to write hype pieces. Still, I respect those guys, because they respect the fighters and do some research.

But when you step into the arena of "MMA commentary" and throw out a piece where your first reference is to Hulk Hogan, you need to reevaluate your decision and head back to the WWE forums.

I would like to say that this is just a shot at John Curry, but he's not the only one doing this. Still, since I got emailed a link to his article, I think I'll point out exactly what bothers me about this guy.

First, look at the guys he's criticizing:

Chris Leben, who holds some of the most exciting knock out victories. He knocked out Alessio Sakara, Terry Martin, Jorge Santiago, Jorge Rivera and Jason Thacker (not to mention submitting Edwin Dewees and going the distance with Patrick Cote and Luigi Fiorvanti). I don't think there's any surprise that they keep him around, since he pretty much promotes himself.

Jens Pulver. I'll get to my problem with that listing in a minute.

Tim Sylvia, who is hardly overrated, as he's one of the most disliked fighters in the sport and is now fighting with a small show no one cares about.

Ortiz and Evans. Obviously, his failure to mention that Tito Ortiz is a six time UFC lightheavyweight champion and his comparison of Ortiz to Hulk Hogan says enough, but I think what says more is that he totally ignores Evans' knockout of Jason Lambert and the fact that this guy won TUF after being the last pick in his weight class and by beating a guy who is almost a whole foot taller than him.

He mentions Kimbo Slice, who is a product of his own hype, not of his organizations, and while he's not the best fighter, he doesn't claim to be. He's a generally modest guy who's matchups get alot of publicity because he's fun to watch.

Now, even if we ignore that this numbskull left Brock Lesnar off of his list and put Lyoto Machida (one of the most unhyped fighters around, despite coming off of a chokeout of the man many of us thought could bring down top guys in the 205 pound class) on, it makes alot more sense when you look at some of the ridiculous and fallacious factual errors that he makes.

He suggests that Jens Pulver dropped down a weightclass after he returned to the UFC and lost to BJ Penn and Joe Lauzon. Never mind the fact that Pulver had been competing as a 145 pound fighter since 2003. Never mind the fact that Pulver is 10-0 with 10 finishes in that weight class. You can say that he dropped down because he felt like he couldn't compete at 155, that's true, to some degree. But it's also true of Urijah Faber, who commited to fight full time at 145 after losing to Tyson Griffin.

Anyway, I hope I've made my point. There are some great guys in newmedia, and some guys with ideas that I disagree with. But there are also guys who just make stuff up to fit a bizarre Hulk Hogan fetish, and we could pretty well without them.

My Thoughts on Cung Le vs. Frank Shamrock

Now, I said that this fight was going to be more interesting than Frank Shamrock getting a takedown. I said that Cung Le was a better wrestler than everyone seemed to think. I said that Cung Le would win the standup game if he could keep the fight standing.

Even I won't pretend that I expected Le to devastate Shamrock the way that he did. I didn't expect him to snap Frank's arm in half. But, now that he did, and the fact that he did it to the King of Pancrase and the great Frank Shamrock, I think that Le has basically solidified his position as a top 185 pound fighter.

Personally, he'll be well into my top seven, and I think that, if he decimates a few more quality opponents (say, Robbie Lawler and Phil Baroni), then he should call out Anderson Silva, and I think that that's the toughest matchup for Silva right now.

Anderson wants someone he can strike with, and who can strike with him. Le will make that fight stay standing. He will use his San Shou takedown skill to keep the fight standing (and I don't think that Silva's wrestling is good enough to really resist, and I doubt he would want to), and he will make it a kickboxing match to remember.

This is a fight I want to see because I want to see if Anderson's kickboxing is as good as everyone thinks it is (and I include myself in that everyone). Silva never really established himself as a top kickboxer in the world, and the prospect of him fighting a guy who has makes my mouth a little watery.

The Shamrock fight was a great showcase for Cung Le and I wish him the best of luck, since he's a great guy. I hope he continues to dominate Strikeforce, but I would like to see him push for some serious competition, as the current field of competitors doesn't do much for me.