A New Day, A New Piece

So, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the upcoming fight between Michael Bisping and Charles McCarthy, not so much because I think it's a fight of the year candidate (but you never know), and more because I think that a fighter demonstrating that guys who drop down from 205 can have alot of success will attract the attention of guys who feel like they're being screwed in the lightheavyweight division.

I'm not going to name names...... okay, I will.

I think it's a little fucked up that Forrest Griffin gets a title shot still relatively soon after his loss to Jardine, while guys like Thiago Silva are just passed over. I know Forrest beat Shogun, but I'm shocked that essentially one fight has made him a title contender.

Hating Convention: For My Fellow Combat-Cult Followers

This piece was originally posted on mmaopinion.com.

There’s always going to be a large movement of fans (not just of fighting, but of anything) who reject the conventional and the mainstream. Those guys are generally credited with being the first MMA fans; guys who turned their backs on professional boxing and wrestling in order to find something new, something different, something off-beat.

The problem is, now the UFC has become so mainstream, so cultured that the reason they started following it to begin with no longer carries any weight. Where do these fans go?

They can’t go to Pride, since it no longer exists. (many left for Pride after the first TUF season, but they’re now looking for somewhere else to go)

They can’t go to the IFL, because, let’s face it, the IFL has worked way to hard to pull itself into the mainstream.

They can’t go to the WEC, because it follows that same formula as the UFC, only with lighter weight classes. (And, on top of that, many refuse to support Zuffa entirely, because of some of its contractual issues with its fighters)

They can’t go Japan, because they know that those organization are unstable. (and the disillusionment has only furthered itself with Fedor’s free-agency)

They won’t go to Elite XC because, besides about 4 fighters, the whole thing is a gimmick show (these are the fans who have been following the sport long enough to know that Kimbo Slice is not legit).

These guys are stuck in limbo, wandering back and forth between organizations. They watch UFC events because their friends (most of whom they got into the sport) are really excited to watch Anderson Silva (who is not, as many have said, the Mike Tyson if MMA, since he doesn’t commit rape and he has all of his teeth) and Rampage.

I wish I could say that the solution was simple, or that an answer would present itself, but the fact is I don’t think that’s the case. I’ve been out looking for other, exciting organizations for a long time. I’ve watched alot of K-1 (very exciting, but I miss the grappler) and have turned to Cage Rage to get some of my fix. Whether an underground titan will emerge soon, I don’t know, but I hope that when it does, these fans will find it, so that the UFC doesn’t just squash it with it’s giant checkbook.

A Note Of Optimism: UFC 82, Sengoku and the Second Coming of the Big Men

My disappoint with the big guys in this division is something that I'm pretty honest about. The fact is, they either haven't been fighting well, or they haven't been fighting at all, and that's really not something that should be coming from the men this sport was built on.

In light of UFC 81, though, we are starting to see that the downplayed expectations of the division may be getting them to fight harder and put on a better show.

The last card featured the big heavyweight matchups between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir and the title fight between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Tim Sylvia. While both were expected to be terrible by the masses, both proved exciting, with Mir pulling out a win in 1:30 against his clearly submission-retarded opponent and Nogueira catching Sylvia in a guillotine that shocked alot of fans, myself included, who didn't think this fight would end with a big sub.

There is one more fight, though, that I've been looking forward to for some time, and it involves the man who is, in my opinion, far and away the UFC's most exciting heavyweight striker, though his grappling has been notoriously lackluster.

Cheick Kongo and Heath Herring are getting set to square off at UFC 82 as the co-main event with Dan Henderson and Anderson Silva (which is definitely an FOTY candidate in my opinion if both guys bring their A game). Kongo vs Herring isn't just a battle of old school vs new school, and it's not just a battle of styles where one guy is going to swing for the fences and the other is going to try and take this fight to the ground.

Kongo promises to bring the European kickboxing that we've seen him throw out there in every fight, a style reminiscent of the top tier K-1 fighters, not the big single strike style that we've seen from more modern fighters like Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic.

The Frenchmen's kickboxing is some of the best I've seen in the division in a long time, and his size and athleticism only make it that much more impressive that he has developed such extraordinary technical prowess without just trying to fall back to his physical advantages, like we've seen some of the bigger, stronger fighters do.

Herring, on the other hand, is about as well rounded as they come. While he's generally considered a striker, he has a solid ground game and good wrestling. There's definitely a chance that if he ends up in trouble, he will try and take the fight to the ground where he'll look for his experience to give him an edge.

It's going to be a fight, no matter where it ends up. I personally believe that Kongo gets alot of grief for his split decision loss to Marrero, where he showcased a less than perfect ground game, and that has led to a lot of stigma directed towards his ground skills, but I'm not sure how much of a problem that will actually be. But if anyone can take advantage of it, it will be an experienced fighter like Heath Herring.

There's another big heavyweight matchup that has been recently announced that I'm already gearing up for, and that's Josh Barnett vs. Hidehiko Yoshida, which has been put on the main event of the Sengoku card.

Barnett is a world class grappler, with one of the most aggressive submission games and probably the most versatile submission arsenal in the division, and the only comparable submission fighters are Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Jeff Monson. Barnett is a wrestling machine with size and power to muscle in submissions that most people would just give up on.

Yoshida is a technical judo warrior with an Olympic gold medal under his belt, and while he's had alot of trouble developing substantial standup, there's no doubt that his judo is solid, and if this fight ends up on the ground, he could make it interesting for Barnett. While Yoshida isn't quite as muscular as his American opposition, he's not a lot smaller, and one of Yoshida's protoge's, Kazuhiro Nakamura, gave Barnett some trouble, escaping from numerous dangerous positions.

I think Barnett is a fantastic fighter and, like many of the mainstream guys, I'll pick him to take this one, but I'm not going to count Yoshida out. He deserves respect as a fighter who can perform under pressure and as a guy who has no problem being the underdog. He hasn't coped well with big, powerful wrestlers in the past, but Barnett's a very different fighter than Rulon Gardner, so we'll see the matchup when the time comes.

It's going to be an interesting few months, and I'm definitely looking forward to it.

UFC 81: A Final Note (Better than Expected)

I'll be honest, the fights that I expected to be bad weren't, and the two men I expected to go to war bored me to sleep.

In spite of the Eastman Martin snoozefest, UFC 81 was a great fight card. Frank Mir beat Brock Lesnar with a kneebar in the first round and Anotion Rodrigo Nogueira became UFC heavyweight champion when he choked out Tim Sylvia in the third.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu reigned supreme at the top of the card and brought some sparks of hope back the UFC heavyweight division. We can only hope that solid matchups will happen in the near future, though they seem to be absent from many of the upcoming cards, much as they were before this event.

Personally, I'm excited for the next few events, much more so than I was for this one, and this one surpassed expectations. Hopefully the ones approaching will do the same.

UFC 81: Predictions

I'm actually a little excited for this card, as a whole. There are some fights that I expect to be duds, but there are some that I am very excited to see. My overall view of the fight card:

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia

I'm going to be more or less an outcast on this one, because I'm thinking Big Tim will pull this out. I've given my reasons throughout the prefight buildup, but to recap, I just don't see Big Nog as being able to take this fight to the ground, and I definitely don't see him pulling this one out on the feet. It probably won't be exciting, but it will be long.

My Pick: Tim Sylvia by Unanimous Decision.

Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir

After watching Lesnar's training on UFC All Access, I've changed my pick a little. Originally I had thought that Mir would finish this fight early by outclassing Mir on the ground, but now I think it will take him a little more time, and I'm a little more skeptical. I think Lesnar could pull this out, as he's more or less untested, but I'm going to go with the safe bet and give it to Frank Mir.

My Pick: Frank Mir by Armbar in the second round

Jeremy Horn vs. Nate Marquardt

This may be the most promising fight on the card and while I think that Nate has the skills to win this fight standing up, I don't think he'll be able to handle Horn's experience and versatility. I also think that Horn is a very underrated fighter as a middleweight because he competes up in weight class so much, and so I'm going to give this one to the man from Utah.

My Pick: Jeremy Horn by submission in the third round

The rest are all up in the air, and my reasons for them are based mostly on skill set. I will say that they aren't of a whole lot of interest to me, and I'm a little surprised that some of them ended so high up on the card. I'll give my picks and hopefully they'll speak for themselves.

Ricardo Almieda defeats Rob Yundt by submission off of his back in the first round.

Gleison Tibau pulls out an exciting unanimous decision over Tyson Griffin.

Chris Lytle demolishes Kyle Bradley, hitting him hard on the feet early in the first but finishing him with a submission later in the round.

Marvin Eastman stops Terry Martin late in the third round with a big knee after what proves to be the most exciting fight of the night. Both take serious punishment.

David Heath beats Tim Boetsch in a boring decision that consists mostly of Heath laying on top of his opponent.

Keita Nakamura gets his first UFC win, stopping Rob Emerson with a submission in the second after trading with him in a back and forth first round. Nakamura will probably pull guard to get to the ground, but may get a solid takedown or even land a substantial strike.

This will be an interesting event. I'm not really excited about the heavyweight matchups on this card, except for the prospect of a good fight from Lesnar and Mir, which may or may not happen. I do think that Eastman and Martin will have the fight of the night, and that's a matchup that could go either way, because Martin has serious power and Eastman is a monster. Both have fought at 205 and both hit like trucks.

Hope this event doesn't end up being a dud, but even if it does head in that direction, there are a few fights on the card that will be interesting, and the prospect of a new heavyweight champion keeps the outlook better than it was for that division (though that may not be saying a whole lot).

Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir: Will It Be Exciting, Or Will It Flop

BROCK LESNAR SMASH!!!

Of all the opponents the UFC selected for Brock Lesnar, I'm happy they picked someone who wasnt just famous for getting punched in the face. It would have been too easy for them to pick a Cabbage Correira or some other guy with no ground game and just let him get demolished by Brock in order to build hype.

Lesnar said he wanted to compete against the top guys, he said he wanted to prove himself against legitimate competition, and there are few guys better than the guy who snapped Tim Sylvia's arm in half.

Frank Mir is was a warrior, back in the day. He had one of the most devestating submission games in the heavyweight division and some solid standup to back it up, but alot of people aren't sure that guy still exists.

Sure, he submitted Antoni Hardonk in his last fight, but there are Special Olympics judoka who could submit Hardonk blindfolded. While Hardonk trained some jiu-jitsu with Rickson Gracie leading up to that fight, I (like everybody else in the world) knew that his ground game was not going to be a match for Mir's. There's a reason for that:

It turns out that three months of jiu-jitsu is not enough to deal with a guy who's been doing it since he was 16.

The real question is, will Brock Lesnar's football playing, piledriver slamming athleticism be able to handle submission fighting. It's not like guys Lesnar's size haven't tried to fight in this sport before, coming in with a wrestling background and "unmatched athleticism."

Are we forgetting Bob Sapp?

Are we forgetting Mark Kerr?

Has Dana White learned nothing from watching both of their careers slowly drain down the toilet as fighters with blackbelts in real martial arts take over the sport?

Didn't he want the first four UFC's?

Apparently he thinks that Lesnar is the exception to the rule, a fighter who can make the leap from being an athlete with a decent wrestling background to being a fighter with a solid skillset and some credibility.


Mark Kerr is the one on the bottom, getting punched in the face.

While Sapp and Kerr held their own for a while (Kerr was ranked at the top of the sport for a few months), none of them had to compete with serious BJJ warriors until later. Sapp had to deal with it once he fought Nogueira and Kerr, well, Mark Kerr didn't need a BJJ blackbelt's help to fall apart.

The question is really whether Mir will let himself get overwhelmed and do what the Gracies' insist one cannot do in a fight, ever. Will Mir cave to the pressure of having a 285 pound opponent trying to shove those four ounce gloves down his throat?

I'm betting he won't, given his experience, but since Mir's motorcycle accident, I've been worried about his health and his ability to cope with the psychological apsects of fight prep. That said, I'm going to go with the veteran and the BJJ guy on this one because, well, he's the veteran and the BJJ guy.

Lesnar, on the other hand, will continue to flap his mouth, win or lose.

At least he's stepping in the cage, while Floyd Mayweather and Kurt Angle sit on their couches. Gotta respect Lesnar for that, even if he might bore us to death with a layngay like the world has never seen.

If a Giant Falls in the Octagon... Would Anybody Care?

Coming into the New Year, there’s one important State of the Sport address to be made, and UFC President Dana White should hold a press conference to figure the damn thing out.

The UFC heavyweight division is the elephant in the room right now; it’s just sitting there, fat, immobile and out-of-place as it slowly decays. This is affected both in the quality of recruiting and the inability of an overseas organization to put together some solid matchups to really force Dana and Joe Silva to do anything about it. I mean, why should Dana organize a tournament when the biggest matchup in the heavyweight matchup in the heavyweight market in the last three months that he didn’t own was between Fedor Emelianenko and Hong Man Choi?

I think Choi’s a pretty good fighter, and even I knew that was a half-hearted matchup.

The matchup man Joe Silva has put together some interesting parings in the lighter divisions, and Dana has made a clear effort to raise the bar at 205 pounds, bringing in Pride fighters like Mauricio “ Shogun” Rua, Wanderlei, Sokoudjou and the new UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Even though Shogun, Silva and Sokoudjou dropped their opening fights, the 205 pound division seems to get mixed around a little bit after every card and the upcoming opponent for Jackson’s belt is an issue that gets a lot of people going, as opposed to the big-man’s division, where there seems to be a lot less “who’s next?” and a lot more “who cares?”



While the 185 pound division is often seen as slacking a little bit, too, at least there are some really interesting matchups coming out of that division and a champion that continues to be mind-melting with every fight. The UFC doesn’t even have a king at 265 pounds and the undisputed champ on the world stage only fought twice this year, both against opponents who were nowhere near qualified.

But it’s not just the fall of many of the big name senior guys in the division starting to step down as age kicks in, it’s also the fact that the UFC hasn’t been showing any signs of bringing in new, young talent, or even drawing the serious overseas talent pool that was expected after Zuffa’s buyout of Pride.



Realistically, I don’t know why they aren’t bringing guys in, it’s not like there aren’t guys out there.

I’m not just talking about the Brock Lesnar’s of the sport, who may be more talk than walk when it comes their time to step into the Octagon. There’s also a whole field of guys that the UFC hasn’t even talked to who deserve to fight in the Octagon and would make this division thicker than Evan Tanner’s hair.

I mean, even beyond the up-and-comers that have a little fame already, like Roger Gracie (backed by his family name) and Big Ben Rothwell (who’s starting to really come into his own in the IFL), there’s an entire echelon of guys out there with the skillset to be in this division. I could rattle off their names (Mike Russow, Neil Grove and Christian N’Pumbu), but it wouldn’t matter, because nobody knows who they are, because their testicles haven’t been caressed by the starmaking power of Mike Goldberg’s lips.

Believe, me, though, when I tell you that Russo (7-1-0), Grove (5-0-0) and N’Pumbu (8-0-0) are all more worthy of the octagon limelight then Justin McCully or Scott Junk. I mean, if the UFC is looking for a serious veteran so badly, they should hire Travis Fulton (188-44-9), who’s got more credibility than Junk or McCully, and has more fights in his career than the entire rest of that heavyweight roster put together.



In the upcoming year, my forecast isn’t so gloomy. Hopefully, Cheick Kongo will show some groundskills and Eddie Sanchez will stop yelling “Yeah, boy” every time he lands a punch (if they don’t knock the guy out, you probably shouldn’t be so excited).

In all likelihood, Nogueira and Silva will bring a show to decide the new heavyweight champion, and we will deal with whatever new regime is born out of that, but I hope that this division starts to come together, since it’s thinner than Randy Couture’s hair right now.

There’s bound to be one good recruit the UFC picks up, and given the ones they’ve thrown back into smaller ponds this year (and I’m not just talking about Brad Imes and all of his go-go-glory) they could always invite a guy back, and I wouldn’t complain.



Taking the rumors of signing former K-1 heavyweight champion Semmy Schilt at face value, we can only hope that the UFC will put some effort (and some money) into this serious fixer-upper division. Then, maybe we’ll start to care when a 265 pound ass hit’s the canvas and Steve Mazzagatti spits out the winner’s name through that ridiculous porn star mustache.

Inside Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Lyoto Machida

Even with the drop of Matt Serra on the UFC's upcoming UFC 79 card, there are still some promising matchups. Of all of these matches, it seems like the one with the least history might be the most entertaining.

On a card that includes the third installment of Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes and the promising war between striking legends Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell, the most promising looks to be the fight between "The African Assassin" Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (4-1-0) and Lyoto Machida (11-0-0).

Machida is an undefeated, promising fighter who has already worked himself into title contention by beating Sam Hoger, David Heath and Kazuhiro Nakamura by decision. His shotokan karate backround is something unconventional in the sport, and presents alot of problems for the very technical strikers in the division.

Sokoudjou, though, is not a conventional striker. He exploded on to the scene in a way that no one expected him to, being signed by Pride Fighting Championships as a stepping stone opponent for the return of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. In that fight, Sokoudjou did the unthinkable, and became the first man ever to stop either of the Nogueira brothers, knocking Rogerio out in 23 seconds.

In his second fight, he fought another Pride veteran in Ricardo Arona, who was another ground fighter expected to give Sokoudjou's judo backround a test, but the fight never got that far. Sokoudjou put Arona to sleep at the two minute mark in their fight.

Of all of the matchups on this card (including the dynamic matchup of Hughes v St. Pierre and the much anticipated matchup of Silva v Liddell) Sokoudjou and Machida is going to be the most interesting.

For starters, it is Sokoudjou's first fight in the UFC, and the "Octagon shock" fact has been pretty tough on some of his fellow Pride veterans who have come to the organization. There's the question of whether Machida will be able to capitalize on his surroundings and control Sokoudjou.

Then there is the issue of Machida being the first real standup opponent Sokoudjou has faced on a major event card. After all, Arona and Nogueira were both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters.

It should be an interesting matchup, I'm personally taking Sokoudjou on his ability to finish fights (something that we haven't see from Machida in his last 3 matches), but it will definitely be a war and Machida's karate always makes for an exciting fight.

Matt Serra Pulls Out Of Fight With Hughes

Current UFC Welterweight champion Matt "The Terra" Serra pulled out of fight with former two time champion Matt Hughes due to a herniated disk in his back. The injury will postpone a fight that got alot of hype from the Ultimate Fighter Reality series, that Hughes and Serra both coached.

Serra is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt under Renzo Gracie and took the UFC title as a serious underdog going into his fight with Georges St. Pierre.

To get the title shot, Serra won the Ultimate Fighter 4, and his ability to capitalize on it has made him a cult icon, a figure of speech and a reference point for any fighter going in as a serious underdog.

Matt Hughes will still fight on the card, though who he will fight is unclear. Jon Fitch has announced that he will not be fighting Hughes, as he will be in Vietnam. The possibility of Hughes fighting Thiago Alves has been brought up, but Alves fought only a few weeks ago at UFC 78, which will make it very difficult for him to get cleared by the gaming commission to fight. Still, it is possible.

The other possibility that has been brought up is that of a third match between St. Pierre and Hughes. It would be a final match, and many were hoping that, like the first two, the final match would in some way involve an undisputed title, not just the possibility of an interim crown.

The UFC 79 card thus far seems to be pretty good, with lightheavyweight main card bouts including the long anticipated fight between Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell and Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva along with the anticipated debut of phenomenon Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, when he will fight undefeated Lyoto Machida.

As far as the card right now, a title bout would make it a very interesting card. The possibility of a heavyweight title fight is unlikely this late in the game, but it is a possibility, given how long it has been since champion Randy Couture and contender Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira have fought. Still, that bout looks like it's pending for the spring.

Even without Serra, the card will maintain some dignity with the 205 pound matchups and the possibility of Hughes fighting anyway.

Hopefully Serra will recover quickly so that we can see the fight in the spring.

Noguiera Is The UFC's Only Sure Deal

I'm a huge Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera fan. As someone who spends alot of time trying to perfect the fundamentals of my own fighting game, I have to recognize that Big Nog is one of the guys who has come closest to doing that.

Nogueira was never a big heavyweight, walking around at a little over 230 pounds, but his skills on the great and standing up are some of the best in the heavyweight division.

Nogueira recently disclosed in an interview that he will be fighting for the UFC heavyweight title. His opponent will either be current title holder, Hall-of-Famer and MMA legend Randy Couture, who is having some contract disputes with Zuffa, or former two time champion Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia.

Either way, Nogueira will be a favorite going into the fight, even if he is the challenger against Couture.

Nogueira's blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the most misunderstood ranks in MMA. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champions have come into the Octagon and not done as well as Nogueira, but Nogueira's brand of fast, spontanious, fundamentally sound jiu-jitsu combined with his personal toughness is what makes him dangerous. While many guys who come over from BJJ competition or combat grappling find that they cannot execute moves while being punched in the face, Nogueira seems to almost perform better.

What's more, Nogueira's boxing, which he has trained with the Cuban national boxing team, is fundamentally sound. While he might struggle with a tough, lanky standup fighter like Sylvia, Nogueira's head movement, counterpunching and distance control is very underrated. While he probably won't try and stand with Sylvia or Couture, he is no slouch on his feet.

Nogueira looks to reclaim the glory that he once had as the Pride Fighting Championship's heavyweight king. While he lost the title to Fedor Emelianenko, who is still considered the greatest fighter in the world, Nogueira is a formidable opponent, ranked #2 in the world by most current polls.

While there is some question about how Nogueira will fare in the Octagon, he is a warrior and has been in some serious battles with some of the best fighters in the sport. He has also fought all three of the sports top five(though recent rankings differ alot on the ranking of CroCop), with Emelianenko (#1), Josh Barnett (#3) and Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic (#5).

His other notable wins include former UFC heavyweight champions Mark Coleman, Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez, along with K-1 champion Semmy Schilt. (Schilt is a similar fighter to Sylvia as a kickboxer, and actually stands between three and four inches taller than the former UFC champion)

Hopefully, Nogueira's shot at the UFC hardware will come soon, but in the meantime, we can only hope that the UFC will decide on either Sylvia or Couture for his opponent.

The Complete UFC 78 Card (and a few thoughts on a mediocre product)

Honestly, the UFC monopoly of the MMA world seems to be making Joe Silva a little lazy. While I generally respect the dude and love what he has done for the sport, the UFC matchmaker (along with Dana White, the Fertittas and other UFC brass) have been handing us a lesser product than what I think we deserve, because they no longer have the Pride Fighting Championships to compete with.



While Rashad Evans is expected to be the savior of the card, as he headlines it in a fight with Michael "The Count" Bisping, it's not a title fight, and the winner of this matchup isn't even in line for them. After all, Evans is getting back on track after his first non-win (a draw with Tito Ortiz at UFC 73) and Bisping is coming off a lackluster win (that most people think should have been a loss) against Matt Hamill. Even if they are both undefeated, they are not at the height of an up-swing.

Here's the card so far:

Rashad Evans (10-0-1) vs. Michael Bisping (14-0-0)

Houston Alexander (8-1-0) vs. Thiago Silva (11-0-0)

Joe Doerksen (39-10-0) vs. Ed Herman (15-4-0)

Ryo Chonan (14-7-0) vs. Karo "The Heat" Parisyan (25-4-0)

Frankie "The Answer" Edgar (7-0-0) vs. Spencer "The King" Fisher (21-3-0)

Chris Lytle (34-14-4) vs. Thiago Alves (18-4-0)

Jason Reinhardt (18-0-0) vs. Joe Lauzon (14-3-0)

Luke Claudillo (15-8-0) vs. Marcus Aurelio (14-5-0)

Akihiro Gono (27-12-7) vs. Tamden McCrory (10-0-0)

The best fight on this card, by far, is Houston Alexander vs. Thiago Silva, both of whom have been on fire recently. Alexander has had some high profile knockouts of Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara, and he's only spent about 2 minutes in the octagon the entire time. Silva's been in a little longer, but has showcased some patience and some technical muay thai skills. This fight will be a war, hopefully with some back and forth, and somebody is getting knocked out. My only hope is that Alexander doesn't end this one as quickly as the last 2, so that we actually get to see Silva throw a punch.

Besides Doerksen vs. Herman, which is a sad replacement for the return of the legendary middleweight Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu phenomenon of David "The Soul Assassin" Terrell (who was originally scheduled to fight Herman), I'm a little bit interested in seeing Ryo Chonan enter the UFC, as he holds a big win over current middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

The the second most explosive bout, behind Alexander and Silva, will probably be between Jason Reindhart and Joe Lauzon, who are both very good, very experienced fighters who should make for an interesting war, as Reindhart is making his debut with an 18-0 record (higher than anyone to make their debut in a long time) and Lauzon has looked very dangerous and very aggressive in his last few fights.

While those two bouts have potential and a few interesting and high profile names appear on the card, it's not the product that the UFC used to give us. I'll be watching, but I won't be paying $40 to watch it at my place. I may need a drink and some friends to help deal with the sting of a mediocre card.

That's all for now, more on this event and predictions as it draws near.

BJ Penn vs Joe Stevenson

The return of the most controversial title is set for UFC 80, when Cobra Kai fighter Joe "Daddy" Stevenson (28-7-0) will take on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend BJ "The Prodigy" Penn (11-4-1).

While the UFC 155 pound title has yet to see an actual passing of the torch, the fight between Penn, who has long been considered one of the best lightweights in the world and recently defeated the first champion Jens "Little Evil" Pulver. (Pulver left the UFC and vacated his title after a contract dispute.

Penn has held the UFC 170 pound title, which he (in a similar fashion to Pulver) vacated when he signed with K-1. Penn is a heavy favorite in this fight and his phenomenal combination of striking skills and prodigal Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ability is the main reason for that, though he also has alot of experience with top fighters in the UFC welterweight division, having gone to war with two of the 170 divisions former champions, in addition to holding the title.

While it's no secret Penn knows how to fight at the top ranks of the UFC, Joe Stevenson may pull out a phenomenal, quick finish like he has been doing for a while now, particularly in his last fight when he stopped the explosive striker and wrestler Melvin Guillard with a guillotine choke in the first round.

The lightweight title, which was stripped from champion Sean Sherk after he tested positive for steroids, is a serious matter, as it's a title that hasn't really had a long standing or legitimate champion. As I said before, no one has held the title long enough to lose it (as the only defense ended in Sherk testing positive).

Penn and Stevenson have a lot of pressure going into this fight, but Penn has to be coming in with the competitive edge. After all, it's not his first title fight, and he just beat the man who once held it.

As far as the actual matchup of skill sets between Penn and Stevenson, it looks almost too good to be true for BJ. Joe Stevenson is a strong wrestler with good submission skills, but BJ is one of the best submission fighters in the 155 pound division, perhaps second only to Shinya Aoki.

Still, this will be an interesting fight. Stevenson may try to stay on top and use his wrestling ability to edge out a decision, which means we will get to see BJ's jiu-jitsu, and that's always fun to watch. Still, as good a wrestler as Stevenson is, the question remains: will he be able to keep the Prodigy from sinking in that submission?

Big News in the UFC

There have been two major announcements made in the last 24 hours. First, the UFC announced the first bout for former NCAA champion, WWE superstar and professional football player, Brock Lesnar. His opponent at UFC 81 will be former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, one of the top submission fighters in the UFC heavyweight division.

The second is the announcement of the return of the UFC's most contreversial title: the UFC lightweight title, when B.J. Penn will face Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 to determine the title holder. The UFC title has yet to be passed through the defeat of a champion, as the first champion, Jens Pulver, left due to a contract dispute, and the latest champion, Sean Sherk, was stripped of his title after testing positive for steroids.

Both of these matchups bring up an important factor in fights, it called "outs." Outs are the way in which a fighter can win a fight, and make looking at odds alot easier.

Lets look at the outs for the Lesnar vs. Mir matchup on groundhog day:

Mir (10-3-0) is a well known submission fighter. He has alot of experience in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has beaten larger fighters, like Tim Sylvia, by submission. Mir is expected to look for his chokes and joint locks. If Mir finishes, chance are it will be on the ground.

Lesnar (1-0-0) is a wrestler, trained in folkstyle and very athletic. He has two major outs. Lesnar will get into top position against Mir, that's pretty much certain. The question is whether Lesnar will be able to finish and win by groudnpound TKO, or whether he will maintain top position for three rounds and win a decision.

So Mir has one out, Lesnar has two. Having more ways to win is the best way to set yourself up for one.

There are always four major outs: TKO on the ground, KO standing up, submission or decision. Looking at things in terms of those outs, there's one that's missing. Who wins standing up.

Purely on the basis of Lesnar's recent transition and Mir's experience, I'd have to give Mir the edge, but only slightly.

So, with Lesnar's two outs, I'd give him the fight. Personally, I'll be rooting for Mir, as he's been injured recently and had a great first round kimura finish of Anthony Hardonk. Still, Lesnar's athleticism and matchup superiority, I think that Lesnar has an edge in this fight.

I'll go into the B.J. Penn vs. Stevenson matchup later, but that's just an outline of the concept of outs and a look at the outs for the Lesnar/Mir fight.

The Big Day Came and Went

Alot of people complained about the UFC 75 card, and I never understood why. I thought that, while the undercard was mediocre, the main card fights like Bisping vs. Hamill and Kongo vs. CroCop were interesting, and I expected the title fight between Henderson and Rampage Jackson to be exciting.

The undercard met its expectations. Marcus Davis put on the most exciting show of the night, and the only submission, when he caught Paul Taylor in an armbar just past the 4 minutes mark in the first round. Taylor made it a war and proved that he is definitely a deserving fighter with solid standup, though his groundgame still needs work.

Houston Alexander, the rising star of the UFC's ever-improving lightheavyweight division, stopped Italian Alessio Sakara with strikes at 1:01 in the first round. While there are still doubts about Alexander's gas tank, there are none about his power and will. Alexander will be an exciting opponent, whoever he fights next.

Brit Terry Etim dropped a decision and though the rest of the undercard finished their fights, it was nothing to write home about.

Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill was much closer than anticipated, with Hamill displaying powerful wrestling and heavy striking, but losing a controversial split decision. While many of my fellow Americans are upset that Hamill's power and ability to take top position didn't win the fight, I was happy that his lay-and-pray tactics weren't rewarded by the judges.

In the biggest upset of the night, Cheick Kongo won a decision over Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic, breaking Filipovic's ribs with a body kick at the beginning of the fight. Despite the debilitating injury and painful slowness on the part of CroCop, the bigger, stronger Kongo was unable to finish the veteran and had to resort to winning on the judges scorecards.

Despite a passable performance standing up from Kongo, the night wasn't a bad showing for him. He displayed some groundnpound, an aspect of his game that we haven't ever seen before, probably because it was the focus of his training with Jaunito Ibarra. (it was a weakness that has been exploited in past bouts) Kongo is a standup phenomenon, and his ability to beat CroCop on his feet puts him in my list of top 5 strikers in the heavyweight division, running close with CroCop, Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia. He's in good company and good standing in the UFC heavyweight division and I think he's poised to get the winner of the upcoming matchup between Brandon Vera and former heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 77, which, if he wins, will put him in title contention.

The biggest fight of the night was a matchup between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and "Dangerous" Dan Henderson, the UFC and Pride 205 pound champions, respectively. While Henderson dominated the fight early on, he didn't overwhelm Jackson with his Roman Greco ability and Rampage eventually recovered to win unanimous on the judges scorecards.

Quinton is the first fighter to unify a UFC and Pride belt. His next matchup is unknown, but it could very well be against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who beat Jackson badly when they met in Pride. If it is, Jackson will, once again be the underdog, as Shogun is considered by many the #1 lightheavyweight in the world.

The event was an interesting segueway and, despite a mediocre undercard and some main card contreversy, it was a history making night, as the UFC unified the 205 pound title.

Now, I'm looking forward to upcoming events like the next Ultimate Fight Night, taking place on September 19, and UFC 76, which will follow that Saturday. Both of those events look promising.

UFC 75: A Quick Preview

I'll give my major preview to the upcoming event later this week, but I though it would be worth starting off on early, since it's going to be a big event. It's the first title fight outside of the United States in a long time, and it's going to be the first title fight broadcast Free on Spike TV.

I should probably say first that Quinton Jackson vs Dan Henderson was a momentous matchup anyway. It was the first fight (hopefully the first of many) to unify a UFC belt and a PRIDE belt.

Henderson, who holds the PRIDE 205 pound and 185 pound titles, has been fighting overseas for a long time. When he signed with the UFC it was called into question whether he would get a title shot straight away. After Quinton Jackson, a former competitor in the PRIDE division that Henderson champions, defeated Chuck Liddell to take the UFC 205 pound title, it made sense that Henderson should get a title shot.

While many people think that over seas stars should get a warm up fight in the Octagon, it doesn't make sense for a guy with a belt. There are too many logistical problems.

Does the fight become a title fight?

Does his opponent have to earn the right to be a contender for his belt?

How does someone earn the right to fight for a belt in a division they don't belong to?

There are just too many issues (and if the incoming fighter loses his debut the consquences are really problematic).

Jackson v Henderson is a matchup that is interesting, because Jackson was dominated thoroughly by two of the top PRIDE 205ers, Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (both have signed contracts with the UFC). Henderson defeated Silva for the title very recently, and this will be his first title coming into a fight as the PRIDE champion at 205 pounds.

There is definitely some extra pressure on Henderson, as he is the only fighter in the world to hold 2 belts in a major organization, and alot of people are wondering what will happen if he defeats Jackson to become the unified champion at 205. He could fight a challenger at 205 or he could drop down to 185 to unify the UFC and PRIDE titles in that weight class. Either way, there are going to be people who disagree with the move, but either way, it's going to make for an exciting matchup.

If Jackson wins, he will move up a spot in the lightheavyweight rankings where he is currently hanging between number 3 and 4, close to tied with former PRIDE 205 pound champion Silva (Silva is returning to the UFC after two very tough losses to heavyweight Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic and Henderson).

Jackson currently tails Shogun and Henderson in most rankings, so defeating Henderson will move him into the undisputed #2 spot and give him the chance to fight Rua soon, as Rua may be considered a #1 contender once he has made his UFC debut at UFC 76.

Both fighters have a belt to lose and a belt to gain, and they know that they are a week away from making MMA history. The best part is that I'm not going to have to pay to watch it.

We Can Only Pray: Fedor In The Octagon

When I say that he is the greatest fighter in the world, people think that's my opinion, but Fedor Emelianenko is the most feared and most dominant heavyweight in the sport of mixed martial arts.

I was reading an article on sherdog.com on Fedor's recent trip to the United States and his negotiations with the UFC, as well as a handful of other organizations.

Fedor's agent was mentioned (I don't know how reliably) as saying that their best offer so far was from the UFC.

To see Fedor in the octagon would be almost completing a phenomenal year for the heavyweight division. The resurrection of Randy Couture, Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira making their UFC debuts. All that remains is for the UFC to deal with Josh Barnett and Mark Hunt.

As a fan, seeing Fedor in the cage would be incredible, and it would be an opportunity to test the real abilities of the UFC heavyweight division that gets more hype than it deserves.

For those who don't know, Fedor holds a career record of 26-1-0, with his only loss coming by a cut delivered through an illegal strike. The loss would have been declared a no-contest under modern rules, but back in the dark ages of MMA, that wasn't how they ran things. He later avenged that loss by beating "TK" Kohsaka into a bloody mess.

I don't have any insider information on the dealings with Fedor, but I am hoping that he does end up in the UFC. It would be a huge step (the biggest so far) in the UFC's step to create the "Ultimate" heavyweight division and crown the greatest heavyweight in the world with the UFC heavyweight title.

Winning Europe: The UFC's War To Expand

UK MMA poster boy and TUF 3 winner Michael Bisping.

I would be lying if I told you that Americans are "bringing" mixed martial arts to the UK. It's existed for many years and the community continues to grow.

Alot of people would say that British mixed martial arts are a lower cailber than American organizations are, but the UFC wants the UK market badly.

UK is the gateway to Europe, and fighters like "The Ultimate Fighter 3" lightheavyweight winner Michael Bisping and up-and-comer Terry Etim are their best bet.

The same way Americans love to cheer for their hometown boys, British fans go crazy for Bisping and he's fast becoming the UFC's European posterboy. He and Etim have already been announced as members of the UFC 75: Champion vs Champion card to be held in the UK. It will be the UFC's second event in the UK this year and will be the first time the UFC has attempted to unify a title with one from the recently liquidated (after being bought out by UFC step-parent company Zuffa) Pride Fighting Championships.

Dan Henderson vs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will prove a high quality fight and will definitely do well in terms of American pay-per-view buys, but the time change may make it harder for American audiences.

Still, the UFC is trying to give the European fans something to be excited about, and with the main card bouts between the Brit Bisping and American archrival Matt Hamill (they are both very respectful, but it's no secret that Bisping doesn't like Hamill) as well as attractions for mainland Europe in the bout between Frenchman Cheick Kongo and Croatian Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic.

For all of the American MMA fans, we may not see the marketing, but the UFC is going global. We are no longer the soul patrons of the greatest fight-show on earth, and it's going to take some getting used to, but, in the end, it'll be a good thing.

After all, a world stage will bring us better fights and raise the level of competition that much higher.

Inside CroCop v Kongo: Underrated and Written Off

Mirko Filipovic vs Cheick Kongo may be the greatest standing matchup ever.

Even Joe Silva and the other UFC brass responsible for putting this matchup together don't seem to realize the magnitude a fight like this can have, the amount of impact this matchup can have.

Cheick Kongo is an up-and-comer. He's 10-3-1 in professional mixed martial arts competition, but the man is a complete monster on his feet. He's been KO'd once in his career by Dutch kickboxer Gilbert Yvel. Since being stopped by Yvel, he has not been stopped and, honestly, has looked unstoppable on his feet. He's stopped 7 of his 10 victories with his incredible striking ability, but it's more than just his precision and power.

Cheick Kongo is a monster. He's 6 feet and 4 inches tall, but he's built like a Ford F150. He's fast, agile and ripped, everything that a striker should be in terms of physique and raw athleticism.

When Kongo steps into the cage at UFC 75 he will be staring down, as Joe Rogan put it, "the scariest man ever to walk out to Duran Duran music."

Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic doesn't beat people, he destroys people. His striking is, beyond a doubt, the most percise and explosive skill in MMA. He holds a professional MMA record of 22-5-2 and has stood across the ring from more top ten fighter than any other heavyweight.

CroCop has a left leg that can really only be described as the most powerful tool in professional sports. It broke the leg of Judo Gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida. It made giants like Bob Sapp and Josh Barnett just give up. It has claimed KO's over Wanderlei Silva and Igor Vovchanchyn.

Mirko has, perhaps, the greatest highlight reel in the sport and, while Kongo's career is still in it's beginning stages, he has proven that he is a monster standing up.

This is a fight that will not go to the ground. It'll be a kickboxing match between the giant Frenchman Kongo and the 212 pound Croatian Senator and anti-terrorist officer known as CroCop.

I'm not going to make serious, major predictions about the outcome of the fight, though I have my bet on CroCop, I think that this will be a bout worth TiVoing, but in case you don't, it'll be on youtube the next day.

Highlight reels for both fighters:

Cheick Kongo

Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic

Thank you to whoever did the highlight reels. They're really well done, especially the CroCop one.

MMA on 60 Minutes

My dad and I sit on the couch every once in a while and watch the news. We've been on vacation on and off for a while, so we were clearing through some recordings and we found an episode of 60 minutes we hadn't watched. One of the segments was on MMA.

I have, lately, been struggling with alot of the mainstream media's projections about the sport as a whole. My biggest problem, honestly, is that they still manage to represent the sport as barbaric.

With that said, I have to admit that 60 Minutes put together the best segment on MMA that I have seen so far. They weren't as uninformed as Sports Illustrated (shame on the guys that wrote that article, it was badly put together and parts of it were clearly ignorant of the sport) or as ridiculous and self-righteous as Bill O'Reilly's past work on the sport (I'm not an O'Reilly fan to begin with, but when a friend emailed me that segment, I couldn't finish it).

60 Minutes was honest about the sport, and they didn't talk.

Personally, I think it's great when a reporter asks questions and let's the expert answer.

They also had great selections for subjects of the show. They talked a little bit about Dana White (though it would be an understatement to say they glossed over the Pre-Zuffa history of the UFC) and he had some great comments, but he's a great guy to have speak for the sport.

More impressive was that they interviewed Pat Miletich and Renzo Gracie, real legends of the sport. They mentioned Pat Miletich's legendary coaching backround (though they forget, like everyone seems to, that Pat Miletich held a world title for a while). They discussed Renzo's jiu-jitsu skills, making a point of his intelligence and his articulateness (which is even better when you consider that English isn't his first language) and even talking about the fight with Kazushi Sakuraba.

There are so many intracacies of the sport that I would love for someone to put together an hour special on it to inform people, but that won't happen until we get to the point where covering the sport in an hour is no longer possible.

If anyone out there has money and air-time, it would be worth doing.

Still, 60 Minutes did a great job. Thank you to those responsible for the segment, and to everyone in the media who is smart enough and honest enough to present the truth about the sport in a way that represents the intellectual aspects, as well as the athletic ones, while managing to be historically and politically correct.

It's not an easy thing to do and I appreciate it.

A Big Day For Judo

Recently, the UFC announced the signings of two of the greatest judo practitioners in MMA. In fact, they probably run #2 and 4 in the sport.

Both PRIDE fighting star Kazuhiro Nakamura (considered a top ten lightheavyweight in many circles, #2) and lightweight Michihiro Omigawa (sports a decieving 4-3 pro record, with very good judo and two very impressive recent performances in Japan's DEEP organization, #4) were announced as members of the UFC roster a little while ago.

I've been behind on my writing for a little while now, but I found that the UFC has announced both Nakamura and Omigawa are set to appear on the UFC's 76 card.

While I have alot of issues with this card (the fact that Jardine and Griffin are getting way more publicity than they are due and are matched up with two of the most dangerous fighters in the world when they don't deserve to be has been bugging me for a little while now), the UFC's announcement has made this card much more exciting for me.

Judo fighters are fun to watch. Though, for some reason, alot of the new UFC fans have been booing foreign fighters and fighters from the PRIDE organization, I think that guys like Nakamura add a new level of depth in the UFC.

I like to talk about Nakamura much more than Omigawa mostly because Nakamura is a much more well established fighter in mixed martial arts. He has had an impressive performance (though a loss) against former UFC champion Josh Barnett (Barnett is a weight class above Nakamura), he took the worlds #1 lightheavyweight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua 20 minutes to a decision, he's only been stopped by former PRIDE 205 pound champion Wanderlei Silva and current champion "Dangerous" Dan Henderson and he lost a very close decision to Jiu-jitsu legend Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (little brother to former heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo).

Nakamura is a fighter of epic proportions in the UFC. While many think that he is just a judoka, I, personally, resent the term.

People will rank Nakamura #9 or 10 in the world pretty regularly, but when I look at the numbers I have to rank him higher than UFC champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and, as a result, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans and the rest of the pack in the UFC's 205 pound division.

I think that the real top 5, statistically speaking at 205, belongs to Shogun, Henderson, W. Silva, Sokoudjou and Jackson. However, I put Nakamura in the 6 spot.

Getting Nakamura is good news for everybody, especially Zuffa. Now Zuffa has half of the majority of the world's top ten, between Nakamura, Rua, Jackson, Liddell and Evans/Ortiz (whoever you believe should be in the 10 spot).

Personally, I like the arrangement that they have right now, though I'm still hoping for the likes of one Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (aka "The African Assassin") to grace the octagon.

Still, for the time being, this 205 pound weight class looks absolutely stacked.