The Smashing Machine

For some fight fans, he was the greatest fighter of all times, and his monoquer stood true as he mangled fighters across continents and rule sets. Mark Kerr was the first great fighter to transition from a cage to a ring and, though his career has been rocky lately, his story remains one of the greatest in the history of the sport.

Kerr was a National champion in collegiate wrestling, representing Syracuse University. He was impressive not only for his physical strength, but also his technical ability, which allowed him to control any opponent.

He would make his professional MMA debut in January of 1997, fighting in the World Vale Tudo championship, held in Brazil. In the tournament format that Kerr was so familiar with from collegiate wrestling, he would defeat three opponents in one night. While Kerr's first two matches lasted under five minutes, his third fight was a half and hour, and was the first match to really expose the major flaw in his armor: Kerr had no cardiovascular conditioning. While Kerr managed to control his opponent, it would be a small showing of a problem that would haunt him for the rest of his professional career.

After winning the WVC tournament, Kerr moved to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, still in it's early days and without a champion. Kerr fought again in the tournament format that he seemed to understand, and was very popular during the early days of the UFC. He fought twice at that event, UFC 14, defeating Moti Horenstein (a fighter who, while his record doesn't show it, had in with numerous occassions and stepped in with very tough opponents) and Dan Bobish, a very well known brawler. Both fights ended in under 3 minutes, and Kerr proved that even against men his own size, his superior strength, ruthless attack and technical ability was unmatched.

Kerr's monoquer was quickly coming together, and he was being called everything from "The Titan" to "The Smashing Machine." While the latter stuck with him throughout his career, it wasn't just his name that was intimidating. Kerr was a thick wrestler, with a big torso and limbs, and the sheer intimidation of a fighter like Kerr, even in a time when fighters were more like street brawlers and less like professional athletes, gave him an edge, and when coupled with the athleticism of his wrestling career, he became a force in the sport.

Kerr would fight at the UFC's next event, UFC 15, and again take the tournament format with two wins. He defeated Greg "The Ranger" Stott (a long time street fighter who was hurt so badly by Kerr's knee to the head that he gave up the professional circuit) and Dwayne Cason (who would also never fight again, but the reason for that is unknown).

After UFC 15, Mark took his career over seas to fight in Pride FC, which was starting to take off. Kerr would become a major vessel of that success and a dominant force in the ring.

Kerr would begin his career in the single fight format in Pride, fighting at Pride events 2-7, missing only 5. He would beat kickboxing legend Branko "The Croatian Tiger" Cikatic (who was the front runner in the tradition that would spawn fighters like Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic) at Pride 2, Pedro Otavio at Pride 3, Hugo Duarte at Pride 4 (both Duarte and Otavio were very well known wrestlers and charismatic individuals) and Nobuhiko Takada at Pride 6 (Takada would go on to found the Takada dojo, which to this day produces some of the best fighters in Japan and the world). The only fight in Kerr's career, so far, that had gone to a second round was his fight with Duarte, which took him to three, and gave Kerr a chance to show a little bit of cardiovascular ability.

Kerr would draw with "Ice Cold" Igor Vovchanchyn at Pride 7, but the fight would display a serious flaw in Kerr's abilities. Kerr had always been the attacker and always gotten on top of his opponents quickly and dominated them from there. Vovchanchyn maintained his distance and hit Kerr with precision stiking, being careful not to get taken down.

While Kerr's career has struggled lately, his recent fight with Steve Gavin showed some signs of a Kerr we once knew. While he is still a shadow of his former self, the success of his recent documentary, "The Smashing Machine," left us with a better understanding of the troubled, though wildly successful, warrior that he was.

For those still interested in him, or those interested in the beginning of the sport at large, check out the movie, but for all MMA fans, watch his fights. They are statements in physical power and displays by one of the greatest wrestlers to ever step in an octagon.

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.

Josh Barnett Signs with M-1

Well, it's official, Russian organization M-1 has solidifed it's courting of top 5 heavyweight fighter Josh "The Baby-Faced Assassin" Barnett. With the signing of #1 heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, the Barnett signing shows that M-1 is serious about being more than a one-fighter organization.

Barnett was the only top heavyweight fighter in Pride who never fought the champion Emelianenko, and this signing promises on of the greatest matches that the heavyweight division, and the sport at large, has to offer.

As a matchup, this fight is unequalled. Fedor is famous for a powerful ground-and-pound attack, that he usually delivers standing in his opponents guard, and his boxing skills, as well as the submission skills he has developed in sambo are very solid. His combination of quick hands, both on the ground and standing, aggressive attack, precision head movement and a handful of very effective submissions (namely the armbar and the kimura) have made him a force that hasn't been pushed to the breaking point ever in a fight.

Barnett has submission skills unlike any other fighter in the sport. While he lacks for the technical Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu backround of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, his violent and versatile game (which contains a larger arsenal of attacks than Nogueira's) is quick and aggressive. His raw strength and Roman-Greco wrestling has made him a challenge for anyone trying to land on top of him to attack, and if Fedor goes that route he may find that Barnett's experience is wrestling is too much.

The dimensions of this fight are very interesting and promising.

Fedor has the better standup, as he's traded with top tier heavyweight strikers like Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic, but chances are this fight will end up on the ground, either with Fedor going for a clinch and one of his crafty takedowns that come from his hybrid Judo/Sambo backround. Whether he'll surprise Barnett, who has fought top Judoka in MMA before pretty successfully, is doubtful, but even so he may be able to get to a top position against Barnett.

If Fedor dominates the standup, we may see Barnett initiate the clinch and go for a takedown. Barnett's wrestling backround is not something that Fedor has ever dealt with. While he's fought tough folkstyle wrestlers like Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman and Matt Lindland, Barnett's folkstyle wrestling is a different deal. It's much less traditional and Barnett is really fairly unique, incorporating techniques that we really only see in professional wrestling entertainment as a way of displaying his strength.

Once the fight hits the ground, we will see someone in their element. Both fighters thrive on the top and love to attack, but both are very solid off of their backs. Barnett has leglocks that have proven very effective in his wrestling and he got to display them in his fight against Pawel Nastula not to long ago. We could see him do what no one else has really tried and attempt a leglock on Fedor from under Fedor's ground-and-pound. If Fedor ends up on his back, it will be interesting to see how Barnett handles Fedor's incredibly fundamental submission skills with his less conventional backround.

It's a matchup of the technically perfect versus the unconventionally saavy. Fedor is a total cyborg in the ring, his focus is all on victory, and he can attain it from anywhere. Barnett is a monster and he's always looking to attack, always trying finish.

Thanks for M-1 for putting this matchup together and I'm hoping for the best in their talks with Mark Hunt, Aleksander Emelianenko, Sergei Kharitonov and the other guys who are hanging in the balance with the Pride buyout.

More on the Randy Couture Conflict

Dana White has openly refused to talk about the terms of Heavyweight champion Randy Couture's contract, which, as I understand it, has everything to do with why Couture will not fight while he is still only two fights in to a five fight contract.

White has openly stated, though, that he will do whatever he has to in order to ensure that Couture fights again. While many expected White and the other big names at Zuffa to just lest this go, and let Randy return to retirement, it's clear that it's not that simple. After all, nobody likes to lose money, regardless of how nice a guy Randy Couture might be.

Personally, I'd love to see Randy fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. It's a war because Randy could be the first man to finish Noguiera, especially after Nogueira's sloppy debut in the Octagon, but it has all of the makings for a really exciting matchup.

Personally, I hope that we get to see Randy fighting in the cage under circumstances that really make him want to fight. He's a great fighter and he deserves a contract that reflects that, so as someone who believes in someone making the money they deserve, I'd like to see Couture get what he wants from the UFC, but the fan in my would also like to see him fight in the Octagon again.

There are reports about a clause that gives Zuffa the rights to extend the contract of a fighter who becomes UFC champion, though it doesn't make any sense that Couture would agree to that clause, given that he was given a title shot in his first fight. Still, if that is the case (and some people have argued that it was a major sticking point when the UFC was negotiating with Pride Fight Championship heavyweight king Fedor Emelianenko) I can understand Couture being upset and wanting out. It also makes sense that a clause might exist after fighters like B.J. Penn and Jens Pulver left the UFC without losing their belts.

Since all of the news isn't out yet, I'm just trying to keep everyone up to speed on what we know and are speculating about. Just keep hoping to see the greatest champion in the history of the UFC back in action.

Josh "The Baby-Faced Assassin" Barnett

While he's inactive, I thought it only fair that we take a look at the career of one of the sport's greatest heavyweights thus far. On a personal note, the first UFC event I saw was UFC 36 where Barnett defeated Randy Couture, though Barnett was later stripped of his title after testing positive for anabolic steriods. But I shouldn't get ahead of myself, I should start at the beginning.

Josh Barnett made his mixed martial-arts debut after coming over from New Japan Professional Wrestling. He brought incredible strength, a strong catch wrestling backround (which is a style of submission fighting based in leglocks) and charisma otherwise unmatched in the heavyweight division.

His first fight was in the United Full Contact Federation on January 11th, 1997, where he fought Chris Charnos and chalked up his first win with a choke. UFCF only did one round fights, in the traditional Vale Tudo style that the UFC had been using as well, and would continue to use until it started becoming heavily politicized.

After he defeated Bob Gilstrap in his second MMA fight, Barnett would leave UFCF for new opposition, moving to Superbrawl, where he would win four straight fights, three of the four by submission. Of his short, though impressive, Superbrawl career, Barnett would fight John Marsh (a 7-6 lifetime fighter, but who stepped in the ring with great fighters like Ricco Rodriguez, Vladimir Matyushenko and Jeremy Horn), underground legend Bobby "The Bad Seed" Hoffman (36-10-1) and future UFC Hall of Famer Dan "The Beast" Severn (79-15-7).

Barnett was quickly snatched up by the UFC after he submitted the former heavyweight champion Severn with an armbar. He was noted for his ability to use very effective, very technical submissions, though he was a large, very strong fighter. He made his debut against giant Gan McGee, who stood 6'10 and was a perfect 7-0 up to his fight with Barnett. McGee was also making his debut.

Barnett wasn't a favorite going into his fight, as no one really knew anything about either fighter, except that they were both undefeated and coming out of smaller shows. The two went to war at UFC 28 High Stakes and 4:34 into the second round, Barnett TKO'd McGee.

Barnett would fight a very tough up-and-comer Pedro "The Rock Rizzo, who would go on to become a staple of the UFC heavyweight division. It would be Barnett's first loss, and at 4:31 in the second Rizzo hit Barnett with a stiff punch that put him out of the fight.

Barnett went on a short, three fight tear, destroying 7 foot Dutchman Semmy Schilt, Bobby Hoffman and then, in his title shot against champion Randy Couture, he decimated Couture.

Barnett didn't hold the hardware for long, and it was taken away after he tested positive for anabolic steroids.

Barnett returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling for an MMA fight and destroyed Jimmy Ambriz. He then fought in Pancrase and defeated Yuki Kondo. The jumping around wasn't complete, and he fought and beat Semmy Schilt and Renee Rooze in Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye and K-1.

Barnett was then picked up by Pride and set to fight Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic, a kickboxer coming in from K-1 with a reputation for brutal left-leg kicks. Barnett would drop back to back fights to CroCop, the first one by submission after taking a barrage of kicks from CroCop's left leg and the second by unanimous decision.

Barnett's career in PRIDE would be a continued success and he would destroy Kazuhiro Nakamura, Russian giant Aleksander Emelianenko and K-1 champion Mark Hunt all by submission.

The vitories over Emelianenko and Hunt would be his first two fights in the PRIDE open weight Grand Prix, and the finale in Japan would prove to be a war for Barnett. After winning a close split decision to former heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Barnett face his archrival CroCop and lost when a kick to his ribs left him unable to continue.

At the PRIDE debut in Las Vegas, he would defeat Judoka Pawel Nastula with a toe hold submission.

While Barnett lost his rematch to Nogueira at the New Year's Eve event called PRIDE Shockwave, the biggest shadow has been cast by controversy over where he will go, and his inability to sign with an organization has left him out of a ring or cage since December 31st, 06.

No one knows where he will go from here, his talent, strength and charisma are definitel a large part of the MMA heavyweight top ten, and we can only hope to see them again soon.