Racism Sucks

Bloggers, Take a Fucking Stand

Man, today we got deftly informed by Sam Caplan about the racism that occurred at the bodog show last night. Then, on Any Given Saturday, Matt from UFCTakedown confirmed what Sam said. We've put up with the racism on the UG and the horror that is Fightsport and we've gone silent. FUCK THAT. As an ex-soldier, and a very proud American, I find this not only offensive, but abhorrent. Racism is not only fucking wrong, but it's against everything that martial arts stand for. Racism is also a clear sign of ignorance and lack of mental evolution. It is a sign of the weak.

So, I ask all bloggers out there to create a Blank Post with no text, just the headline, Racism Sucks. I'll go first.

Jui-Jitsu is Dead

At least without a wrestling pedigree behind it.
I posted after UFC 73 a point about the losses of Franca, Bocek, Marquardt, and wins by Lytle, Minatauro, Florian, and Bonnar and you can toss in a draw between to wrestlers, that BJJ was dead in MMA without either a solid wrestling pedigree or honed striking skills, so let's analyze:

Edgar's wrestling totally neutralized Bocek's world class BJJ.

Lytle, an ex-boxer who has trained on the ground for years now, made Jason Gilliam look like a doll on the ground.

Florian, once a BJJ only guy, now has Muay Thai skills that may be top ten at 155 in the UFC.

Franca needs to sell his BJJ black belt on ebay. He looked like a complete joke on the ground against a top eschelon wrestler in Sherk.

Bonnar, another ex boxer and wrestling standout, looked just beautiful on the ground against Nickels.

Big Nog it seems has all but abandoned his BJJ for the striking side, unless an opportunity presents itself. He no longer constantly looks for takedowns and subs.

Fighters must be well-rounded today, of course. But either some of these BJJ black belts were purchased at Target, or these guy's need to start paying local wrestlers for lessons. You need to strike or you need to wrestle, and either way, know submissions.

Wanna see what I mean? Short vid. Both of these guys are BJJ black belts, but Jake Shields is a two time all American wrestler. Watch his posture and position. He makes Ido look like a fool.

Jake Shields vs. Ido Pariente
Uploaded by udar552007

Cage Rage 22 Zaromskis Vs Mason

You may not have heard of either of these guys, but if you like striking and devastating KOs, watch this one. Marios reminds me of Zelg "Lil Mirko", or even Crocop himself. Awesome fight and even greater finish. It's three rounds, but damn near all action, so you won't be sleepy watching all 17 mins of it.

Marios Zaromskis vs Ross Mason
Uploaded by Princenino

Big Thanks

To ProElite.com for the free stream of Cage Rage 22. Great quality, good sound.

If the Marios Zaromskis v Ross Mason fight makes it to DM or YT, I'll post it. Marios is like a mini-Crocop. Awesome striker, and he ended this fight with a James Irvin flying knee. Crazy.

Herb Dean really does suck as a fighter. He can't punch, his kicks are sloppy, and his ground game is maybe a C+. He had actually won the first round, but then quit on the stool because of something wrong with his eye.

Why is it that the UFC has the money, has the fighters, and all the marketing power in the world, but little Cage Rage can put on an exciting, entertaining, and well produced show that the UFC can only dream about? Fire the promoter. Oh wait...

Where Have You Gone, Babalu?

What the hell has happened to his hands? This guy I really believed would one day be the UFC champ. Now he's in career-save mode. Here's a rare fight for ya.

WEF 8 Babalu vs Brad Kohler
Uploaded by snatchGTT

Forrest Griffin vs Newby Part 2

Everyone has seen the vid when Forrest kicked the Vegas reporter and broke his leg right? Well, it seems Newby wants some payback and has been in training with some MMA guys, Kalib Starnes and Marc Laimon to name a few. Check it out.

Mirko Is One Mean Dude

There's a video montage out there of Mirko kicking various things: cars, buildings, mountains, and people. This one is funniest to me. I'd post the vid, but the site it's on doesnt allow embedding and I can't link to it since it's members only. I'll try to figure out a way to save it out of the flash buffer, but so far it hasnt worked.

Let's Watch Some Staredowns!

I've been on a vid kick lately. This one is classic. The first half is all different staredowns between Mirko and some of his opponents. I can watch him stare at Wandy all day. Crocop is interesting in that the guys he respects ( Fedor, Nog, Coleman ) he just stands there and sometimes looks away. When he doesnt respect his opponent ( Wandy, Randleman ) he stares right through them.

Signed My First Sponsor

Yup. Let me introduce you to my new sponsor, Gravity Shoes, from Croatia. Check out their commercial, go ahead.

Here's My Pic of the Day

They sure don't look like two of the most dangerous men on the planet, do they?

This pic was taken while Wandy was visiting Randy in Ohio. Silva taught some classes around the country that I've heard were very well done, and did a few motivational speeches while making business contacts. Wanderlei is currently preparing to move to the US, so that's why he's saying he can't fight in September, but will fight in November.

But Wandy, even your website still says Sept. 22?

New UFC Video Game, Blah

Everyone's posting the preview. I got one better, a preview with RAMPAGE!!!


Another funny ass Rampage video goofing on the poor Japanese. Holy shit it's funny. Rare footage of a buzzing Page, and even more rare: a thin Heath Herring...

UFC on Demand and Unfulfilled

I normally don't link to many other sites, since too many bloggers do just that, but this one is to close to home. What happened to this guy, happened to me about two years ago. And they still haven't fixed it? I'm not saying torrenting is a good thing, but when so few legal options are available...

Horrible

Thanks to FightOpinion.

Crocop HLs Are a Dime a Dozen, Right?

Not this one. I can watch LHKs all day.

Mirko 'Crocop' Filipovic - "Journey of a Ronin" by RebiTo
Uploaded by sakurama39

Gayest MMA Video Ever?

Oldie but a goodie. If you haven't seen this then expect to laugh, then shake your head, then cry.

Wanderlei Silva & Mark Coleman - Schick Protector Commercial
Uploaded by bombayblockbuster

Rarely Seen Rampage Bout

Unless of course you have the DVD... and then upload it for others to see...

Quinton Rampage Jackson vs Yokoi
Uploaded by Princenino

Eye the Hi

Hyoto Sakurai
Uploaded by Panabas

Will someone please convince Mach to lay off the kalibi ribs and cut to 155? Is there any part of a complete MMA skillset this guy doesn't have? WIll Bruce Buffer say "Mahck" instead of "Maha"?

UFC More Boring Than Pride? You Decide - A Look at the Numbers

I made some calculations about how bouts end in both The UFC and the ol' Pride. I left out UFC Fight Nights and Pride Bushidos. The UFN are free so who really cares, and the Bushidos were only 2 rounds. I looked at the last 10 events for both orgs from UFC 73 to 64 and Pride 34 to 30 with Shockwave's 06 and 05, FC Absolute, Critical Countdown, and Total Elimination. I didnt include the only draw ( Tito v Rashad ) in the sum of the 180 bouts, and I included Nick Diaz's win over Gomi as a sub. Hey, it's what the fans saw, and that's all that matters really.

UFC:
Total (T)KO - 36 40.5%
Total Subs - 23 25.8%
Total Decs - 30 33.7%
Total Bouts - 89
Average Card: 3-4 KOs, 2 Subs, 3 Dec

Pride:
Total (T)KO - 36 40%
Total Subs - 35 38.9%
Total Decs - 19 21.1%
Total Bouts - 90
Average Card 3-4 KOs, 3-4 Subs, 1-2 Dec

UFC highest numbers in any one night KO/Sub/Dec:
6/3/5
Lowest:
1/1/1

Pride:
Highest:
5/5/5
Lowest:
2/1/0

Modal numbers: ( the most frequently occuring numbers )
UFC: 4/3/3
Pride : 4/4/1

Number of times the UFC had 2 or less of a certain outcome:
2/5/3
Pride:
1/2/7 ( seven out of ten cards had 2 or less dec )

Times bout ending happened zero times in a night:
UFC:
0/0/0
Pride:
0/0/2 ( Two cards had no decisions )

Times there were more or equal decisions than either of the others ( not combined ):
UFC: 4 in 10
Pride: 2 in 10

Times there were more decs than anything else ( combined ):
UFC: 1 ( 69 )
Pride: 0

UFC best of the best: UFC 65 6/1/2, UFC 66 5/3/1
Worst: UFC 69 1/2/5, UFC 73 2/3/4, UFC 67 4/1/4
Pride best of the best: 34 3/5/0, 33 4/4/1, Critical 4/4/1, or Total Elim 4/4/0
Worst: Shockwave 2005 2/5/5 ( still finished more fights than went to dec ).

The numbers are the numbers and I aint gonna spin em. Use your own heads. But at a UFC event your gonna see a whole lot more decisions, 1 in 3, than subs, 1 in 4.
At an old Pride event, you'd see more subs, 2 in 5, than decs, 1 in 5.

Yellow cards anyone?

Time to Say Goodbye

Normally I would post on here how fucking wrong I was in my picks, but not this time.

UFC 73 was such an abortion for the UFC, it's not even funny anymore. If they couldn't get that card right, they never will.

Officiating:
Does it get any worse than what we say last night? You can look at any two fights and see a complete lack of consistency in how the bouts were reffed. Big Nog should be 2-1 vs Herring if the fight was judged the way the Silva v Marquardt bout was, or vice versa. Sherk mighta been KOed by a fifth knee if he was stood up the same way Nate was after every 21 sec lull in action. Yes Sherk was active, but if the criteria is standup after 21 seconds, then we probably wouldn't have seen 23 mins on the ground. And who the fuck was checking fingernails at the door before the Tito v Rashad match?

Action:
How active was Sherk really? Franca never looked rocked in that whole match. Was Sherk really active as in trying to finish the match? Hardly.
Tito and Rashad was another match that saw a lot of hugging and kissing. Where are the warnings for stalling and lack of engaging that the Unified Rules call for? Has there ever been a clearer card begging for a yellow card system that this one? Probably, this is the UFC after all, but since it was called Stacked we chould have seen a bit more action.

Jiu Jitsu:
It really is dead. At least for UFC fighters claiming black belts in it. This card just clearly showed BJJ is useless without a wrestling pedigree to back it up. Without solid body control and a learnt understand of balance, BJJ just isnt as effective in MMA as it once was. Franca and Bocek looked like novices on the ground versus good wrestlers, Marquardt got nothing going, and Florian has become a Muay Thai striker. This domination of wrestling equating to boring action yearns for knees to a grounded opponent. Lets see Tito drop to a knee to avoid the MT then.

Goldberg and Rogan:
How bad was Goldberg last nite? I started muting my television to avoid listening to that hack speak. "And the amazing, incredible thing is that he puts his undefeated record on the line..." What the fuck does that mean? He was play by playing six seconds late all night. And I know their job is to hype, but after 2 decisions and a draw do you have to saw that it's an incredible night of fights, and that it doesnt get any better than this? I suppose I hate to be patronized, and that just insulted my intelligence.

Crowd and PPV:
Why no sellout? You could clearly see empty seats on the fly-by cam. I dont remember seeing that many empty chairs during the EliteXC/Strikeforce card just two weeks ago. Judging from the blogs, a lot of ppl who frequent the blogoshere were getting their info online and not watching at home or elsewhere. If the UFC cant sell this card to the more than casual fan, what can they sell? Better start having Chuck Liddell fight monthly.

The Future:
If the UFC lost as many casual fans after 71 as some pundits claim, then they lost another boatload last night. The card was sheer boredom with the exception of Big Nog almost getting KOed and Florian showing he really is getting better with each fight and new mental toughness we haven't seen before. Money on him moving to 145 in the near future.
As for my future, I can no longer consider myself a UFC fan. Will I watch? Sure, at a bar. They are never getting my money from me again. I'll buy the next EliteXC card and continue to watch Pancrase, Shooto, and bodog. I just can't stomach another letdown like last night.

Been busy

For the few folks who do check my blog, my wife has had some complications following here surgery, so I've been a little distracted. When she's better, I'll be back at it.

UFC 73 Predictions

Marquardt via leglock mid third
Rashad
Bocek
Big Nog
Alvin over Kenflo
Franca just cause I cant stand Sherk
Nickels is gonna shock ya.
Lytle, but this one could be a great fight.
And I hate ot say it, but Gurgel.

This is the Funniest MMA Video Ever

This video is so fucking funny, that even at the hospital on my PDA I had to figure out a way to post it. Hardest computer thing I've ever done, but worth it.




Shanno Ritch is such a tool.

My Favorite Bout of All Time

With my ongoing project surrounding Dana White going on, I just can't get over his opinion that Matt Hughes versus Frank Trigg II is the greatest MMA bout he's ever seen, I feel it necessary to post one that could actually qualify as one of the best ever. Heart, skill, technicality, determination, mental toughness, it's all here. How many knees does Newton eat?

Note on the video, the announcer says Pele is 28 in 2002. His first pro bout in Capoeira/Vale Tudo was in 1990. That means he was 16 in his first bout? No, Pele was closer to 35 in this bout. I used to get Vale Tudo VCR tapes in 1991 outta NYC when I was in Europe and most of those tapes would have 2-3 Pele bouts, all different from many different years, some dating back to the 80's. Pele is a hell of a lot older than I think even he knows.

Jose 'Pele' Landi vs. Carlos Newton
Uploaded by ganjamandu59

A highlight of the fighter who at one time was the greatest mixed martial artist alive.

Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons Highlight
Uploaded by _Luk

MoreThanUFC on Intermittent Hiatus

I'll be in and out over the course of the next week. My wife is scheduled for surgery tommorrow, but unfortunately had to be admitted three days sooner than planned. Family first my friends.

PS - Insurance companies suck ass.

Nick "THC" Diaz Feeling Lucky, He Wants Shamrock

From Graciefighter.com:
Nick Diaz, who is signed with ProElite, has requested to face Frank Shamrock as soon as possible. After a spectacular win against Takanori Gomi, Diaz seems intent on enrolling himself for higher profile fights. With both fighters fighting in the same organization this fight seems the logical next step in what would be an MMA fan's dream come true.

"I watched his last fight and no disrespect intended but I think I would whoop his ass.", stated Diaz. A formal offer of intent has been delivered to the promoters to set this fight up and now we await their response.

According to MMAonTap, Diaz has already proposed the bout to EliteXC's promoters. Obviously, Frank Shamrock has at least six months to heal from his torn ACL/MCL injury and Nick still has three months left on his pot suspension, plus three months to train, and this bout wouldn't happen until early next year.

I thought it seemed pretty certain that Frank and Cung Le were gonna do battle next in the Sacramento area. With two high profile hometown boys clashing, it seemed to fit the mold of what Shamrock wanted. But Nick is from NorCal, so maybe the powers that be could convince him this fight would sell.

Nick make a good choice at moving down to lightweight. He was always a small welterweight and was overpowered at times in his bouts with Karo Parisyan and Diego Sanchez. If he moved up to 185, Frank would easily have 20 lbs on him. Nick boxes very well, but lacks any serious KO power. Frank just showed us his hands are much better than we all thought. They are about even on the ground, so I'm not sure I see where Nick thinks this is will be a good bout for him.
I should never be surprised by anything Nick Diaz says, but this time, I am.

For the Veterans Amoung Us.

Damn, this article almost made me cry. I'm 36 now and past my prime, but I would love to be 22 again and in the jungles of Colombia. Back then we couldn't go into any cities for fear of getting kidnapped, but we did go into local towns and watch Vale Tudo style fights all the time. That was my first outlet to MMA.

Then in Japan is the late 90's shuttling back and forth to the Phillipines and other countries, I would always catch any Pancrase I could. The first fighter I remember was Bas Rutten. How could you miss a bald, white Hollander?

I ALWAYS asked myself if I could do what I saw. How tough I really was. Could I compete. Well, I never got to find out, but someone else is living my dream for me...

Read this soldiers, sailors, and marines.

Cave Canem, brother. Give em hell.

Glad I Only Play Poker -- Thoughts on the TUF Finale

Wow, after going 6-1 picking the EliteXC/Strikeforce card the other night, I thought I was on a roll. Last night was ... not so good.
As I mentioned on Luke Thomas' radio show, Any Given Saturday, I picked Jens Pulver to beat BJ Penn in round two via GnP or by submission. Did I thing Jens would submit him with a slick oomaplata? No, I was thinking more along the lines of a mounted RNC or tapout to strikes. Well, I was right in the ending, but happened to pick the wrong fighter. I spoke with a contact of mine from Miletich Fighting Systems who told me that Jens was in his best shape in years, that his cardio was good, and that the team felt they put together a good game plan for Jens to win. This isn't someone who is just feeding me the standard lines of bullshit, so I took what he said as truth. And he was on the money, Jens looked great last night. But who woulda thought BJ Penn would come in looking like he did? Wow, that is the best shaped I have ever seen BJ in. And that makes me happy. I've been dissing Penn for years because I cant stand fighters who have the world's talent and then waste it. I'm gonna have to see him like this again, but if there is a new BJ, then count me as a fan.

The Emerson vs Maynard fight was one of the craziest endings ever in MMA. Serious loss of respect for Gray for not admitting what was blatantly obvious, that he was TOTALLY knocked out after the slam. Rampage you are not kid.

Props to Cole Miller the striker for a nasty Lil' Crocop high left leg kick. Was the stoppage premature, yeah. But look who he was fighting. Wang has about as much business in a cage as Corey Hill does at this point, maybe less.

That is what a fresh and uninjured Joe Lauzon looks like. I wish he woulda fought Wiman or Gray or Garcia. That kid is on the rise. Now if Dana could pay him a decent wage, the kid could train full-time and not have to worry about his student loans.

Nate Diaz wins the TUF 5 contract. Did you see the guy in the stands over is shoulder freaking out? With all the crap between Nate and Nick we see on Youtube, you know those two are close as hell. "Do I mind being in the shadow of Nick Diaz? Why would I be? Better his shadow that Karo Parisyan's." I almost choked on my beer.
Manny's shoulder injury has been recurring for along time. It's a common injury among Judo practitioners. I did know that he hurt it fighting Lauzon in the semifinals of the show, and also knew that the Gracie team planned on attacking it in some way. I just didnt anticipate Nate letting Manny shoot so that he would dislocate it on his knee! Was it a bit of a let down? Sure, but then again it should have been Nate v Joe in the finals anyway, but injuries are a part of this sport. Manny fought through his, and Joe didn't.

Any Given Saturday Post-Fight radio show
Pre-fight show with Clay Guida

Props out to Luke Thomas. He's getting better on the radio with every show. Give a listen.

The Mixed Bag for Tonight's TUF Finale

Season 5 is over, thank God. No more streetfights, crying, eating cake, whining, and colonics. But the show has produced at least 6 new LWs I'll be keeping my eye on: Manny, Nate, Joe, Cole, Matt, and Gray.

MMA on Tap will be live blogging the event.

Luke Thomas will be live on the air with MMA's only pre and post fight radio show. The pre-fight show starts at 8pm est, and the post-fight show starts at 12am.

And Sam Caplan posted his thoughts on tonight's card here.

My picks for tonight for all the fights that arent horrible mismatches are Jens Pulver over BJ by submission or GnP and I dont mean a flurry GnP, I mean brutal GnP; Nate Diaz over Manny easier than most are saying by submission in round 2; and in the upset of the nite, Brian Gerharty subs Matt Wiman. The rest of the fights are just terrible.
If either Garcia or Huerta lose, the UFC is weering egg come Sunday morning. Between the two, Huerta has the greatest chance of getting upset. Anytime the UFC pulls some guy outta nowhere to fight one of their stars, you can bet at least that Joe Silva knows the kid can fight. Not many picked Houston Alexander over Keith Jardine, and looked what happened there. Doug Evans can fight. Will he beat Huerta? I'm not picking this underdog like I did Houston, but if Huerta is looking past him, his night could be over quick.

A Blogger's Comment on ... Blogging

Feel free to comment however you like on this site. I don't edit for cursing or disagreeing with me. Hell, the world wouldn't be any fun if we all agreed all the time. I also won't delete if the more knowledgeable readers rip just the shit of a freaking idiot who decides to post libelous and ridiculous statements, such as saying Cung Le's pays his opponents to stand and get beaten on. Other blogs deem calling a person such as this an idiot as grounds to delete that post, but in turn leave up the more ridiculous statement. Affirmation through deletion.
I feel an IP ban coming on, but hey, who cares. I have my own blog now. It's not like I could give a shit. I don't need news about Rachelle Leah's FHM spread or three day old news about Denis Kang and Soko to keep me going. In fact my whole reason for starting this blog in the first place was not getting credit for my contributions elsewhere.
Control the trolls, or they will eventually control your site. The Internet doesn't need anymore Sherdog forums, 90% of the UG, or Fightsports. It needs solid MMA NEWS sites and active bloggers posting their opinions, not rehashing the news and calling it blogging. Trolling doesn't do anyone any good, and it's our responsibility as bloggers to educate the uninformed and to bitch slap people who make outrageous statements. Peace, MTU.

EliteXC/Strikeforce Vids Coming Coon

Dailymotion has them up, but the site is apparently suffering technical difficulties. Maybe it's all the MMA fans crashing the site trying to watch last nights card, who knows. I have a backdoor to the site, and even that is only half loading, so check back from time to time throughout the day. I planned this whole weekend around watching nothing but MMA, so I'll be around.

Adam Morgan has them up over on Sprawl-N-Brawl. Thanks Adam.

That Was One Heck of an EliteXC/Strikeforce Card

Wow is all I can say. Damn that Luke Thomas again for hypin' me up to buy the UFC 72 card. This set of fights tonight is what all MMA cards should be like. This card was "STACKED" from top to bottom with talented and exciting fighters.

Paul Daley, the reigning Cage Rage Lightweight Champion, was a much sought ofter free agent whom the UFC passed on ( another one ). EliteXC was smart enough to gobble this guy up, and he did not disappoint. Daley fought tough fellow Muay Thai fighter Duane "Bang" Ludwig. With both fighters trading vicious MT style knees and elbows throughout round one, there was no way this one was going past round two. It didn't, with Daley winning at :42 of round two via TKO.

Victor "Joe Boxer" Valenzuela got unluckier than his original opponent, Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett, by running into rising force Edson Berto. Berto, son of former UFC 10 tournament fighter Dieusel Berto, is a throw back Pancrase style fighter ( you know I like him ). His pro record is 11-3-1 with 8 wins via submission and all three losses via decision. Why do I say throwback Pancrase fighter? Five of his eight subs all come by way of heel hook, as tonight's did. Another rising 155er. Forget Pride, the WORLD needs a 155 lb tourney to sort through all these great lightweight fighters we are now seeing.

Kimbo Slice should be thanking God that a bout with Paul Buentello never materialized. The headhunter took on former K-1 champion turned MMA fighter Carter Williams. Williams is the refined version of Kimbo, and Beuntello just ate him up after an initial flurry by Carter. Not many, myself included, thought it would make it out of round one, and it did, albeit by :10 into the second round with Buentello winning via nasty eyeball punch for the TKO stoppage.

With Chute Boxe facing off against Greg Jackson's camp, we saw Murilo "Ninja" Rua versus Joey Villasenor. With Shogun in his corner, Rua looked ready to take his first world title home. Other than an opening flash punch and take down, it was all Rua. With Villasenor sporting a 23-5 record before this bout, and Ninja having a 13-7 record, some new fans to MMA might have thought this bout was lopsided. It was, but not the way the records would tell you. Villasenor has never been able to move up to the next level, other than a somewhat impressive win over washed up Canadian fighter David Louiseau, dropping two of his last four to Robbie Lawler and Ryo Chonan. Rua on the other hand has fought, and lost to, mostly guys larger than him: Arona, Randleman, Kharitonov, and Rampage. Toss those Pride mismatches out and Ninja has a respectable 13-3-1 mark before tonight's bout. His three losses then would be to three of the top four MWs in the world in Dan Henderson, Paulo Filho, and Denis Kang. Not bad at all.

I cant say enough about Cung Le literally taking Tony Fryklund apart in their three round fight. Le IS the best striker at 185 in the world. He may be the best there is in all of MMA. As fans, we do need to see where his ground game is at, and we will soon as he is the reported next opponent of new Strikeforce MW Champion Frank Shamrock. Le throw strikes that I have NEVER seen actually work in MMA in my 16 years of watching mixed martial arts. Ever see a spinning crescent kick work? How about a spinning heel kick to a high roundhouse to a spinning back fist, all of which landed? His defense is just as good, ducking not one, not two, but three spinning back fists thrown by the Freak. But in the end it was Le's punishing body kicks that ultimately left Fryklund doubled up in agony on the mat with the referee waving off the contest at :25 of the third round.

I can't believe I starting doubting my pick of Frank Shamrock. I kept listening to all these MMA experts repeatedly say how Baroni was the favorite. Blah! Never again. To toot my own horn for sec ( hey, it's my blog ), I've been watching MMA or NHB for over 16 years. I have more on all these experts put together. Never again am I doubting my picks.
Shamrock revealed he blew out both his MCL and ACL in his knee two weeks prior to the bout. He couldn't shoot, he claimed, and he never did once in the whole fight. Instead he chose to stand with Phil Baroni. The whole time watching it, I'm thinking he's about to get KOed if he stands in from of the New York Badass. I'll never forget Evan Tanner in his post fight comments at UFC 45 saying how hard Baroni hits. I was waiting for that one big punch to lay Frank out, but he weathered everything Baroni had, and finally put him away with a rear naked choke ( complete choke as Phil didn't tap ).
After the fight Baroni said he tore his groin muscle in the first minute of the fight, so maybe the fans can have a rematch of this barn-burner in the future. I'd pay again.

Best thing about tonight were the fights and lack of decisions. The worst was having to listen to the idiot Mauro Ranallo. That dude is the whitest guy on the planet, but can't stop himself from saying his show-starter "Yo-yo-yo and away we go" and giving a shout out to his "peeps" in the whitest country on the planet, Canada.
I wish Crocop woulda really been pissed at him and LHKed his dumbass into unconsciousness.

Dana White Quick Quote: We're All Jackasses

I've been listening and reading old Dana White interviews for another project, and thought I'd post some of his memorable comments:

On tournaments: their uneventful. The LW tourney the UFC had ended in a draw and he doesn't wanna relive that.

On salaries: New guys have to pay their dues, MMA pay is better than boxing's starting pay grade of $100 per round, internet guys are retards and jackasses when we comment on the UFC's fighter pay.

On relations with other promoters: I don't have one with any of them.

Best MMA fight ever: Hughes v Trigg II, Lol.

On Fedor: Doesn't know much about him.

On himself: Jackass. I guess he's like us then.

EliteXC/Strikeforce Results **SPOILERS** UPDATE

Site is up, go here instead.

The ProElite site is completely swamped. I have a feeling that the undercard bouts arent going to be available. This is suprising since this is EliteXCs own website. I know they were planning on hyping up people to buy the PPV. This oversight may cost them millions if it isn't fixed.

ProElite.com will be streaming the undercard fights free starting at 7:30pm EST. Click the Live Events tab on the mainpage to watch.

Undercard fights: I'll update these later. Had a problem with my DirecTV

Jason Von Flue vs. Luke Stewart - Stewart by GnP TKO ref stoppage
Mike Pyle vs. Aaron Wetherspoon
Anthony Figueroa vs. Chris Cariaso
Rex Richards vs. Ray Seraille
Seth Kleinbeck vs. Sam Spengler
David Smith vs. Sean Bassett
Nik Theotikos vs. Nick Covert

Main Card:

Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni - Shamrock via RNC chokeout rd 2 to become the Strikeforce MW Champion
Murilo “Ninja” Rua vs. Joey Villasenor - Rua via TKO in rd 2. Rua is the new EliteXC Middleweight Champion
Paul Buentello vs. Carter Williams - Buentello via TKO at :10 of round 2
Cung Le vs. Tony Fryklund - Le by TKO ( utter dominaton ) in rd 3
Victor “Joe Boxer” Valenzuela vs. Edson Berto - Berto via Tapout by Heel Hook at :47 of rd 1
Paul Daley vs. Duane “Bang” Ludwig (swing bout) - Daley by TKO at :42 of rd 2
Josh Thomson vs. Nick Gonzalez (swing bout) Thomson via Tapout from RNC at 1:47 of rd 1

I'll be posting the results as they happen, so check back.

NOT ONE FREAKING DECISION!!!

Soko Given Four Fight Contract with EliteXC

As reported yesterday, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou had been in talks with the UFC, bodog, and K-1. It seems he has decided to take the offer from EliteXC and have his management team peruse the details. The contract is not signed yet, but that seems likely. No word yet on the terms, but it is for four bouts.
Another loss for the UFC. Sure Soko has only two stunning wins on his 4-1 pro record, but there is no doubt this guy is for real. His grappling is world class, toss in a KO win over anyone named Noguiera, and an equally impressive KO over top 10 LHW Ricardo Arona and you have the makings of a star.
With the way Gary Shaw does business, he isnt gonna be losing many fighters if they're successful. Congrats to Soko. He deserves the best.

Dana White Confirms UFC = U Fight Cheap

Gary Shaw at the EliteXC/Strikeforce press conference made some joking remarks that the UFC doesn't pay their fighters well, actually calling the UFC - U Fight Cheap. Dana responded:

“Fighters can make more money here or there, but the UFC is the place to create your legacy,” White said. “Fifty years from now, people are going to ask who was the best ever and the UFC has the best fighters.”

What the hell do fighters care about legacy? This is the same type of crap boxing promoters used to say as they were running off to the bank pocketing fighter's purses back in the 50's. You worry about legacy after you're set up for life, not when your 4-0 in the Octagon and still working a part time job to make ends meet, like Jon Fitch has had to do along many others. I'm telling ya, within three years there will be an equal or a serious rival to the UFC. You can't continue to rake in the kind of dinero the UFC is and then pay the talent that gets it for you peanuts and expect to survive. That business model has never worked and never will.

Forrest Griffin Flying the Coop for EliteXC?

On the ProElite website, they are showing the press conference. At the 29:00 min mark, Gary Shaw, the president of EliteXC, tries to introduce Forrest Griffin. Forrest is eating free food at the buffet and cant be found, but Gary says, "He fought ( past tense ) for the U Fight Cheap organization." What the heck? He signed a 6 fight deal after winning the first season of the Ultimate Fighter and that contract was up after the Hector Ramirez bout, but I'm totally shocked the UFC wouldn't throw mad money at one of their most popular fighters.
In this bloggers opinion, the UFC is making serious errors lately regarding fighters. Yes, they are the biggest, but this sport is still growing. If they don't lock up all the best fighters now, someone can and will come along and challenge their current supremacy. Soko, Arona, Fedor, Hansen, and Kang all have had discussions lately with the UFC, and none seemed happy in their dealings with Dana and the crew. Those are some BIG names right there. Any organization that signs them instantly grows that much more respectable and that much more marketable.
UFC = U Fight Cheap.

Sokoudjou Confirms Talks with the UFC

In an interview with CBS Sportsline reporter Sam Caplan, his blog: FiveOuncesofPain, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou confirms that his management team of Ryan Parsons and Dan Henderson have been in talks with the UFC, and K-1 and bodogFIGHTS. He has two fights left of his old Pride contract, but apparently, he was one of the smarter fighters and had a clause stating he could refuse bouts if Pride was sold.

Where Soko will end should be determined by the end of this week. Rumors have swirled that the Soko camp wasn't happy with the UFC's offer. I earlier this week put that rumor to rest with a quote from Dan Henderson saying that they were not insulted, but Soko did confirm the offer is less than his current Pride contract.

He also touched on a something that makes all hardcore fans drool, a possible match with World #1 Contender Mauricio "Shogun Rua! Soko said he felt that bout would be a great measuring stick to see where he's at in MMA.

To read Sam's entire article, go here.

Notes from MMAWeekly Radio with Phil Baroni and Jens Pulver

The MMAWeekly radio team of Damon Martin and Jeff Caine agree with me that rd 3 of the Franklin/Okami round should have been a 10-8 round.

Both guys think Clay Guida won, but arent disappointed since the fight was so close.

Baroni up first... Phil fights Frank Shamrock for the Strikeforce MW title this Saturday

You cant hear Phil at all.

Has been training at Xtreme Couture. Feels this is the hardest he has ever trained and honestly wants to hurt Frank. He has trained for a full five rounds, but seriously doubts it'll go that far.

He has an open contract with Strikeforce, so where he goes afterward depends on what happens Saturday.

Says he can fight in the UFC anytime he wants. He thinks the guys on TUF are "shit".

He's sad Pride is gone. He was happy to be apart of the show, and loved the stomps to the head.

He says if anyone doubts his power that they should ask Ryo Chonan.

Both guys think that Baroni is the favorite.

Jens up now...

He's healthy with no injuries, he is already at 155 and will fight at around 150, and knows how tough BJ is.

On TUF, he really grew to care for the guys. Corey Hill was training with MFS, but got hurt during training. He then went home to his family, and Jens hasnt heard from him since.

Jens got rid of Karo since he was the guest. He said Karo had been there for days, and probably had worn thin on Nate.

He will go where he's told, but would love to go to the WEC and fight at 145. If the UFC asks him where he want to go, he said he wants to fight at 145 and battle with Urijah Faber.

Jens and Spencer Fisher trained with each other for their current bouts.

He says he will not fight slow and plans on pushing the pace. Jens has been training his wrestling hard for his fight with BJ. He says he could care less that he's not on PPV. The Jens you saw on camera is exactly who he is.

Word to the fans: he's bringin it. He has no fear of BJ's ground game, he respects it, but plans on going for the win. No matter what, he wants his fans to be entertained. He plans on ending his feud with BJ as soon as the fight is over.

Denis Kang notes

He has not signed anything yet, but he will make his decision this week.

bodog and the UFC seem like the leaders right now.

He wants money first, to be treated like a star, and championship level competition.

He will not fight in the WEC.

He thinks what's going on with the UFC and Pride is a little fishy.

He has no idea where Fedor is going.

Whatever contract he signs, he must be allowed to fight in Korea and Spirit MC.

Denis thinks Cole Miller will have an easy time with Andy Wang. He says Cole grew up in MMA, not a single discipline. He thinks Cole is part of the future of MMA, guys who start very young in MMA and that by the time they're 23, they've had 10-15 fights.

His first fight was an illegal bare-knuckle NHB fight.

Thinks Franklin would be perfect for him.

Thinks Hendo is number one at 185, followed by Denis Kang, and Denis Kang.

Props Sherdog Radio.

Shinya Aoki is Really That Good

Shinya Aoki MMA/Grappling Highlight Vide
Uploaded by Lowbr0w

I just cant get over the news that this guy may be signing with the UFC is some capacity. Sporting an 11-2 MMA record and riding an 8 fight win streak, he is sure to make waves at 155 or 170. His only two losses are to Mach Sakurai and Jutaro Nakao early on in his career. The vid above highlights some of his never-seen-before-in-MMA subs, including a standing armlock submission, and MMA's first gogoplate sub. Not many are gonna be able to deal with this guy at 155. He has future champion written all over him.

Dispelling Rumors the Best I Can Part 1

According to Dan Henderson, the UFC's offer was NOT insulting to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Written by Hendo himself on the UG:
"I never said the UFC made him an insulting offer. As Ryan said, the offer was fair. We are not unhappy with it at all."
The Ryan is Ryan Parsons.
No one outside Soko's inner circle seems to know what the offer is, but if it's in the $20/$20 range for around 3 fights, I think he should take it. He'll get bank on sponsorships, with his style he's bound to get a fat bonus check from the UFC, and within 3 fights should be up for a title shot and lucrative contract renewal.

Crocop on a Mission

"I will destroy my "english shame". I want to win and I don't care against whom i fight. I am full of motivation."

"I am training every morning from 6:30 to 9:00 o'clock. Thats one thing I learnt from my loss in Manchester. Obviously, theres no summer vacations for me this year. I will train without a break"
Props: Nova TV.

Watched bodogFights Last Night

Man, I'm really beginning to think that with some added talent, bodogFight could rival the UFC with international fans. No elbows to the head, talking seriously of implementing knees to the ground, and it's in a ring! I know US wont like that for the most part, but they put on a good show and dont let their fighters stall.
Anyway, last night, Denis Kang was doing some between fights color commentary. I guess his affiliation with bF is more than just casual. And that sucks for the UFC and American fans in general. He is one of the best p4p fighter alive today. Few in the UFC would give him much of a challenge save the usual suspects in Filho, ASilva, Nate, and Rich ( and I doubt that one after last night).

A vid to show you what I mean. The other fighter is Melvin Manhoef, another unknown, yet great fighter.

The Fast Lane - Episode 1
Uploaded by Beatdown77

I Lied, I Bought UFC 72

Damn, that Luke Thomas. I end up being the first caller on the show, Luke gets me all hyped up, and I end up ordering that shitty card.
Honestly, it wasnt really that bad. The undercard bouts were fantastic. Ed Herman showed he belongs in the UFC. He keeps improving every fight. The Griffin v Guida fight was nonstop and mosdef was fight of the night, but I feel Guida got robbed. No way did Griffin win rounds 2 and three. I guess the fulcrum round was 2, but I thought Guida initiated more, and did more overall damage. Jason MacDonald beating a much improved Rory Singer was fantastic to me. I really like JMac as much as I pick on Canadiens. He is a real respectable guy with a great attitude. Even in his interview with Joe, you could tell he felt uncomfortable talking a little trash to Singer about his prefight presser comedy routine.
THE HEADLINE FIGHTS SUCKED. That is exactly why I didnt wanna buy this card. I was truly afraid of Forrest and Okami not engaging. Well, Forrest engaged, but kept pulling off when he could have finished. I know he is just coming off a loss, but this habit of flurrying and then running is becoming way too prevalent in the UFC. I know Okami starts slow, and he filled the bill tonight. I was afraid of just what happened. Okami gave away the first two rounds, then came out tough as nails and dominated Franklin in the third. Rich just proved to me that he is nowhere near the level of Hendo, ASilva, Nate, or Ryo. If he gets a title shot next as was announced, I expect that will be his last fight in the UFC.
They must institute a yellow card system to punish fighters for lack of aggression. This recurring theme is getting boring. A fighter wins the first, flurries in the second, and cruises in the third. I understand Forrest's position, but Hector Ramirez was limping around the ring on a battered left leg. He was prime for a head kick or a good one-two-kick-one two. And Okami, while that's his style to start slow, it is really not good to have the crowd BOO the last four headline and co-headline fights.

Was this card worth $40? Not on your life.

Side note -- Goldie kept saying the area in Ireland was sold out. Um, click here for the truth.

A Must Win for Rich Franklin

With UFC 72 looming, I wanted to get this out now. This very well could be the last time we see Rich Franklin in the UFC's Octagon. I believe this is the last or second to last fight on his current contract. He is currently paid $21,000 to show and the same to win. At UFC 64 and 68, this is what he made. Franklin is one of the most marketable fighters the UFC has, his headlining 72 is the case made. How does the UFC pay a guy like Rich $21k when guys like Lyoto Machida makes $20/$20, Cheick Kongo makes $20/$20, Werdum makes $80/$80, Arlovski makes $80/$80, and Gonzaga makes $30/$30? I know Rich signed a long-term deal awhile ago, and I'm sure if he beats Okami he will get a better contract next time, but today is a must win for Rich to stay in the UFC. But if not, it won't be that bad for him, EliteXC or bodogFIGHT wll be right around the corner offering him $100s of thousands of dollars to sign.

Thoughts for Saturday

Some random news here and there.....

Shinya Aoki is talking with the UFC.

As I expected, Royce Gracie is maintaining his innocence. Let's hope it's true.

No cause has been given, but Murilo "Ninja" Rua is off the upcoming EliteXC/Strikeforce card. Damn, Rua vs Villasenor for the vacant EliteXC MW title was a fight I was really wanting to see.

I will not be paying for UFC 72 when the Strikeforce card is next week. It's one thing to watch good fighters at 3pm in the afternoon, it's another thing to pay $40 to do it when only the main bout has any immeidate title implications. I know this card was supposed to be free at first, but the UFC had enough time to spice it up or to lower the PPV cost.

A Thought on Some Serious Bullshit

My man Bloody Elbow made a point on his blog about MMA fighters being compared to soldiers. I want to address this here and now.

MMA fighters are just that, fighters. They aren't soldiers, they aren't going into combat, and it's not war.

I spent many years overseas defending my great nation and have seen my share of nightmares. I'd climb in a cage with Chuck Liddell right now, than have to back to Africa and see ethic cleansing up close. I'd punch Fedor in the face before going back to Colombia and seeing Colombian policemen hanging from poles with their throats cut and their dicks stuck in their mouths. I'd kick Mirko Filipovic in the nuts before seeing a 10 year old girl get her head blown off again ten feet in front of me.

My favorite comparison is this:

MMA fights are to street fighting as paintball is to actual combat.

MMA is a sport, nothing more. Aint no refs in the rain forests of S. America or in an alley in New York. When your fighting for your life, you dont think about wrist control or foot position, you think about shoving a finger into your enemy's eye or tearing off his ear or placing one in the body T.

Royce Lets Down the World

I'm not gonna rehash the details, but this is just a knife in the heart for me. I'm sure he wasn't juicing back in the day, so I hope my memories of him don't tarnish over time, but I think they will. The worst part, he was facing the Gracie-Killer in Sak. It makes it all that much worse that the only way he felt he could win over the scourge of his family name is by using steroids. It's funny too, Sak is well respected by the family, almost a family friend, and to have Royce CHEAT against him is dishonorable to me.

I know steroids are prevalent in MMA. With the time between bouts, its easy to stack for awhile and then get off of them so the fighter is clean for the test, but this is not what martial arts are about.

I recently lost my brown/3rd stripe test to a black belt who knee barred me so bad I limped for a week. I needed to beat him or last 5 mins and win on points. I was winning the first 2:50 secs of the match. I was on the side of his back, and went to sweep his left leg. I was thinking I could transition to a side choke or RNC, but as we landed he grabbed my leg and ended it. I stood up limping, shook his hand and thanked him for the match. I felt like Corey Hill after he lost to Diaz. I lasted a good while and was beating him on points, no doubt about that.

I tell that story because I want the reader to understand what martial arts feels like. It's not about winning as much as it is about testing yourself. If a fighter feels he needs an unnatural advantage to win, he has already lost. You are born into this world with your balls and your honor. That is all you get start. What you do with them, and if you get to keep them, is up to you. Royce has lost both.

Thinking about something...

UFCMania has recommended moving to WordPress. I dont even show up in google until the third page, and this is a google blog! WTF is that!?

Tapout on Versus

Wow, very cool show. I didnt even know I had Versus on my DirecTV until about a week ago...

Tonight's episode featured a fighter out of John Hackleman's The Pit named Antonio Banuelos. He's a 135 lb fighter who fights in the WEC. Tough kid! Damn, does he put out in training. The guy was going at 100 mph doing situps, pullups, tire pounding, medicine ball throwing... just working his ass off.

Later in the show, he's at Liddell's house at a party with the Tapout crew. He was abstaining since he had a fight that Saturday at WEC 26 on 3/24/07. So, in regards to the Vernon White accusation of Liddell being in rehab, I think it is clearly bullshit. During the filming of the show, Liddell is repeatedly shown training along side his Pit teammates. But it makes you wonder how "sick" he really was with pneumonia, or if he really wasnt just drunk after another hard night of partying.

The show ended with Banuelos losing via KO to Charlie Valencia. When he was backstage, Liddell is telling him that hey, it happens, you just got caught, you made a mistake... Wonder if Antonio was saying the same thing to him at UFC 71?

A side note out of the show, John Hackleman is so hard, he made his 80 year old father work out the day after he had a stroke. If he only pushed Chuck that hard...

Chuck Liddell on MMAWeekly Radio Tonight

Chuck Liddell will be on MMAWeekly Radio tonight at 9pm est. Joining him as a guest will be Frank Mir. Man, I hope they dont rehash the same crap everyone has been asking him since UFC 71.

Listen here.

Hello World

This is my first post on my first blog. This blog will be my own take on all that goes on in the world of MMA. It will probably deal mostly with the UFC and Pride, but other news is bound to happen. I want it to be fun, but then again at times be serious. I hope I'm not the only one who ever reads it.
I wanna thank UFCMania for inspiring me to start a place of my own.