Bleacher Report - Articles by Mitch Ciccarelli

Frankie Edgar Gives "The Answer" in Exclusive B/R Interview

Mitch Ciccarelli — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:05:38 -0500

Toms River, N.J.’s Frankie “The Answer” Edgar has seen his stock grow tremendously since defeating former UFC Lightweight champion, Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk at UFC 98.

Considered a 3-1 underdog by many, Edgar showcased his ever-evolving skills to outpoint Sherk en route to a spectacular unanimous decision victory.

Edgar is seemingly one big victory away from earning a shot at the prestigious 155-pound championship, but he must first get past unbeaten prospect Matt Veach.

In this exclusive interview, Edgar gives “The Answer” on several different topics, including a rematch with Gray Maynard, a potential stint as a coach on TUF, and much more.

Mitch Ciccarelli: You have a big fight coming up at the TUF 10 Finale on Dec. 5. Originally you were set to take on fellow New Jerseyan Kurt Pellegrino, but an injury has forced Pellegrino out of the fight, and he has been replaced by undefeated prospect Matt Veach.

Before we get into that, let’s talk about TUF season 10. Did you get a chance to watch any of the episodes, and if so, what are your thoughts on the season in general?

Frankie Edgar: Yeah, I’ve been watching [it] a little bit. It’s been pretty good, pretty entertaining with Rashad and Rampage going at it. The fights have been okay and I’m sure we’ll get a couple of good heavyweights from the show.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Matt Veach is a very tough fighter, training out of the H.I.T. squad with former UFC champ Matt Hughes and former Elite XC champ Robbie Lawler. However, despite his limitless potential, he’s a guy that’s somewhat relatively unknown by most fans.

Do you think that is going to make him that much more dangerous mentally, knowing that he has the opportunity to make a huge statement in the division against a ranked fighter such as yourself?

Frankie Edgar: Yeah, absolutely, it’s his time to shine so I’ve got to make sure that he doesn’t do it on my time.

Mitch Ciccarelli: What do you think is the most dangerous aspect of Veach’s game and do you think he will hold an advantage over you anywhere or do you think you’re overall the better fighter in every aspect?

Frankie Edgar: I think he’ll be a little bit bigger than me and the wrestling will probably be really close. I think I’m a little bit more technical with my hands but he does have some power in his hands, and I think I’ll have better Jiu-Jitsu.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Did you watch Veach’s UFC debut against Matt Grice at UFC Fight Night 17? If so, what did you think of his performance?

Frankie Edgar: Yeah, that was a good fight, man. He got rocked in the beginning and showed some resiliency. He came back and showed the power in his hands catching Grice and then finishing him off.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Do you think stylistically this fight could develop into the fight of the night seeing as how you’re both exciting fighters with an aggressive pace?

Frankie Edgar: It possibly could. You know you’ll usually see the fight of the night in the 155-pound division because we’re the small guys and we fight at a higher pace. I’ve won [the fight of the night bonus] twice, so you never know, man.

Mitch Ciccarelli: The lightweight division is arguably the most exciting weight class in the UFC, but a lot of people kind of criticize the 155-pounders for the lack of finishes in most of their fights. Do you believe the reason most lightweight fights go the distance is because it is such a stacked division?

Frankie Edgar: Yeah, and I also think we’re all pretty evenly matched too, you know what I mean? There might be a couple guys who are ahead of some of the others, but I think most of us are pretty evenly matched [in this weight class]. It’s not easy finishing fights [at 155].

Mitch Ciccarelli: You kicked off your UFC career with three impressive victories, including a war with Tyson Griffin in your Octagon debut.

You suffered a minor setback in the Gray Maynard fight but bounced back with incredible victories over former title challenger Hermes Franca and former Lightweight champ Sean Sherk. Would you agree that you are now at least a fight or two away from earning a title shot?

Frankie Edgar: Yeah, absolutely, I think a win over Veach and possibly one more win after that will get me a title shot. We’ll see what happens, but like you said, this division is stacked, so who knows?

Mitch Ciccarelli: You and Gray Maynard are viewed by many as being next in line for a title shot after B.J Penn takes on Diego Sanchez at UFC 107. Yet you’re fighting Veach and he’s fighting Nate Diaz at UFC Fight Night 20.

Wouldn’t it have made more sense to set up a rematch between you and Maynard to determine the next number one contender?

Frankie Edgar: Yeah, I mean I would like to have a rematch [with Maynard] but it’s just how the UFC is, they have their game-plan for what matchups they want to see. I know they don’t really like doing rematches too much unless it’s for a title or something.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Since the Maynard fight, it seems you have done a tremendous amount of evolving and have tightened up your boxing and Jiu-Jitsu skills as well as improving you’re already dangerous wrestling base.

Do you think Maynard has evolved as much as you have, or do you feel he’s still the same fighter he was when you first fought him?

Frankie Edgar: I think he’s gotten a lot better. His stand-up is much better and he seems more confident [with his striking]. He seems to be standing up more and only goes for the takedowns when he has to so I definitely see some improvements in him since the last time I fought him.

His standup looked good against Roger Huerta and Jim Miller, and he will always have that size, strength, and wrestling ability as well.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Thanksgiving is coming up tomorrow night, a week before you’re fight so it must be a bit frustrating for you to not be able to stuff your face as much, knowing that you’ll have to watch your weight, am I right?

Frankie Edgar: Well as you know, I am on the smaller end of the weight class, so I will be able to indulge a little bit. I’m not going to be eating extensively, but I won’t be starving at all, I’ll tell you that.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Well speaking of your size, a lot of your doubters claim that you’re a bit undersized for the 155-pound division, even after dominating one of the division’s bulkiest fighters in Sherk, do you still hear those comments about dropping down to 145 pounds or have your critics been humbled for the most part?

Frankie Edgar: I don’t hear it as much but people still bring it up and ask me if I’ll go down [to 145]. I just tell them that I feel like I’m close [to a title shot] and I’m proving myself at 155. I probably could make 145 pounds if I really wanted to, but I’m content with staying at 155 and getting that lightweight belt first.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Since your fight is taking place on The Ultimate Finale, in the spirit of The Ultimate Fighter, would you be interested in coaching a season of TUF, if the UFC asked you?

Frankie Edgar: Yeah I’d be down with that, man. I coach at Rutgers University and help out there as a part-time assistant coach. I feel like the coach is kind of in me and it would also be great exposure, so I’d be down for it, for sure.

Mitch Ciccarelli: How much more do you learn as the coach then you normally would as the student?

Frankie Edgar: Oh it’s unbelievable, man. You learn a lot as a coach, when you sit back and tell someone what to do and then you realize, ‘hey I need to start doing that myself.’ I think coaching can improve a fighter’s game tremendously.

Mitch Ciccarelli: There are some pretty unique nicknames in the world of MMA you’ve got names like “The Axe Murderer”, “The Irish Hand Grenade”, “The Iceman”. Heck, Mark Miller calls himself “The Meat Missile.”

With all these crazy nicknames, I think you’ve got the best one with “The Answer.” It’s not necessarily as crazy as the others, but it’s so much more unique than most fighter nicknames. How did you get this nickname and what exactly does it mean?

Frankie Edgar: My good friend and training partner, Chris Liguori, gave it to me. He was just like; ‘you’ve always got the answer’ so maybe I had a big mouth or something, I don’t know. But it sounds good with Edgar.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Your fight with Veach will serve as the night’s co-main event, as the headliner will feature a Light-Heavyweight bout between Jon Jones and Matt Hamill. What do you think of this fight, care to make any predictions?

Frankie Edgar: Ah man, you know I really can’t say. It’s definitely going to be a great fight and it will be Jon Jones’ biggest test to date. He’s fighting a guy that probably has just as good wrestling ability [as him] with a pent-up heart in Matt Hamill.

Hamill doesn’t stop, he can take a big shot and keep coming forward so we’ll see what happens. There will definitely be fireworks, though.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Let’s also talk about the upcoming Lightweight title fight between B.J Penn and Diego Sanchez? Obviously whoever wins that fight is who you’ll be looking to take the title from in the near future.

As a fighter, you clearly are confident that you could beat either one of them but which one presents the best matchup for you, Sanchez or Penn?

Frankie Edgar: Best matchup? You know, I don’t really know. It doesn’t really matter and whoever has the belt would be fine for me.

Mitch Ciccarelli: I’ve noticed that with a lot of new fighters, they seem to become very excited to train and learn new things.

This is a quality that a lot of the veterans seem to lose because to them it’s just like another day at the office and I think that’s one of the reasons why we see a lot of these longtime vets not being able to evolve as fighters.

You’ve been fighting professionally since 2005 and are one of those guys that constantly improves, do you attribute that to the fact that you’re still excited about learning new techniques?

Frankie Edgar: Yeah absolutely man, I feel like when I get a new toy, I have to use it, you know? I feel like I still have plenty of room to grow.

I believe a lot of techniques and stuff has to do with confidence and I think as my confidence grows, everything else will grow as well.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Obviously your main goal is to eventually win the Lightweight title and defend it as many times as you can but other than that what else are you looking to accomplish in your UFC career?

For example 10 years from now, what do you want the fans to remember about Frankie Edgar?

Frankie Edgar: I just want the fans to know that I fought with all my heart and I’m a good dude. Ten years from now, I’d possibly be in the Hall of Fame and I’ll still be fighting if possible. Getting into the Hall of Fame is a big goal, you can’t ask to accomplish anymore than that.

Mitch Ciccarelli: All right, Frankie, thank you once again for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk with me today.

I wish you the best of luck in your fight next week, it should be an all-out war and I for one am looking forward to it. If there is anything else you’d like to say before we end this thing, go for it.

Frankie Edgar: I just want to thank all of my fans and teammates for helping me out.

Jon Jones Brings the Hype, Will Matt Hamill Bring "The Hammer"?

Mitch Ciccarelli — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:35:36 -0500

At 22 years old, undefeated prospect Jon “Bones” Jones has established himself as a fighter to watch in the UFC’s Light-Heavyweight division. A former Greco-Roman wrestling champion in high school and college, Jones has rapidly evolved into one of the 205-pound division's fiercest strikers.

Not many martial artists can consistently pull off high-risk techniques, such as spinning elbows and spinning back kicks, inside the Octagon, but Jones is the exception and it’s that type of blend of unorthodox combinations that make him such an exciting athlete.

“Bones” made his Octagon debut at UFC 87, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Andre Gusmao on the preliminary portion of the card, but it was his second UFC performance that really opened eyes. At UFC 94, he would make his main card debut on a historic Pay-Per-View, taking on Ultimate Fighter finalist Stephan Bonnar.

Jones was a relative unknown at the time, so it comes to no surprise that many favored Bonnar to win the bout. Jones completely and utterly manhandled Bonnar around the Octagon with his powerful wrestling base and showcased his flashy striking offense en route to a dominant unanimous decision victory.

Needless to say, fans everywhere were impressed and some even praised “Bones” as a future world champion.

His third UFC bout would come against a very experienced fighter in “Irish” Jake O’Brian at the monumental UFC 100 event. O’Brian is a powerful wrestler that spent most of his career fighting as a heavyweight and Jones easily stuffed his takedowns.

Jones landed his signature spinning elbow strike before finishing O’Brian in the second round with a tight guillotine choke.

Three fights into the UFC and MMA enthusiasts are already comparing “Bones” to a younger version of UFC champs Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva. Jones certainly has all the potential to not only live up to those expectations, but go far and beyond that and develop into one of the all-time greatest fighters in the sport.

But let us not over-hype Jones just yet, because the 22-year-old still has plenty left to prove. Fans usually find themselves buying into the hype of an athlete to such a degree to where, in their minds, they believe said athlete is invincible and that is simply not the case, especially in the unpredictable realm of combat sports.

At The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale on December 5th, Jones will meet the toughest test to date in his career when he battles TUF season three veteran, Matt “The Hammer” Hamill.

Like Jones, Hamill comes from a strong Greco-Roman background, except Hamill’s credentials are far more impressive. He was a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion, as well as a silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling and a gold medalist in freestyle wrestling from the 2001 Summer Deaflympics.

Supplementing his wrestling base, Hamill has been working hard over the years to develop a sound stand-up game. The inspirational Light-Heavyweight still looks a tad bit stiff on his feet, but he possesses incredible knockout power, as evident in his recent head-kick victory over fellow wrestling stud Mark Munoz at UFC 96.

If “Bones” enters the Octagon and thoroughly runs through Hamill, it will elevate the Team Jackson fighter into the upper echelon of the stacked 205-pound division.

Such a task is entirely unlikely, considering the fact that Hamill has never been dominated before and has only been defeated twice in his career—a TKO loss to former UFC Middleweight champ Rich Franklin and a highly controversial split decision defeat at the hands of TUF rival Michael Bisping.

Jones is the quicker fighter, and if able to defend Hamill’s overwhelming takedowns, he would have a distinct advantage on the feet. This is likely going to be the game plan that Jones’ new head coach, Greg Jackson, will lay out for him. Stay on the outside, avoid Hamill’s power shots as well as his takedowns, and pick him apart with ruthless striking combos.

Hamill is known for his extremely durable chin, but he has been finished once before from a devastating liver-kick, which is something Jackson and Jones will be looking to exploit once again. Hamill has the tendency to leave his body wide open and if Jones can land one of those tree-chopping kicks he could finish the fight, but that would also leave Jones open for a takedown.

As previously mentioned, Jones did an excellent job of defending the takedown against O’Brian, but Hamill is an entirely different beast. Jones is well-versed off his back and has been constantly evolving under the tutelage of Jackson, but having an overpowering monster such as Hamill working his ground n’ pound from the dominant position is not going to be a fun adventure for “Bones.”

This is a very interesting fight and will prove to be much more competitive than most expect. Jones is hyped up as the next big thing and it seems most are predicting an easy victory for him against Hamill, and that’s a mistake. If Jones can get past Hamill, then obviously that will send a huge message to the rest of the division, but until then, he’s just a talented newcomer with limitless potential.

Jones may one day become the greatest UFC Light-Heavyweight champion that ever lived, but he’s not there yet. As talented as Hamill is, he is stuck in “gate-keeper status” and needs to compile consecutive wins over top contenders in order to elevate himself into the upper-echelon where he feels he rightfully belongs.

The winner of this fight takes one step closer to accomplishing his dream of becoming a UFC champion. Most believe Jones is already guaranteed to accomplish that goal, but let’s not entirely count out “The Hammer” just yet.

Before a Hardy Title Shot, What About Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson?

Mitch Ciccarelli — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:44:40 -0500

Not to take anything away from British sensation Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy, but despite an extremely impressive victory over top contender Mike Swick at UFC 105, it seems a bit too early to push the Englishman into a title bout with champion Georges St. Pierre.

Hardy’s remarkable win over Swick certainly proved that “The Outlaw” deserves to be mentioned among the top five fighters in the division, but there are surely a couple other worthy contenders that could be considered in line for a title shot ahead of Hardy.

Explosive welterweights Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Josh Koscheck are set to collide this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada at UFC 106. Believe it or not, the winner of that bout could be equally, if not more deserving than Hardy as far as a shot against St. Pierre is concerned.

Making the case for Josh Koscheck

Once known as primarily a strong wrestler and nothing more, Koscheck has improved leaps and bounds since appearing on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter. The AKA product has developed brutal striking prowess and has become well rounded in all facets of the game.

His record in the UFC’s Octagon is an extraordinary 11-4 with notable victories over Drew Fickett, Diego Sanchez, Dustin Hazelett, Chris Lytle, and most recently Frank Trigg.

Before meeting a then-unbeaten UFC newcomer Paulo Thiago at UFC 95, many considered Koscheck to be one victory away from a title shot. Koscheck was dominating the fight with his striking before a careless mistake put him on the canvas courtesy of a right uppercut-left hook combo from Thiago.

Many argue that the fight was stopped way too early, but regardless Koscheck’s title hopes came to an abrupt halt. A crushing knockout over seasoned veteran Trigg has put Koscheck right back on track and a decisive victory over Johnson this weekend could definitely deem the All-American wrestler worthy of a title shot.

Some will debate that Koscheck has already lost dominantly to current champion St. Pierre, and a rematch is not entirely intriguing. While Koscheck has been defeated by St. Pierre once before, a rematch would be much more exciting than most would originally think. A lot has changed in two years and both fighters have evolved since that initial meeting.

On top of that, a Koscheck vs. St. Pierre II headliner is much more marketable than having St. Pierre vs. Hardy as a main event, unless of course the bout took place in England or Canada. Once again not to discredit Hardy, “The Outlaw” is most definitely a legit contender but there are better options and Koscheck is one of them if victorious at UFC 106.

Making the case for Anthony “Rumble” Johnson

“Rumble” Johnson has been competing in the UFC since 2007 and has garnered an impressive 5-2 record with a majority of those victories coming by way of an explosive knockout. Out of every fighter in the UFC’s 170-pound division, Johnson is the only one that matches St. Pierre in pure athletic ability and explosiveness.

The 25 year old just recently went from prospect to contender with his “knockout of the night” victory over Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 104. Johnson knocked out the Judo black belt in just less than one minute of the very first round on his PPV main card debut.

If “Rumble” were to run through Koscheck with another brutal knockout, Johnson could make another transition from up and coming contender to top-five ranked welterweight. As previously mentioned, Koscheck has been a top ranked welterweight for years, so a dominant victory over a fighter of his caliber would put Johnson right into title contention.

As far as name value is concerned, Johnson isn’t that much of a bigger name than Hardy is, but a bout with St. Pierre would be much more interesting stylistically than St. Pierre vs. Hardy would prove to be. As talented as Hardy is, very few view the Englishman as a legit threat to St. Pierre’s title as they would a ruthless knockout artist such as Johnson.

Sure it may be way too soon to push “Rumble” into the title picture, but then again, it could also be too early to feed Hardy to St. Pierre as well.

The only reason Hardy would be considered for a title shot before Johnson is because Hardy has yet to lose in the UFC where as “Rumble” has two losses (to Kevin Burns and Rich Clementi)—although the Burns defeat was caused from an accidental eye poke and Johnson avenged the loss by knocking Burns out with a head kick in the rematch.

Other than that though, they are equally worthy of a title shot. Hardy has only had four UFC fights and has defeated Akhiro Gono, Rory Markham, Marcus Davis, and Mike Swick. While all of those victories are impressive, the only top ranked opponent was Swick.

Johnson has yet to defeat a top-10 welterweight as well, but all of that could change if he were to defeat Koscheck. Hardy went the distance with Swick but if Johnson is able to finish Koscheck then “Rumble” could definitely make the claim to a title shot ahead of his English colleague.

A Message To The B/R MMA Community: Words Of Wisdom

Mitch Ciccarelli — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:03:20 -0500

Hello everyone,

My name is Mitch Ciccarelli and for those who aren’t familiar with me, I am a community leader for the UFC section as well as an MMA Featured Columnist here on Bleacher Report. I joined B/R about seven months ago as a relative unknown but have steadily evolved into one of the top writers of this website.

Through my work on this website, I have had six of my articles syndicated to Sports Illustrated and have recently had one of my pieces published to Fox Sports. As previously mentioned, when I first came here I was for lack of a better term, a “nobody”. I was writing previously to smaller websites but I was nowhere near as accomplished as I am today, however I am far from great and I realize that I still have a lot to learn.

Now this article is not about my accomplishments so please do not think I am here to brag. This article is about B/R and the MMA community in general. Lately there have been a lot of complaints from other writers about the rankings system and the featured columnist positions. Everyone believes they deserve a certain spot and instead of working that much harder to earn it they instead use their time to attack the ones who have.

Let me just say that I have a lot of respect for each and every one of you and I wish we could all have a top ranked position and become featured columnists but that is not how things work. I do believe that everyone who contributes to the MMA section has a great deal of potential and I apologize if I do not say that enough to you.

I want to make the effort to help other MMA writers out with accomplishing their dreams. I understand it can be difficult and frustrating to watch someone else succeed when you feel just as deserving. Here are a few tips that I think would be very beneficial to aspiring MMA writers on B/R.

Maintain a professional attitude

Writing good quality articles is one thing, however if you cannot maintain a certain level of professionalism then you will not make it far at all in this industry. You’re all opinionated writers and I respect that about you but don’t get carried away. Heated debates are encouraged but when you start responding to people using swear words and using filthy language, it hurts your image as a writer.

I understand it can be hard to deal with difficult readers. Sometimes you’ll come across a reader who leaves personal attacks on your articles and it’s very hard to respond in a positive light. At first you want to jump through your computer screen and tear said person apart limb from limb and it’s natural to feel that way.

However don’t let your difficult readers know that they have gotten under your skin. I’m not saying I am perfect, just earlier today I allowed a certain writer to get under my skin and I feel very embarrassed about that. Luckily we as mature adults were able to settle our dispute and apologize to each other.

Before you click reply on a comment, think of it as a job interview; would an employer hire you if you were using foul language and verbally attacking people? The answer to that question is no, you would not get hired. On the flip side if you maintained a confident and polite attitude and let your potential employer know you’re mature enough for the job then your chances of getting hired increase dramatically.

Take something from everything

I know this may sound odd, but constructive criticism is your friend. Sure it may sound insulting at first but if you are able to take bits and pieces from critical comments and mold them into your writing style then you will see some surprising results. It’s all part of the evolutionary process of a writer, much like the evolution of an MMA fighter.

Fighters need to constantly evolve in order to reach the championship or hang on to their title and this is the same with writing. If you’re stubborn and you believe that you’re way is the best way and everyone else is below you then you are not going to accomplish very much in this industry.

Look at UFC Lightweight Joe “Daddy” Stevenson as the perfect example. It wasn’t long ago when Stevenson struggled to evolve in this sport. He has always been a good fighter but he never truly took the time to evolve. After taking consecutive losses, Stevenson has re-invented himself with Greg Jackson and is truly evolving as a fighter.

This is something we all must do in order to truly improve and get to where we want to be. Take something from everything, even if the criticism is a bit harsh.

Be consistent

In order to move up in the rankings and get noticed in this community, you must be a consistent writer. Yes, quality over quantity rings true but consistency is still very crucial especially when it comes down to the rankings. I’m not saying you have to write an article every day, but once or twice a week is a very good base to have in the B/R community and it will get you noticed more by the head honchos at the B/R offices.

As a featured columnist I am required to write two articles every week and I have been doing that ever since I was given the position. I understand a lot of you have jobs and a family to take care of so it can be near impossible for all of you to write two articles a week. However one article a week is still consistent where as one every three weeks is not.

Once again, quality over quantity rings true but if you only write a quality article every couple of weeks then you shouldn’t complain about your ranking.

Think of it in terms of MMA rankings for a second. Let’s say for example Josh Koscheck is a top five ranked Welterweight yet suddenly becomes very inactive for several months. Meanwhile other 170-pounders go on huge winning streaks while Kos is on the shelf.

Should Koscheck still remain in the top five or should the other fighters who have been winning take his spot?

Don’t take the rankings personally

Honestly, I don’t pay much attention to the rankings because while it is pretty cool to be ranked in the top five, I understand that it means very little in the grand scheme of things. A lot of you seem to take it personal that you aren’t ranked high enough and I think that is a mistake because there really isn’t anything to be upset about.

Bleacher Report, from my understanding, does not hand pick the rankings. It is all computerized and it is based on certain factors. It used to be more about comment activity and there were writers ranked in the top ten that hadn’t written an article in months but because they posted thousands of comments they maintained a high rank.

Now the format has changed to be more about the quantity and quality of the articles. The amount of reads, comments, likes you get on your pieces and etc. It is not to be taken entirely seriously and you should focus more on other goals, for example getting syndicated to Sports Illustrated.

Sports Illustrated syndication is much more important than the top ten writer rankings, in my humble opinion that is.

Sports Illustrated Syndication

Now I won’t touch on this too much because there is going to be a full article written about this in the near future by a well respected member of the community but I will say a few things about how to get your articles syndicated to SI.com.

First of all, the one thing that the guys at SI seem to really like about B/R is when passionate fans like us answer questions or pose interesting topics about the sport. For example, up and coming writer Sterling Spiars wrote an article a few months ago titled “Anthony Johnson shouldn’t look past Yoshida”.

In this article, Spiars talked about how Yoshida is a tough test to “Rumble” Johnson while also stating that Johnson should be able to defeat him so long as he didn’t overlook his opponent. It was a well written article and SI posted it on their site because it was an intriguing topic written by a true fan.

Recently Jesse Motiff wrote a piece about how Gegard Mousasi should come to the UFC and fight the best 205-pounders in the world. It was a refreshing article that was well written, very professional and SI published it to their site.

Another writer off the top of my head that has had recent articles posted to SI.com is Darren Wong. Wong wrote about how the UFC’s Octagon should be a universal fixture in MMA and he talked about how MMA fights in a ring are not as appealing as fights in the cage.

I’ve had six of my articles syndicated to SI.com and with each one you can somewhat see a pattern as far as the type of writing SI is interested in.

If you would like further advice on how to get your work syndicated to SI.com, feel free to contact me at any time and I would be very happy to help you out. However our MMA community leader, Brian Oswald could help you out much more than I can so he would be the man to go to for assistance.

Sentence flow and compelling introductions

As a writer, you want to make sure your sentences flow well and you’re readers do not have difficulty reading your articles. Admittedly this is something I myself struggle with at times because it isn’t easy to form well flowing sentences. The best advice I can give you is to try to write sentences that link together and stand out.

You need to balance your unique voice and style of writing with clean, simple, effective prose. The easier your writing is to read, the more flow it has and therefore you will keep your readers entertained all the way through.

Also the introduction of your article is the most important part as that is what grasps your reader’s attention. Here is some advice that was given to me by B/R Editor in Chief Joe Yanarella about one of my articles I wrote several months ago:

“The intro needs a little more style and flavor. It’s essentially 5-6 facts strung together as sentences as opposed to something that really establishes a mood, tone or flow. While it’s important to support your story with factual information, it shouldn’t bog the reader down at the expense of entertainment value. Your lead/intro is where you hook the reader and make them want to come along for the ride and this is done with clever writing, style, humor or color. I need Mitch to paint a picture of Silva and/or set the mood for the story rather than rat-a-tat facts at me.”

This is excellent advice and I really feel that my writing has improved tremendously since utilizing this strategy into my writing.

Be opinionated but not too harsh

One thing I respect about the B/R MMA writers is the fact that most of them are very opinionated and passionate about supporting certain fighters. Nevertheless if you’re bashing certain fighters all the time in your articles, it doesn’t look good. Having an opinion is great don’t get me wrong, but if you’re saying things like “so and so is a coward” or “so and so sucks” then you’re not maintaining that level of professionalism that I mentioned in one of the earlier tips.

It’s ok to dislike a certain fighter and it’s perfectly fine to let your readers know you are not a fan of certain fighters but it is not ok to spend a majority of your article insulting a fighter very harshly.

I am not the biggest fan of former UFC Welterweight champ Matt Hughes and in one of my previous articles I talked about how Hughes was ducking Team AKA. Conversely I also talked about how much respect I have for Hughes and how he is no doubt going to be a UFC Hall of Famer in a few years. I never said anything like “Hughes is an idiot” because if I did then it wouldn’t have looked good and would have damaged my credibility as an aspiring journalist.

On the flip side, supporting your favorite fighters is all well and good in the neighborhood but you also have to remain as unbiased as possible when it comes to certain topics. You can’t say “this guy is going to beat that guy because that guy is a jerk”, you know what I mean?

Let’s use ESPN’s MMA Live host Jon Anik as an example. Let’s say that Mr. Anik is a big Shane Carwin fan and absolutely hates Brock Lesnar with a passion. Now would it be ok for Anik to say on the air, “Carwin is going to smash that loudmouth punk Lesnar and send him right out of the UFC for good!”?

That type of unprofessionalism would likely cost Mr. Anik his job which is why as a journalist you have to be slightly unbiased.

At the same time, having a certain opinion is very important as well.

I hope my tips can be helpful to some of you, and if you would like further advice feel free to message me at any time.

Sincerely,
Mitch Ciccarelli

The Countdown: UFC's Top 10 International Events

Mitch Ciccarelli — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:13:41 -0500

UFC 105 will mark the UFC’s ninth appearance in the United Kingdom and its 15th occurrence outside of the United States.

MMA is growing into a global phenomenon with passionate fan-bases all over the world.

The UFC has established itself as the premier organization in the sport and has done an excellent job in branching out internationally.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the top 10 greatest international events in UFC history.

10. UFC 8: San Juan, Puerto Rico

This classic event was dubbed as the “David vs. Goliath” tournament and was headlined by a UFC Superfight championship showdown between Ken Shamrock and Kimo Leopaldo. The focal point of the event featured an old-school eight man tournament that marked the debuts of MMA legends Don Frye and Gary Goodridge.

At the time, the UFC was still marketed as a “No Holds Barred Spectacle” rather than the pure sport it’s perceived as today. The first round of the tournament pitted smaller fighters, such as Frye who weighed in at 195-pounds at the time up against 200-plus pound monsters hence the “David vs. Goliath” title.

Both Frye and Goodridge finished their first and second fight with crushing knockouts that to this day still appear on highlight reels. They met up in the finals and Frye forced Goodridge to submit from strikes to win the UFC 8 tournament.

“The Predator” went on to become one of the biggest fan-favorites among die-hard fans and at 43 years old Frye with his trademarked “Stache” is still competing in local MMA events.

The Superfight bout saw Kimo escape a choke attempt, land a few head-butts (which are no longer legal today) before tapping to a Shamrock leg-lock.

9. UFC 29: Tokyo, Japan

UFC 29 was the UFC’s third and currently last Japanese show and it was important in MMA history because it was the last event promoted under Semaphore Entertainment Group. One month after this show, SEG sold the UFC to Zuffa, for two million dollars and we all know how much the UFC and MMA in general has grown in pop culture since Dana White and the Fertittas took control.

The stacked fight card was kicked off with a 205-pound battle between Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and Jeff “The Snowman” Monson. Liddell defeated Monson by unanimous decision and would eventually go on to become the biggest superstar in MMA history in the coming years and a UFC Hall of Famer.

Eventual UFC champ Matt Hughes was looking to avenge his first professional loss in his rematch against Dennis Hallman but found himself once again on the receiving end of a Hallman arm-bar in just 21 seconds. Hallman was the only fighter other than B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre to submit Hughes in the 11 years that Hughes has been competing.

Then UFC Light-Heavyweight champ, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz made his first of five successful title defenses submitting Yuki Kondo with a tight neck crank in the first round. Much like “The Iceman”, Ortiz would eventually develop into one of the world’s most famous MMA fighters and the most dominant 205-pound champion in UFC history.

8. UFC 38: London, England

“The Brawl at the Hall” marked the UFC’s first ever trip to the United Kingdom and it turned out to be a huge success for the UFC. It was the first event that was promoted with strong television due to the 13-week deal that the UFC signed with Sky Sports in the U.K.

A Welterweight championship match between the champion Matt Hughes and the former champ Carlos Newton served as the headliner for the show. For 13-weeks heading up to the event, Sky Sports aired old fights from the UFC library on primetime television to generate some buzz for the event.

This strategy drew a nearly sold-out crowd of 5,000 fans to London’s Royal Albert Hall and the English fans viewed the competitors as celebrity figures rather than just fighters due to watching them compete on television before the event.

This card is also historical for having one of the biggest upsets at the time with British journeyman Ian “The Machine” Freeman knocking out eventual UFC champion Frank Mir in the first round. Mir was unbeaten at that point and was expected to be one victory away from earning a title shot against Randy Couture.

7. UFC 99: Cologne, Germany

On June 13th, 2009, the UFC made its first ever trip to Cologne, Germany. Despite uneducated German politicians trying their best to shut the event down, the show went on as intended, although minors were banned from attending the event but it’s a small price that had to be paid to put on an exciting fight card for German fight fans.

Former PRIDE Heavyweight sensation, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic made his return to the UFC after consecutive losses to both Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo. Heated rivals Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy fought to a split decision and AKA Heavyweight Cain Velasquez went from prospect to contender with a wrestling clinic over French striker Kongo in the night’s co-main event. But the real action was generated from the main event of the evening between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva.

Silva and Franklin went to war for three full rounds that had the German fans and the viewers watching at home on the edge of their set throughout the duration of the fight. Franklin out-pointed “The Axe-Murderer” and was awarded the unanimous decision on the judges’ score cards.

6. UFC 80: Newcastle, England

Kicking off the year 2008 was UFC 80: Rapid Fire which featured a Lightweight championship headliner between B.J “The Prodigy” Penn and Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. Originally the bout was slated as an interim title fight but when then-lightweight champion Sean Sherk was stripped of his title after the California State Athletic Commission upheld his suspension for testing positive for steroids, the Penn-Stevenson fight was altered to be for the undisputed championship.

Before the new Lightweight champion was crowned, British fans were treated to a night of exciting finishes with no fights on the main card being left in the hands of the judges.

Highlights include Marcus Davis scoring an impressive first round knockout over Englishman Jesse Liaudin, Wilson Gouveia earning knockout of the night honors against Jason Lambert, and Fabricio Werdum finishing off Gabriel Gonzaga with a TKO in the second round.

The main event turned out to be one of the bloodiest fights in UFC history with Penn completely dominating Stevenson before finishing him off with a rear naked choke to claim the 155-pound title.

With the victory Penn became the second man in UFC history to claim gold in two separate weight classes, the first being Randy Couture.

5. UFC 83: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Back at UFC 69, Matt Serra knocked out Georges St. Pierre to claim the Welterweight championship in what is still considered to be the biggest upset in UFC history. After dominating both Josh Koscheck and Matt Hughes, St. Pierre earned his chance at redemption against Serra in his homeland of Montreal, Quebec Canada.

It was the UFC’s first event in Canada and it was built up as a modern day version of Rocky 4. Serra took the form of Rocky Balboa, the underdog Italian who was never supposed to win the championship where as St. Pierre was compared to the Canadian version of the menacing Ivan Drago. However while Balboa triumphed over Drago in the movie, Serra was not as successful.

St. Pierre completely dominated Serra to re-claim his Welterweight championship. Throughout out the entire event the Montréal crowd went berserk with chants of “GSP! GSP! GSP!” and when their hero stood tall at the end of the fight with the championship around his waist, the Canadian crowd almost tore the roof off with their cheers.

4. UFC 93: Dublin, Ireland

Irish MMA is on the rise and in January 2009, the UFC took advantage of the growing fan-base with a stacked fight card in Dublin, Ireland. The main event featured an anticipated Light-Heavyweight clash between former UFC champ Rich Franklin and former PRIDE champ Dan Henderson. Henderson edged out the decision in a closely contested contest that was action-packed all the way through.

This event marked the first time that the UFC has ever given out two “fight of the night” bonuses. The first FOTN award went to Welterweights Chris Lytle and Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis in their three-round war that saw Davis earning the split decision victory. The crowd thoroughly supported Davis singing an Irish song throughout the entire fight.

The second FOTN for some odd reason went to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Mark Coleman in the night’s co-main event. Both fighters appeared poorly conditioned throughout the duration of the fight and it took Rua three rounds to finish off an exhausted Coleman.

3. UFC 70: Manchester, England

For the first time since UFC 38 in 2002, the UFC had returned to England with an event titled “Nations Collide”. The card was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Setanta Sports and broadcasted live and free on Spike TV in the States.

Former PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix champion, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović, fought top contender Gabriel Gonzaga in the main event to determine the top contender for the UFC Heavyweight Championship held by Randy Couture.

Very few gave Gonzaga a chance in this fight as most predicted “Cro Cop” would score a brutal knockout with his trademarked head kick. Four minutes into the first round, Gonzaga shocks the world knocking Cro Cop out with a devastating head kick in a huge upset that nobody saw coming.

The card also featured England’s own Michael Bisping making his first Octagon appearance in the U.K against Elvis Sinosic, current Light-Heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida battling David Heath and Andrei Arlovski taking on Fabricio Werdum.

2. UFC 95: London, England

It isn’t often where every fight on the televised portion of a UFC card is exciting but such was the case for the UFC’s seventh show in England. UFC 95 was a true display of MMA, from crushing knockouts to slick submissions to all-out wars, it truly had everything a fight fan dreams for.

The first televised fight of the night saw a huge come from behind victory when Paulo Thiago knocked out top ranked Josh Koscheck in his UFC debut, after being used as a punching bag from Koscheck for the majority of the first round. We then witnessed a beautiful display of ground work with Demian Maia’s triangle choke submission victory over Chael Sonnen.

Top ranked Middleweight Nate Marquardt finished Wilson Gouveia off in the third round with a combo that looked like something straight out of Mortal Kombat. “The Outlaw” Dan Hardy proved his power with a stunning first round knockout over Rory Markham and established himself as a Welterweight to watch out for in the 170-pound division.

Closing the event was a super-exciting stand up war between Lightweights Diego Sanchez and Joe Stevenson in the show’s headliner. It was Sanchez’s 155-pound debut and he put on a striking clinic to defeat Stevenson by unanimous decision.

1. UFC 75: London, England

UFC 75 was dubbed “Champion vs. Champion” due to the headliner which featured a title unification bout between UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and PRIDE champion Dan Henderson which would determine the undisputed 205-pound champion of the world.

The event was on Setanta Sports 1 in the United Kingdom and offered on tape delay on Spike TV for free in North America. At the time, UFC 75 had achieved the highest recorded ratings for any mixed martial arts broadcast in North America, drawing a total of 4.7 million viewers and beating out the previous record held by the UFC's Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter.

Jackson and Henderson went toe-to-toe for five rounds in an epic bout with “Rampage” earning the unanimous decision and the undisputed championship in the end. However the most exciting fight of the night was contested between fan favorites Marcus Davis and Paul Taylor which earned the FOTN bonus. Also on the card, Michael Bisping defeated his TUF rival Matt Hamill in a controversial decision that most felt Hamill had won.

TUF 10 Quarterfinal Breakdown: Roy Nelson vs. Justin Wren

Mitch Ciccarelli — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:14:05 -0500

We’re halfway through Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter , and starting this week, eight fighters will be narrowed down to four in the quarterfinal round.

The first matchup will be an intriguing battle between former IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy “Big Country” Nelson, and one of this season’s most talented young prospects, Justin “The Viking” Wren.

Let’s take a look at a stylistic breakdown of what could prove to be the best fight of the season.

Striking

As of yet on the show, neither fighter has displayed a strong arsenal of striking skills, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are incompetent when on their feet.

“Big Country” may not appear to be much of a threat standing up, but he has proven to be very capable of knocking people out back in his IFL career. When Nelson was the Heavyweight champion of the now defunct organization, he was coming off of four straight TKO victories that really displayed the power he has in his hands.

Wren defeated Wes Sims in his first fight on the show without even landing a single strike, so therefore it is difficult to determine Wren’s standup abilities from that fight alone. In previous fights though, Wren has used his striking to set up takedowns, and has finished four opponents with ground n’ pound.

Neither are world class strikers, but Nelson should have the slight advantage on the feet. “Big Country” is technical enough to out-strike Wren, and as far as power is concerned, just ask TUF 2 finalist, Brad Imes, about Nelson’s immense KO power.

Roy Nelson has the striking advantage, 10-9

Wrestling

Wren may not be the largest fighter in the house, but “The Viking” would be able to out-wrestle every single fighter from both teams, save for maybe Jon Madsen.

Wren’s freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling credentials, are highly impressive. Back in his high school career, Wren was coached by Olympic Gold Medalists Kenny Monday, and Kendall Cross, and was a two-time Prep All-American.

Wren has also worked comprehensively with Cael Sanderson, whom many believe to be the greatest college wrestler of all time. In Greco-Roman style, Wren won the national championship in 2005, earning a spot at the Olympic training center in Michigan to commence his Olympic pursuit.

Nelson on the other-hand, is certainly an excellent grappler in his own right, but he is not an overwhelming wrestler. There is a big difference between taking Kimbo Slice down, and trying to out-wrestle a Greco-Roman champ.

Wren will have a distinct advantage in this department, but depending on how he plans on using it, it could either be a triumphant success, or an absolute disaster.

Justin Wren has the wrestling advantage, 10-8

Jiu-Jitsu

Here is where things get interesting, and where “Big Country” will prove his worth in the Octagon. As stated above, Wren is a much better wrestler, but when it comes to Jiu-Jitsu, Nelson is one of the very best in the world for the Heavyweight division.

Nicknamed the “Jiu-Jitsu Panda” by his Team Rashad allies, Nelson is extremely well known for his superb ground game. In pure grappling competitions, “Big Country” has defeated notables such as former UFC Heavyweight Champ Frank Mir, and Jeff Monson.

Obviously, there is a big difference between pure Jiu-Jitsu competition, and utilizing Jiu-Jitsu in an MMA fight, but Nelson has shown a great amount of talent in both fields. It cannot be stressed enough that grappling is not about submissions, but more about obtaining the dominant position, and this is something Nelson is a master at.

Against Sims, Wren proved very capable of obtaining a dominant position, and finishing a fight with a choke. Say what you want about Sims, but he’s a very experienced fighter that has competed against some of the very best in the game, for Wren to completely run through a fighter of that caliber just further proves how dangerous he truly is.

When this fight hits the floor, you are going to see a very technical battle for positioning, which Nelson will win. Another thing that “Big Country” does very well on the ground is his utilize his “belly” to his advantage, and put his weight on his opponents, so it will be interesting to see how Wren will be able to handle the power of “the belly”.

Roy Nelson has the Jiu-Jitsu advantage, 10-8

Cardio

At first glance, Nelson appears fat, and out of shape. If you ran into him on the street, and you’ve never seen an MMA fight in your life, the last thing you’d expect “Big Country” to be is a professional athlete unless of course he were a national champion at a pie eating contest.

But as the old saying goes, never judge a book by its cover, or in this case a fat kid by his cheeseburger. Nelson has the cardio to fight for the full-three rounds, despite his super-chunky physique, although he has shown to have a questionable gas-tank in his previous outings outside of the TUF house, most notably in his fight against former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski.

Wrestlers have the best work ethic in the sport, and it’s very rare to see a national champion of Wren’s caliber, gas out in a fight, it just doesn’t happen very often. We haven’t really seen where Wren’s cardio is at, but he may have an advantage in the later rounds if “Big Country” slows down.

Justin Wren has the cardio advantage, 10-8

The Result

This is a matchup that under different circumstances could have been the final bout at The Ultimate Finale in December. MMA fans have been criticizing the preliminary fights of this season, but stylistically the quarterfinal fights should all be action-packed barn burners, and Nelson vs. Wren may be the best one of the four.

Neither fighter is going to be able to impose his will on the other, as they did in their preliminary fights against Slice, and Sims, respectively. Nelson is going to look to pick Wren apart on the feet with his underrated boxing ability, and eventually get the fight down to the mat where he can utilize his world class Jiu-Jitsu skills.

Wren’s wrestling pedigree will give him the aptitude to dictate wherever the fight takes place, and the most intelligent approach would be to use the Greco-clinch to keep “Big Country” up against the cage, and zap his will. If Wren can completely destroy Nelson’s gas tank than he will be able to control the former IFL champ from every position, and either earn a decision, or finish the fight.

The problem is, eventually the fight will take place on the ground. Either Wren takes Nelson down, or Nelson somehow brings the fight down there through pulling guard, or scoring a takedown. From there “The Jiu-Jitsu Panda” will control the positioning, and earn the unanimous decision victory in a very technical, yet explosive start to the quarterfinals.

Roy Nelson by unanimous decision

B/R TUF 10 Fantasy Game Standings:

Matt Randall: 12 points
Jon Madsen
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Cameron Mumford: 12 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover
Marcus Jones

E. Spencer Kyte: 12 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover
Marcus Jones

Ken Foss: 12 points
Jon Madsen
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover
Marcus Jones

Flying Knee: 10 points
Jon Madsen
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Aoife O’Connor: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Peta Waller: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Alysha Diaz: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Melanie Wray: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Lynn Donegan: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Sinaed Marie O’Hara: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Jessy Morris: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Mitch Ciccarelli: 10 points
Jon Madsen
Roy Nelson
Brendan Scaub
Darrill Schoonover
Marcus Jones

The Truth Turcott: four points
Justin Wren
Marcus Jones

Stoker Mac: four points
Justin Wren
Marcus Jones

Ten Crazy Colors Of MMA Personalities: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Mitch Ciccarelli — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:32:48 -0500

Crazy is like a box of crayons; there are so many different colors and varieties to choose from. This rings true when it comes to all the diverse personalities of modern day cage warriors.

Despite popular belief, the bulk of today’s MMA fighters are college educated and well mannered.

Champions such as Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva, represent the sport as true martial artists displaying honor and respect to their opponents.

The sport has come a long way from its “no holds barred” ages and the athletes are finally able to showcase their integrity to the world.

However, for every Machida, Georges St. Pierre, and Randy Couture, there’s always going to be a couple of fighters behind them that will appear to be cookoo for cocoa puffs.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the top ten craziest personalities in MMA today. Some will be harmless entertainers but others will be downright degrading to the sport. It is up for you to decide which is which on this countdown.

10. Shonie Carter

Nicknamed “Mr. International”, Carter is a 12-year veteran of the sport and has won championships in various organizations. At one point in his career he was a top-10 ranked Welterweight and is mainly remembered for knocking out eventual UFC champ Matt Serra with a spinning back-fist at UFC 31.

While most fighters wear traditional fight shorts whilst competing, Carter prefers to wear tight spandex—otherwise known as “man panties”—when he’s fighting.

If the “man panties” aren’t disturbing enough, Carter stuffs his pants with an extra-large cup to give the illusion that he’s extra-large in the pants. His strategy may have worked if it didn’t look like he smuggled a banana and two pears into his tights.

Outside of the cage, Carter dresses like an old-school pimp that you thought only existed in gangster films.

If you’re ever in Chicago, Illionois and you see a middle-aged man strutting down the street with a cane, dressed in flamboyant attire then it’s probably “Mr. International” on his way to solve some “baby-momma drama.”

9. Chris Leben

Ah, who can ever forget the antics of the man formerly known as “The Cat Smasher” from the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter?

“The Crippler” has matured tremendously since appearing on the reality show in 2005 but it’s like the old saying goes, “you can take the man out of craziness, but you can’t take the craziness out of the man.”

On TUF Season one, Leben irritated his fellow housemates with his drunken frolics and uncivilized behavior. At one point in the show, a drunken Leben stole a pillow from team-mate Jason Thacker and urinated on it.

Later in the season, Leben went beserk at the house after being antagonized by Team Liddell members, Bobby Southworth and Josh Koscheck.

After the show, Leben has simmered down a bit. A move out to Hawaii has eased his mind and matured him as both a fighter and a human being, but as previously mentioned, you can never take the craziness out of Chris Leben.

8. Tom Lawlor

Crazy might not be the best phrase to describe “The Filthy Mauler.” Lawlor has gone far and beyond the definition of crazy, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing either.

At the weigh-ins for his bout against C.B Dollaway at the historic UFC 100, Lawlor painted himself with green and white face paint, signing “UFC” on his forehead and “JUST BLEED” on his chest. This was a parody of a fanatical fan from a classic UFC event that did the very same thing, and needless to say the fans fell in love with Lawlor after witnessing this hilarious display.

To make matters even more intriguing, during the face-off, while Dollaway is staring into Lawlor’s eyes with mean intentions, Lawlor positioned his hands as if he were ready to launch a kamehameha wave straight out of the popular martial arts cartoon, Dragonball Z at his opponent.

However, the event that transformed Lawlor from a comic relief into a legend in the span of one night was his epic entrance at UFC 100.

“Who let the dogs out” by the Baha Men hit the loudspeakers and Lawlor walked down the ramp with his close friend and training partner, Seth Petruzelli hooked up to a dog collar leash on all fours.

Lawlor has a long trail ahead of himself as far as becoming a UFC champion is concerned, but when it comes to the entertainment aspect, he’s already an emperor.

7. Jason “Mayhem” Miller

Die-Hard MMA fans know Miller as “Mayhem” and a talented eight-year veteran of the sport. Everyone else recognizes him as “that Bully Beatdown guy from MTV”, either way mostly everyone has heard of him in some form and acknowledges the craziness behind this fighter.

When you get the tar kicked out of you by Georges St. Pierre for three rounds but still manage to crack a smile whilst blood is trickling down your nose, you’re the true king of craziness.

Most mortal men would mentally break down after having GSP beat and batter them for 15 minutes, but Miller seemed to enjoy the butt-kicking, or so he made it appear judging by his blood-stained teeth in his smile.

When it comes to flashy ring entrances, “Mayhem” is a true master at entertaining the crowd. At DREAM 9, “Mayhem” came out to the song “Lava Lava” by Boys Noize and walked down a ramp surrounded by a bunch of Japanese women dressed like Catholic school-girls, all of which he has probably slept with before and after the fight.

As he made his way down the ramp, he, along with all of the Asian girls, began to perform this ridiculous dance that both Steve Urkel from Family Matters and Carlton Banks from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air combined would not be able to duplicate, even in their prime.

There’s a certain swagger surrounding “Mayhem” Miller and the fans love it. He’s an entertainer first and a fighter second.

6. Wes Sims

If you’ve been following The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights every week on Spike TV, you will know exactly why “The A-Whole Show” is mentioned on this list. To put it simply, the man is completely out of his mind but totally harmless at the same time.

From accusing Zak Jensen of “sniffing his shorts”, to sneaking up on Matt Mitrione in a Ninja Gi at the basketball court and spraying him with silly string while the former NFL player tries to sleep.

Sims loves to mess with people and he loves to entertain his fans.

Even before the TUF show, hardcore fans knew Sims was an exotic human being. We’re talking about a guy who stomped Frank Mir’s head in a disqualification loss at UFC 43. Obviously, the man is insane but believe it or not, he’s a friendly type of insane.

He lost to Mir twice in two of his three UFC contests and then went on TUF to announce to all of the new fans watching the show at home, “Wes Sims is the only man to have beaten Frank Mir on two separate occasions.”

Of course the charismatic Heavyweight followed that up with this line: “Wes Sims will never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”

5. Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett

With a nickname like “Krazy Horse”, it would be an injustice not to include Bennett among the wildest personalities in MMA. Nevertheless, it isn’t the nickname alone that makes Bennett worthy of this ranking but the fact that the man is totally deranged in every way imaginable.

Bennett has the reputation for being an extremely arrogant competitor and is known for insulting other fighters as well as referees both during interviews and in the ring.

The man plays to the camera every chance he can get. Anytime the camera is on him he will make some sort of face gesture to imply that he is indeed every bit the psychopath that you think he is.

One of his signature techniques is to sit atop of the corner ropes after the opening bell rings, and attempt to dropkick his opponent, pro wrestling style, as his opponent rushes in forward. Outside of the ring, he’s been arrested twice with his first arrest being for possession and selling of cocaine.

Not exactly the best ambassador of the sport but an entertaining fighter, nonetheless.

4. The Diaz Brothers

Stockton, California natives, Nick and Nate Diaz are notoriously known in the MMA community for their brash behavior both inside and outside of the Octagon.

The Diaz brothers are the type of fighters that need to be angry at their opponents before every fight and they’ll find the dumbest reasons to hate any opponent they are matched up against.

Before battling Diego Sanchez at the TUF 2 finale, for absolutely no reason at all, Nick sent out angry emails to his opponent. Then in the locker room before the fight, Nick taunted Sanchez before throwing a shoe at him. Yes you did hear that correctly, a grown man chucked a shoe at another man like a toddler.

That isn’t even the worst of it because right after losing to Joe Riggs at UFC 57, after spending weeks smack-talking him beforehand, Nick attacked Riggs at the hospital after the fight and they had to be separated by the police.

Nate isn’t as bad as his older brother, but he’s certainly no saint either. When his brother Nick confronted former EliteXC champ K.J Noons while Noons had his family in the cage to celebrate his victory over Yves Edwards, Nate started cursing out Noon’s father and a brawl almost erupted between them.

3. Junie Browning

“The Lunatik” is a fighter that suffers from multiple demons and a split-personality disorder. In his normal mind frame, Browning can be one of the coolest/friendliest guys you’d ever come across in this sport. But when his demons get the better of him, Browning turns into a horrible human being and one of the all-time worst ambassadors of MMA.

On TUF Season eight, Browning was constantly flipping out on his fellow housemates. Shoving and kicking fighters at the house, throwing glass at people and even hopping over the cage after a fight attempting to attack another fighter who had just won.

After the TUF show, Browning relocated to Las Vegas to train with Shawn Tomkins at Xtreme Couture. Tomkins along with other Xtreme Couture members would praise Browning and claim that the TUF “bad boy” has matured and rid himself of his demons.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as the demons were still there and getting worse as the days went by. Browning went into a depression and tried to commit suicide by overdosing on pills and was brought to a medical facility by two friends. From there he went on a drug-induced rage and attacked a couple of male and female nurses.

He has since been released from his UFC contract and will be competing on Nov. 28th at a small regional promotion. Hopefully, one day Browning can get his act together and really make a change in his life, but obviously that’s easier said than done.

2. Jeff Monson

Most of the fighters mentioned on this list are a funny type of crazy. “The Snowman” on the other-hand is a scary/horrifying/hide your children, type of crazy.

Just taking one look at this Heavyweight grappling-machine will cause you to soil yourself in fear of your life. He looks like the type of guy that would club you over the head and then drag you into his cave before eating you alive.

He’s accurately the most intimidating looking guy in MMA. He has the physique of The Incredible Hulk’s younger brother with tribal tattoos to boot.

Earlier this year, Monson was charged with First Degree Malicious Mischief, for vandalizing the Washington State Capitol by spray-painting "an anarchy symbol, a peace symbol and the words 'no poverty' and 'no war'" on the large columns at the front of the building.

A warrant was issued by a Thurston County Superior Court Judge after pictures of Monson committing the crime were printed in ESPN magazine. Yes, this guy was actually dumb enough to commit this crime while doing a photo shoot for one of the most well known sports magazines in the world.

To quote a certain former Light-Heavyweight champion, “this boy’s cheese has fallen off its cracker.”

1. War Machine

When a person legally changes their name to “War Machine”, it’s safe to say that they have more than a few screws loose upstairs.

However, when that person is the man formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver, not only is he downright idiotic, but he’s an embarrassment to this sport and society in general.

War Machine is infamous for his controversial MySpace bulletins of topics that include; taking your girlfriend to gay bars, small breasts, fat chicks, his 55-year-old aunt who is a Hollywood prostitute, among other things.

The most controversial bulletin about the late great Evan Tanner is one of the reasons why the UFC released him from his contract in 2008. Shortly after War Machine signed with the newly-formed Bellator Fighting Championships but a bulletin about how he wishes someone would assassinate president Obama caused him to be cut from that organization as well.

Nowadays, War Machine has transitioned into the porn industry and has apparently already posted a few scenes online.

The UFC made the right move getting rid of this guy, and every other major organization is smart for not signing him either. He's a horrible representation of MMA and every time he speaks or posts one of his notorious myspace posts, he damages the credibility of the sport to outsiders looking in.

Classic Countdown: The 10 Greatest PRIDE Fights Of All Time

Mitch Ciccarelli — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:35:53 -0500

On November 7th, Strikeforce will make its debut on CBS with a fight card that is stacked from top-to-bottom.

In a world where the UFC is primarily the dominant force in the MMA industry, Strikeforce has established itself as the No. 2 fight promotion in the world, and has the potential to become a legit competitor to the Zuffa brand.

The only organization that has truly come close to surpassing the No. 1 status of the UFC was the now-defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships. The Japanese-based organization was founded in late 1997 and promoted some of the very best MMA events this sport has ever born witness to.

PRIDE’s format of pitting all of their top stars into one ultra-stacked card is a format Scott Coker is trying to follow with Strikeforce. Saturday’s event will feature top stars such as light-heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi, Fabricio Werdum, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, and Jake Shields all competing on one night.

Headlining the event will be current WAMMA Heavyweight champion Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko, making his Strikeforce debut against heavy-handed wrecking machine Brett “The Grimm” Rogers.

Emelianenko—widely recognized as the top fighter in the entire world—made his name in PRIDE. Before the UFC bought the organization in 2007, PRIDE was home to some of the greatest fights in the sport's history.

Let’s take a look at the top 10 greatest bouts in the history of the PRIDE Fighting Championships.

10. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Wanderlei Silva II (PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute)

In what was built up as one of the most-anticipated battles in PRIDE history, bitter rivals Filipovic and Silva squared off in the semifinals of PRIDE’s 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix. It wouldn’t be the first time these two legendary strikers met in the ring, as they had previously fought to a draw at PRIDE 20 just four years prior.

For the majority of the fight, Silva attacked the Croatian with wild punches which were easily countered by straight-lefts from “Cro Cop." Anytime Silva would throw one of his looping punches, Filipovic was right there to counter with strikes of his own, and these two went back and forth for most of the first round.

The end result saw “Cro Cop” catch “The Axe Murderer” with a left high-kick, knocking Silva out in highlight-reel fashion. This fight is absolutely a PRIDE classic, but on a list of all-time greatest knockouts it would certainly be ranked in the top five.

9. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva II (PRIDE 28: High Octane)

Speaking of rivals, the feud between “Rampage” Jackson and Silva is widely recognized as one of the most heated rivalries in not just PRIDE history, but in all of MMA as a whole.

These light-heavyweight wrecking machines first crossed paths in the finals of the PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix. “The Axe Murderer” won that fight, finishing Jackson off in the first round with brutal knees from the Muay Thai clinch.

Their second meeting was an all-out stand-up war that ended in devastating fashion with Silva once again finishing Jackson with knees from the Thai clinch in the second round. The knockout was so destructive it left Jackson hanging on the bottom ring ropes unconsciously as “The Axe Murderer” celebrated his triumphant victory.

8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (PRIDE Final Conflict 2003)

There is a reason why the legendary “Minotauro” Nogueira is considered the “Rocky Balboa of MMA” because no matter how hard you hit him he will continue to move forward to eventually find a way to win the fight.

His classic bout with “Cro Cop” is proof of that as for the majority of the fight Filipovic was the aggressor, beating “Minotauro” up with crisp punches and thunderous kicks. “Cro Cop” would land strike after strike and yet, with blood dripping down his face Nogueira kept coming back for more.

Finally in the second round, Nogueira took “Cro Cop” down and began working some ground n’ pound from the top position before eventually securing a beautiful arm-bar causing the Croatian to tap-out.

7. Dan Henderson vs. Wanderlei Silva II (PRIDE 33: Second Coming)

If you thought Henderson’s knockout over Michael Bisping at UFC 100 was impressive, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen his second fight against Silva in PRIDE. Henderson lost the first bout by unanimous decision in an epic battle, and was looking to extract revenge in the second coming and claim the PRIDE middleweight title in the process.

After spending the majority of the first two rounds out-striking “The Axe-Murderer” as well as controlling him on the ground, Henderson finished the fight with his big right hand, knocking Silva out cold just two minutes into the third round.

With the victory, Henderson became the first man in PRIDE history to hold two championships simultaneously.

6. Ken Shamrock vs. Don Frye (PRIDE 19: Bad Blood)

If you took 10 writers and told them to list the top 10 most intense rivalries in the history of this sport, Shamrock vs. Frye would rank somewhere in the top five on each list.

This rivalry was truly epic considering the fact these two legends absolutely hated one another, and anytime they were near each other they almost broke out into a fist-fight in public. When it came time for the prefight stare-down, just by looking into their eyes you could tell you were about to witness a historical showdown—and that is exactly what happened.

For three full rounds, these two MMA pioneers beat the tar out of each other, both on their feet and on the ground. Shamrock came very close to finishing “The Predator” off with leg locks, but Frye was able to escape and edge out the split-decision victory in a brutal back-and-forth war.

5. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005)

In 2005, “Shogun” Rua was the most feared striker in the 205-pound division and after his recent performance against current UFC champ Lyoto Machida at UFC 104, some can argue he still is to this very day.

After completely dismantling “Rampage” Jackson at PRIDE Total Elimination-2005, Rua was matched up against Rogerio Nogueira, twin brother of heavyweight Rodrigo Nogueira. Most expected the “MMA Super Nova” to destroy “Minotoro” much like he did Jackson.

The fight was much more competitive than most originally thought, as both fighters stood and traded blows, knocking each other down and landing crisp punches and knees time after time. It was a close battle on the feet, but the deciding factor turned out to be the takedowns from “Shogun,” which gave him the victory unanimously on the judges’ scorecards.

4. Nick Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi (PRIDE 33: Second Coming)

“The Fireball Kid” Gomi was once recognized as not only the best lightweight fighter in the world, but he was also ranked as one of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters. Diaz was hungry to prove to the world he was indeed one of the top fighters out there, and was given the opportunity of a lifetime against Gomi in PRIDE’s second and final show in the United States.

The result was a tremendously close-contested battle that saw Diaz pulling off the submission of the century, finishing Gomi with a gogoplata in the second round.

However, after testing positive for marijuana, the Nevada State Athletic Commission overruled Diaz’s victory into a “no contest." Regardless of what the record shows, Diaz defeated Gomi in one of the greatest MMA fights of all time.

3. Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Carlos Newton (PRIDE 3)

If you’re one of those fans who believe the only exciting aspect of MMA is the stand-up game, go back and watch the classic grappling war between former UFC champion Newton and one of MMA’s most beloved legends, Sakuraba.

The entire fight was a strategic battle on the ground, with both fighters battling for the dominant position. Neither man looked to strike the other, their only intention was to win the fight by submission to out-grapple their opponent.

After moving from position to position and going for submission attempt after submission attempt, Sakuraba finally finished the fight with an incredibly well-executed knee bar in the second frame to put an end to a classic grappling bout between two of the most innovative submission fighters in MMA history.

2. Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (PRIDE 21: Demolition)

This is a bout that will forever be remembered as the most exciting slug-fest in not just MMA, but in the history of combat sports in general. As soon as the fight began, technique went out the window as both fighters rushed toward each other throwing punches with reckless abandon.

The crowd went absolutely crazy watching these two warriors holding each other’s head whilst punching each other in the face with mean intentions. MMA legend and commentator for the night, Bas “El Guapo” Rutten was quoted as saying, “I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life”.

Frye was triumphant in the end, finishing Takayama with ground n’pound for a first-round TKO in what will truly be remembered as the craziest brawl in the history of the fight game.

1. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (PRIDE- Final Conflict: 2005)

Fans had been anticipating a showdown between Emelianenko and “Cro Cop” for several years prior and when they finally squared off at Final Conflict 2005 for the heavyweight championship, they were not disappointed.

The bout was heavily built as the most hyped-up heavyweight contest in the history of MMA, and it certainly delivered up to expectations. Many still consider this matchup to be Emelianenko’s toughest fight to date, because despite defeating Filipovic by unanimous decision, the Russian did not escape the contest unscathed.

“The Last Emperor” had been known for walking through his opponents with a relative amount of ease, but he was unable to impose his will against the Croatian striker.

“Cro Cop” was able to inflict a tremendous amount of damage to Emelianenko and even managed to break the Russian’s nose with a straight left and tenderize Emelianenko’s ribs with powerful kicks.

However, Emelianenko took “Cro Cop’s” best shots and continued to move forward, which frustrated Filipovic in the later rounds. It wasn’t a dominating performance, but it was an impressive victory over a fighter who was once considered the most devastating striker in the heavyweight division.

Honorable Mentions: Quinton Jackson vs. Ricardo Arona, Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Royce Gracie vs. Kazushi Sakuraba, Bob Sapp vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Hunt vs. Yosuke Nishijima.

Mitrione Vs. Madsen Matchup Among Four Other Stellar TUF 10 Quarterfinal Bouts

Mitch Ciccarelli — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:55:44 -0400

With Matt Mitrione’s victory over Scott Junk, Team Rashad is now up 7-0 over Team Rampage and on the verge of going 8-0 with the first clean sweep in TUF history. Next week, Team Rashad’s Mike Wessel will challenge the lone Team Rampage member, Marcus Jones.

After the fight, Dana White will announce the four quarterfinal fights.

Let’s take a look at how White and the coaches will likely set up the second round brackets.

Jon Madsen vs. Matt Mitrione

As evident in the previous episode, Madsen and Mitrione do not see eye-to-eye. In fact, to put it simply, they hate each other with a passion. Matching these two up in the quarterfinal round is a brilliant idea that will surely produce a ton of fireworks.

Madsen may not be as big as the 6’3" 270-pound Mitrione, but the H.I.T squad member’s overwhelming wrestling base makes him a huge threat to any fighter in this competition. If Mitrione is able to keep the fight on the feet, though, he would be able to exploit Madsen’s poor stand-up game and possibly knock him out with a straight left.

That being said, Mitrione does not possess the grappling ability, or the cardiovascular endurance, to handle an explosive wrestler such as Madsen.

Madsen wins this fight by unanimous decision.

Roy Nelson vs. Marcus Jones/Mike Wessel

“Big Country” wants easy fights on his road to the finale, but unfortunately for him there aren’t any easy fights left. Next week, the final preliminary bout will take place between Wessel and Jones, and the winner of that fight would match up well against Nelson in the quarterfinal round.

Jones is an explosive, powerful athlete with a much underrated ground game.

However, his injuries and cardio problems could be his downfall in this competition. If he does manage to defeat Wessel, the former NFL first-round draft pick will not walk out of the Octagon unscathed.

Wessel has been overlooked throughout the whole season and this is a big, big mistake as Wessel should be recognized as one of the toughest guys in the house. He’s a hard-nosed competitor with explosive striking and he absolutely has all the skills in the world to make Team Rashad 8-0 in this competition.

Either way, Nelson would beat both guys to make it through to the semifinals.

Brendan Schaub vs. Justin Wren

Matching these two prospects up against each other so soon may not be the best approach, but it certainly would make for an excellent fight for the quarterfinals.

Depending on whom you ask both Wren and Schaub are the best fighters in the house and have the most potential to become top contenders in the UFC.

Stylistically speaking, it’s a very interesting matchup.

Schaub is a golden-gloves boxer and, as evident in his anaconda choke submission victory over Demico Rogers, he’s also a deadly threat on the ground as well.

Meanwhile, Wren is an excellent Greco-roman wrestler with a slick submission game to boot so really this fight could go either way. Schaub could keep it standing and pick Wren apart on the feet, or Wren could keep him pressed up against the cage in the Greco-clinch and zap his will.

It’s a tough fight to predict, but Schaub should be able to hold his own on the feet and on the ground en’ route to a decision victory.

Darrill Schoonover vs. James McSweeney

Another interesting “grudge match” would be a bout between the 10-0 Shark Fight champ Schoonover and the devastating British kick-boxer McSweeney. While their rivalry isn’t even close to being as heated as Mitrione/Madsen, a Spike.com video featuring an altercation between the two is reason to believe they do not like each other very much.

Schoonover is a well-rounded fighter with crisp striking, good wrestling, and a well-versed jiu-jitsu game. McSweeney on the other-hand is a world-class kick-boxer with devastating leg kicks and a questionable gas-tank.

Schoonover has more tools in his tool-box than the British striker and should be able to finish a gassed McSweeney with a submission in the second round.

B/R TUF 10 Fantasy Game Standings:

Matt Randall: 12 points
Jon Madsen
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Flying Knee: 10 points
Jon Madsen
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Aoife O’Connor: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Peta Waller: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Alysha Diaz: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Melanie Wray: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Cameron Mumford: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Lynn Donegan: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Sinaed Marie O’Hara: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

E. Spencer Kyte: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Jessy Morris: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Ken Foss: 10 points
Jon Madsen
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Mitch Ciccarelli: eight points
Jon Madsen
Roy Nelson
Brendan Scaub
Darrill Schoonover

The Truth Turcott: two points
Justin Wren

Stoker Mac: two points
Justin Wren

Chael Sonnen: Anderson Silva's Biggest Threat?

Mitch Ciccarelli — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:10:48 -0400

When former WEC Middleweight champion Chael Sonnen merged into the UFC at the beginning of the year along with the entire WEC 185-pound division, most fans didn’t think much of the new acquisition.

Sonnen was coming off a big victory over a previously unbeaten Paulo Filho but fans didn’t expect the former two-time NCAA National Wrestling champion to accomplish much in the premier MMA organization in the world.

After all, Sonnen had already competed in the UFC previously, in which he compiled a less than stellar 1-2 record, losing to both Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Jeremy Horn by way of submission. What evidence would fans have to believe Sonnen would accomplish anything different in his second UFC run?

Certainly his unanimous decision victory over Filho in the WEC was an impressive achievement, but on the other hand it could also be viewed as a lackluster performance against a fighter who was not 100 percent mentally stable at the time.

There really wasn’t anything to convince fans that Sonnen was a legit threat to the upper echelon of UFC middleweights.

In his return to the Octagon, Sonnen was paired up against one of the most feared Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts in the sport, Demian Maia.

Prior to the bout fans expected a quick submission from Maia and they were right. Maia submitted the last WEC Middleweight champion with a beautifully executed first-round triangle choke.

Any die-hard fan will tell you that there is absolutely no shame in being submitted quickly at the hands of Maia, but regardless, the loss seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for Sonnen’s UFC career in the eyes of MMA fans.

Stepping up on short notice to replace an injured Yushin Okami, Sonnen took on talented young prospect Dan Miller at UFC 98.

Again, the fans were not in Sonnen’s corner and predicted another quick submission defeat for the Team Quest member. Instead, Sonnen took Miller down at will and pummeled the New Jersey native with strikes from his guard a la Randy Couture.

Just by looking into his eyes you could tell there was something different about Sonnen. As he tossed Miller around the Octagon like a rag doll, he had the look of a hungry lion in his eyes. The result was a unanimous decision for Sonnen which saved his spot in the UFC’s middleweight division.

“Ok, so he dominated a young MMA prospect, so what? It’s not like Miller was ranked anywhere near the top ten so who cares.”

That’s exactly the attitude that most fans had towards Sonnen after the fight. Despite a dominant victory, they still didn’t view the All-American wrestling powerhouse as anything more than a divisional gatekeeper.

Sonnen was then matched up with top-five ranked Middleweight contender Okami at UFC 104 and once again the Team Quest original was expected to be dismantled by the Japanese fighter.

Okami was considered by many to be long deserving of a title shot before the fight, boasting three straight victories and only one UFC loss to former champion Rich Franklin.

Surely this should have been an easy victory for Okami, right? Wrong. Sonnen dominated Okami in every aspect of MMA to earn a unanimous decision victory.

He took Okami down at will and controlled him in the wrestlers' clinch. He also out-struck the middleweight contender on the feet, displaying a much improved stand-up game.

If you aren’t impressed with Sonnen now, then there is something wrong with you, because make no mistake about it, Sonnen is a legit top-ten 185-pound fighter. Believe it or not he is the biggest threat to current Middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Before you get out your pitchforks, think about it for a second. What is the one area of Silva’s game that has raised the most eyebrows? The one aspect that most believe could be considered his only weakness? Wrestling.

Silva is a ninja on his feet and a dangerous black belt on the ground, but his takedown defense has always been questionable. That is something Sonnen would definitely exploit.

In Silva’s fights against Travis Lutter and Dan Henderson, both fighters were able to take the champion down and use their wrestling ability to win one round respectively on Silva before eventually being submitted in the second frame.

Sonnen’s wrestling ability is second to none in the Middleweight division and his pure strength when in the clinch is super-naturally strong.

If able to keep “The Spider” pressed up against the cage, he could zap the champion's will while utilizing dirty boxing from the clinch. This is something Sonnen applies regularly in his fights and something that has been proven very effective by UFC Hall of Famer, Randy “The Natural” Couture.

Sure it sounds far-fetched because after all we are talking about Silva, a man who has defeated the likes of Forrest Griffin, Henderson, Nate Marquardt and Franklin without breaking much of a sweat.

Sonnen is an incredibly powerful wrestler but his striking and submission game still has a ton of holes that Silva would be able to capitalize on.

In no way, shape, or form should it be implied that Sonnen would defeat Silva but he should be considered “The Spider’s” biggest threat currently.

Vitor Belfort has evolved tremendously over the years but his style is tailor-made for a counter-striking phenomenon such as Silva.

Marquardt has become a completely different fighter since losing to Silva in 2007 and would likely perform much better in a rematch but regardless you can’t shake the fact that he has already been defeated by the champion.

Henderson seems to be on his way out of the UFC due to contract issues and while Maia could pose threats to Silva on the ground, his last fight with Marquardt has set him back from earning that opportunity anytime in the near future.

Sonnen is now on a two-fight win streak and depending on who his next opponent is, he could be one more victory away from challenging Silva for the gold.

With Henderson gone, a likely scenario would be to match Sonnen up against Marquardt to determine the next title challenger after Belfort gets his shot in January.

Sonnen is a much more accomplished wrestler than Marquardt is but Marquardt is able to blend every aspect of MMA together more effectively than Sonnen.

It also isn’t a good match-up for Sonnen because he won’t have a significant strength advantage over the explosive Marquardt like he did against Okami and Miller.

If there is one thing that can be learned from his previous performances, it is not to overlook Sonnen. He may go on to defeat Marquardt and Silva to claim the undisputed Middleweight crown or he may lose his next fight and fade off into MMA limbo.

Either way, let’s give the man some credit. He might not have that great of a personality, in fact he can be viewed as somewhat of an arrogant jock.

But when it comes to fighting, he deserves to be recognized as a legit contender.

Machida, Shogun and The Top Five Best TUF 11 Coaching Matchups

Mitch Ciccarelli — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:54:43 -0400

Four years ago a reality series turned what appeared to be a dying sport into a multi-million dollar phenomenon. The UFC was on a steady decline, and as a last ditch effort they partnered up with Spike TV to form The Ultimate Fighter reality series.

Ten seasons later and MMA is one of the biggest sports in the world and constantly becoming more popular each day. The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights which features coaches Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans as well as street fighting kingpin Kimbo Slice has garnered the highest ratings in the series history so far.

TUF 10 is still in the process of airing new episodes, meanwhile several MMA news outlets have announced that the try-outs for season 11 will begin on October 26th.

Coaches for next season have yet to be discussed but let’s take a look at five potential options for TUF 11 coaches.

Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

After losing what is being dubbed by many as the most controversial decision loss in MMA history, “Shogun” deserves a chance at redemption. For five full rounds Rua did what no other fighter before him was able to do because for the first time in his career Machida was the one being picked apart.

Despite clearly winning four out of the five rounds, the CSAC judges robbed Rua of what would have been the biggest win of his career, awarding Machida with the unanimous decision victory. Even UFC President Dana White disagreed with the decision and has made it known that he would like to set up a rematch as soon as possible.

Well here’s a thought—why not make things a tad more interesting and have the two Brazilians coach TUF 11?

Not only will it be very beneficial for the season’s fighters to work with two of the most technical strikers in the game, but it will also generate a ton of interest from the fans to see how these two perform as coaches which, of course, will help bring in strong ratings.

Watching these two Light-Heavyweight warriors coaching every week on TUF is only going to hype up their second meeting in the Octagon even more. The only problem with this is the fact that neither speaks fluent English which is a must for the reality series.

Brock Lesnar/Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez

After racking up his fifth straight victory in the Octagon with a dominating TKO over “Big” Ben Rothwell, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Velasquez has a title shot awaiting him. The All-American wrestler silenced his critics by completely overwhelming a much more experienced fighter in Rothwell.

If Velasquez does not receive the next shot after Lesnar and Carwin clash at UFC 106, hell will freeze over. The AKA heavyweight deserves a championship bout more than any other heavyweight right now, much more so than the legendary Antonio Rodrigo “Mintauro” Noguiera and former champ Frank Mir combined.

A smart business strategy that would help Velasquez become a bigger PPV draw would be to put him on Spike TV and have him coach against the winner of the Lesnar/Carwin bout. If Lesnar—the UFC’s most valuable commodity—was placed on any television show it would surely create insane ratings records.

Lesnar is the ultimate heel, and his post-fight celebration at UFC 100 is further proof that he’s perfect for reality television because no matter if he’s loved or hated; he’s as real as it gets.

However, if Carwin were to be victorious at UFC 106, a Team Carwin vs. Team Velasquez TUF would still be intriguing but it just wouldn’t be as big of a draw as Team Lesnar would be. If people thought Kimbo was a ratings-machine just imagine the numbers Lesnar would bring in on Spike.

Hopefully he won’t slander the TUF sponsor—Burger King—for not paying him enough by announcing he’s going to grab a Big Mac at McDonalds before making love to his wife in Ronald McDonald’s playground.

Georges St. Pierre and Mike Swick/Dan Hardy

Speaking of ratings, Welterweight champion St. Pierre is both a world-class athlete and a huge PPV draw. It wouldn’t matter who his opponent is, he could be fighting Bill Cosby and people will still pay good money to watch St. Pierre fight.

GSP served as an assistant coach on TUF season 4: The Comeback but he has yet to be featured as a head coach mentoring his own team of up and coming fighters. Some of the biggest names in the industry have coached on the reality series including legends such as Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell so it’s only proper to have St. Pierre follow suit.

The upcoming bout at UFC 105 between Hardy and Swick will determine the number one contender to St. Pierre’s title. GSP has dominated the best fighters in the division with a relative amount of ease, so not very many people are expecting either fighter to last very long against the champion.

However, featuring the new challenger as a coach against St. Pierre on TUF would help the UFC market the title bout as a legitimate headliner and get fans more excited to see the fight. They could even follow Season 9’s format with either a Team Canada vs. Team USA or Team Canada vs. Team U.K format to make things more appealing.

Josh Koscheck and Matt Hughes

After knocking Frank Trigg’s head into the first row, TUF season one veteran Koscheck called out former Welterweight champion Hughes. This came to the former champ’s surprise because he couldn’t understand why Koscheck would want to fight him and even went as far as to say that it wasn’t a bout that interested him.

Hughes called Koscheck a “kid” and said he would fight him if the UFC asked him to but it isn’t a fight that he would go out of his way to ask for. This reeks of a potential grudge match. What better way to generate some added tension than to have the two welterweights coach against each other next season?

Neither are strangers to the show as Hughes already coached two seasons and Koscheck competed on the very first season losing in the semi-finals to eventual winner Diego Sanchez. They both know how the format works, and having the two as rival coaches would certainly make for great television.

Yes, Hughes wasn’t exactly the best coach during his stints on season 2 and 6 but regardless bringing him back for a third time would still generate some buzz. Maybe he will have learned his lessons and develop into a more patient coach. Or maybe he’ll have his team read bibles during practice while simultaneously yelling at them all for absolutely no reason. Either way it will make for good television especially with Koscheck’s reputation of getting under his opponent’s skin.

No coaches

Who needs coaches? Why not instead of having two big-name UFC stars hype up their upcoming fight, we change the format completely and make it more about the fighters competing on the show? After all it worked perfectly for season four. You can bring in elite coaches such as Greg Jackson and Shawn Tompkins but let the fighters pick the matchups and the coaching strategy.

As a result, you’d learn much more about the fighters and you'd be able to see how they really operate without having a head coach holding their hand and barking orders at them. The fighters can work with the coaches and the guys that the UFC bring in to help train them but it’s the fighters that control their destiny and not the coaches.

Obviously the ratings would take a huge hit because there wouldn’t be anything appealing to the casual fan so the likelihood of this happening is slim to none. That is unless the UFC can come up with something that would draw viewers to the show.

Enter Jason David Frank, a former Green Power Ranger and longtime martial artist. Frank has been training in MMA for the past few years and has recently announced he would be making his professional debut sometime in 2010. The former Mighty Morphing Power Ranger competes in the middleweight division which alongside the welterweight division is exactly what TUF 11 is going to feature.

Some may view Frank as a joke and a failing actor looking for a publicity stunt but that certainly isn’t the case. Frank is extremely passionate about competing in this sport and there really is no better way to prove that then to compete on TUF and earn a spot in the premiere MMA organization in the world, the UFC.

Sure Frank isn’t as big of a name as Kimbo Slice but he could still prove to be a big ratings draw if given the opportunity. Fans may laugh at this idea but honestly what’s there to laugh at? The man wants to prove himself as a legit MMA fighter, why not give him that chance? Surely people will tune in to see him fight.

TUF Questions With Darrill Schoonover: "I Really Want To Fight Rampage"

Mitch Ciccarelli — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:03:33 -0400

Despite boasting a perfect 10-0 MMA record, former Shark Fight Heavyweight champion Darrill Schoonover was surprisingly overlooked by many heading into The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights .

Instead of being portrayed as the legitimate threat that he is, the only camera time Schoonover received in earlier episodes was when rival coach and former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson openly mocked him for his physique.

In the beginning Schoonover brushed Jackson’s comments off but once the name-calling became more constant Schoonover eventually snapped.

In this exclusive interview Schoonover discusses his ongoing feud with Rampage as well as his desire to eventually fight the former Light-Heavyweight champion, his preliminary bout with Zak Jensen, and other TUF related topics.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Early in this week’s episode they showed clips of you drinking alcohol a lot in the house. The first scene saw you drinking a beer at 8 AM in the morning and your teammates seemed a bit worried that it would affect your performance in practice. Was it a situation where you were just drinking out of boredom because there isn’t much to do in the house or did you have somewhat of a drinking issue before coming onto the show?

Darrill Schoonover: That was huge editing because the first two days I was drinking and basically the first day we chose teams. After that they told us that we weren’t going to be doing anything the next day and that we were just going to be doing a lot of pictures and what not so I drank that night and morning because we had nothing to do.

Mitch Ciccarelli: So you weren’t drinking the morning before a training session?

Darrill Schoonover: They made it seem like I was and then the other guys were like ‘are you going to be able to make it to practice tomorrow’ and I’m like ‘yeah of course’, you know? After that I stopped drinking altogether and I waited until after my fight so I could drink on my birthday but that’s the only time I drank again [on the show]. But no I wasn’t drinking everyday right before practice or anything.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Well they definitely made you out to look like a drunk but hey at least you were portrayed as a happy drunk unlike other TUF veterans such as Chris Leben and Junie Browning.

Darrill Schoonover: Yeah they edited it really bad and that’s why I wrote my blog about that and hopefully I can get as many people to know the truth as possible. When I drink I’m usually happy and just joke around.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Rashad brought in GSP’s striking coach Phil Nurse for a special workout, what was it like working with such an accomplished coach such as Nurse and what type of techniques did you learn from him?

Darrill Schoonover: Phil Nurse is a really great [stand-up coach] and he was working with me a lot with the super-man punch from the right hand and the jab-hand. He was showing us a lot of other stuff to but some of it was a little too flashy for me because I’m not up there yet to where I can do some of that stuff but honestly I learned a lot [from Nurse]. We worked a lot on the mitts and the super-man punches and stuff like that.

Mitch Ciccarelli: They showed a clip of you in a sparring session with Brendan Schaub and the coaches seemed a bit worried because your conditioning looked a bit off. This is when James McSweeney brought it to their attention that you were a "drunk" and at this point the coaches decided to have what appeared to be some sort of a heart to heart lecture with you. What was going through your mind during this whole procedure and did you agree with them that your drinking was an issue?

Darrill Schoonover: In that sparring session that they showed with McSweeney calling me a “drunk” [that] was actually the very first week and you have to understand I fought within the third or fourth week into the show. They just edited the hell out of it but yeah when the coaches brought me in there they were like ‘some of the guys have been saying that you’ve been drinking and we just want you to slow down with it so it doesn’t affect your training’ and I just said ‘ok, sounds good’.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Some of the guys on Team Rashad seem a bit nosy, am I right?

Darrill Schoonover: It’s not all of the guys it’s just James McSweeney and if you watch like every single episode whenever there is drama or something going on McSweeney is always right there. Have you ever noticed that? He’s always right there so I’d have to say he’s the [nosy] one.

Mitch Ciccarelli: There was a bonus video I saw on Spike.com just a few weeks ago involving yourself, McSweeney, and a bird? You were talking to Rashad about some incident at the house with a bird and suddenly you and McSweeney are in each other’s faces about to throw-down. What was that all about?

Darrill Schoonover: It was a dove, it wasn’t a baby dove and it was on the trampoline and Jon Madsen and I were in the Jacuzzi and everybody else was playing basketball. Jon and I are big-time hunters and he said ‘I bet you can’t catch that bird’ and I was just like ‘I bet you I can’.

I went over there and I jumped and grabbed it and it didn’t fly away because I guess it hurt its wing or whatever so I was holding it and I guess James is like this huge animal lover. He was like ‘don’t kill the bird, don’t kill the bird’ in his [expletive] accent so I let the bird go and they just made this big ordeal that I tried to kill the [expletive] bird.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Let’s move on to the focal point of the episode which featured your ongoing rivalry with rival coach and former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Rampage has been calling you “titties” ever since day one and it got to the point where you just snapped on him. Before we get into that, let’s first talk about the challenge you laid out to him. You told him you would come down to 205 and whip his ass, did you mean that as a joke or were you dead serious about wanting to fight him?

Darrill Schoonover: In the beginning, I was joking and Rampage and I were just messing around. It was getting to the point where I was kind of getting tired of it but not yet really serious [about it] and I was just trying to get him to stop. But now I am very serious and I really, really want to fight Rampage someday if he comes back.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Why wait until he comes back? Why not just hunt him down and attack him during the filming of the new A-Team movie while he’s dressed up like Mr. T in full B.A Baracus uniform?

Darrill Schoonover: Yeah just run down there and beat him up while he’s dressed up like B.A Baracus. That would be funny.

Mitch Ciccarelli: All hell broke loose during the fight selection; you were picked to fight Zak Jensen and sure enough Rampage starts up with his jokes again which caused you to finally snap. Do you blame this more on you being in a fighter’s mentality at the time or were you just fed up with Rampage’s nonsense?

Darrill Schoonover: I was just fed up with his nonsense and they didn’t show this but I almost got into a fight with Rampage before that about four or five times at least. One of the times I backed him all the way up to the cage because he actually grabbed me when we were all in the cage so I was ready to start going and that’s when everyone grabbed me again so yeah they don’t show everything [that happened].

Mitch Ciccarelli: Why exactly did the coaches decide to pair you up with Jensen rather than the other two fighters on Rampage’s team?

Darrill Schoonover: I don’t know but the coaches had already picked who they wanted us to fight from the get-go so that was basically it but of course the whole Matt Mitrione [snitching on us] changed things up a bit and I can’t say who he gets to fight now but basically the coaches already decided they wanted me to fight [Jensen].

Mitch Ciccarelli: Jensen nicknamed ‘Linderman’ by Kimbo Slice, seems to be an easy target for the other guys to pick on him considering the fact that he doesn’t seem to stand up for himself. It got to the point where Wes Sims actually set up a pool where everyone betted on the day Jensen would snap. What day did you pick?

Darrill Schoonover: I didn’t participate in any of that, man. I was just trying to avoid all that dumb drama and all of that stupid [expletive]. The whole time I was there I was telling Jensen to stick up for himself and I told him ‘those guys aren’t going to let up until you stick up for yourself’. They’re just that type of guys where they’ll keep picking and keep picking until you fess up and then they’ll stop but yeah I avoided all of the ragging on Jensen.

Mitch Ciccarelli: I think a lot of people will feel bad for Jensen when they watch this show because he seems like a very soft spoken guy and because he didn’t say very much on the show he was made out to be a joke and people won’t get the chance to know who he really is other than being “Linderman” from TUF 10. What do you think?

Darrill Schoonover: He’s a really nice guy with a good heart but he’s just a little socially awkward so you can’t just throw him [in the TUF house] with a bunch of guys and expect him to mingle because he’s just not that type. That’s why I avoided making fun of him because I know if I were in his shoes and everyone was making fun of me and doing that stupid [expletive] I would have been pissed off.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Another interesting topic that was featured on the episode was you’re pretty unique style of tattoos. You have one of a baby satan in a diaper and another of a clown cutting off a girl’s head, can you explain this craziness? Do they have a symbolic meaning behind them, did you lose a bet, or are you just generally insane?

Darrill Schoonover: The little devil baby is actually from one of my favorite cartoons called Metalocalypse and there’s one little scene where if the head singer of the band had a child with this one lady then that’s what the baby would have looked like so that’s why I got that tattoo. The other one, I always joke around and tell everyone that’s my girlfriend. My buddy that I was in the Army with used to always draw creepy [expletive] and he drew that and was like ‘hey man I’ll give you that one for free if you let me put it on you’ so he gave me that one. I also have a Japanese symbol of honor and then I have a tattoo on my leg that symbolizes one of my favorite bands.

Mitch Ciccarelli: During a Team Rampage practice session, coach Tiki Ghosn unveils a collage of caricatures depicting Team Rashad (a.k.a. "Team Cocky"). The most notable drawing was a picture of you with these big female breasts and a big ole’ smile on your face which most seemed to think was funny. What did you think of their little prank?

Darrill Schoonover: I actually didn’t see the picture until I watched the episode and honestly I thought that was one of the funniest things in the world, man. That was a good joke right there and I couldn’t stop laughing.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Do you think Rampage and his coaches are more worried about the next prank they are going to pull rather than making sure their fighters win their fights?

Darrill Schoonover: Yes, they probably figured that since they were getting their asses kicked that they may as well start pulling pranks. They worked them hard in practice but they should have been more worried about getting their fighters ready to fight.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Your fight actually took place on your birthday and they didn’t show anything but I’m sure the guys must have given you some sort of celebration after the fight? Were there any crazy clowns popping out of cakes with chainsaws or anything nuts like that?

Darrill Schoonover: No, it wasn’t like other seasons where they got me a cake or anything like that. All I did was, after my fight, me and some of the guys just started drinking.

Mitch Ciccarelli: In the fight against Jensen you displayed lightening quick hand speed landing shot after shot on Jensen’s face but he managed to hang in there long enough to take you down. Were you surprised with the amount of damage he was able to withstand?

Darrill Schoonover: Yes I was, I was very surprised and during the fight I thought ‘any time now and one of these shots are going to drop him’ so I just kept telling myself ‘faster, faster’. I kept going and then all of a sudden he just shot and took me down so I just switched to that triangle [choke] and didn’t want to let go for nothing.

Mitch Ciccarelli: At first the choke didn’t appear to be that tight but he kept trying to hammer fist his way out of it which only made the hold tighter and tighter and eventually you passed him out with it. What was running through your mind after the fight and were you happy with your performance?

Darrill Schoonover: I was happy with my performance, yeah. But I just would have rather finished with a knockout because that’s what I was going for but honestly I followed the exact game-plan that Rashad and I put together. Rashad basically told me that when he starts swinging wild to hold him up against the cage and that’s what we were going over, holding him there and throwing knees and what not. I pretty much did everything and it worked.

Mitch Ciccarelli: At this point you’ve advanced into the quarter-final round and due to Team Rashad’s dominance in this competition you’re more often than not going to have to end up fighting one of your teammates. Out of the five other guys already advanced, which one did you most have interest in fighting against? I’m guessing McSweeney?

Darrill Schoonover: Yeah, I guess… yeah. I guess I would have to say that I would have rather have fought him.

Mitch Ciccarelli: On the show it seems like you and McSweeney get along well with each other but—going back to that Spike.com video—it looked like you guys wanted to kill each other. Was there a lot of tension between the two of you?

Darrill Schoonover: Nah there wasn’t a lot of tension but like I said I tried to avoid him because he was just one of those guys. We played it cool just because we were at the house but other than that, I mean I really don’t have a problem with him but he’s just one of those guys that I wouldn’t go out of my way to go watch a movie with, you know?

Mitch Ciccarelli: I recently saw a video interview with UFC President Dana White and he called the cast of TUF 10 “A bunch of cry-babies” and referred to Roy Nelson as an “idiot” and a “moron”. Does this have anything to do with something that happened during the show or is that all after the show?

Darrill Schoonover: Um, I think Dana White was pissed at Roy Nelson just for the fact that Roy basically treated him like he was a [expletive] waiter asking for a double whopper with cheese with no pickle. I think that was the main reason why Dana was pissed at Roy.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Next week’s episode is being dubbed as ‘the most explosive of the season’. They show clips of the coaches going at it pretty heavily and then a clip of your teammate Matt Mitrione losing his cool and screaming at another teammate. Obviously you cannot tell us a whole lot until it airs but can you give us some clues here and there to preview what’s to come?

Darrill Schoonover: I can’t remember which fight it is but one of the fights is going to be quick and one of the fights is going to be really, really good. All I can say is stay tuned because you’re going to like the next fight.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Alright Darrill, I appreciate you taking the time out to talk to me today. Really looking forward to watching the rest of your fights on the show, you bring forth a very exciting fighting style and I’m sure you will develop a huge name for yourself in your UFC career. If there is anything else you’d like to say speak now or forever hold your peace.

Darrill Schoonover: I just want to say thanks for having me, man.

Let's take a look at the standings for B/R Ultimate Fighter 10 Fantasy Game:

Matt Randall: 12 points
Jon Madsen
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Flying Knee: 10 points
Jon Madsen
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Aoife O’Connor: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Peta Waller: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Alysha Diaz: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Melanie Wray: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Cameron Mumford: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Lynn Donegan: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Sinaed Marie O’Hara: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

E. Spencer Kyte: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Jessy Morris: 10 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Ken Foss: 10 points
Jon Madsen
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
Darrill Schoonover

Mitch Ciccarelli: 8 points
Jon Madsen
Roy Nelson
Brendan Scaub
Darrill Schoonover

The Truth Turcott: 2 points
Justin Wren

Stoker Mac: 2 points
Justin Wren

Anthony Johnson and the Top 10 UFC Prospects

Mitch Ciccarelli — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:16:53 -0400

History will be made on more than one occasion this Saturday night at UFC 104, live from the Staples center in L.A, California. Before two legendary Light-Heavyweight warriors clash for championship gold in the main event, a rising young star will make his Pay-Per-View debut.

25 year old welterweight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is an explosive prospect if you’ve ever seen one. Known for his powerful wrestling and striking ability, Johnson entered the UFC in late 2007 scoring an impressive 13-second knockout victory over Chad Reiner. From that moment on Johnson has established himself as a fighter to look out for in the 170-pound division.

With an impressive 4-2 record, Johnson will have the opportunity to evolve from a talented blue-chip fighter into a legit top-ten welterweight contender as he takes on world class Judo specialist Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida to kick off the night’s main card.

Johnson is one of several diamonds in the rough currently competing in the UFC. With that being said let’s take a look at ten other prospects who have yet to compete on a Pay-Per-View main card.

10. Brad Blackburn (UFC record: 3-0)

Despite being one of the premier welterweights for the now defunct IFL organization, Blackburn entered the UFC relatively unknown by both hardcore and casual MMA fans. To a degree, Blackburn’s name is still unfamiliar to fans but that shouldn’t last very long if he continues his winning ways.

A strong boxing background and well rounded MMA skills have led the IFL veteran to UFC victories over James Giboo, Ryo Chonan and Edgar Garcia. An injury will keep him sidelined for the rest of the year but rest assured you’ll be seeing a lot more of Blackburn in 2010.

9. George Sotiropoulos (UFC record: 3-0)

This 32-year-old lightweight has the potential to become the face of MMA in Australia and a legit contender to boot. Sotiropoulos first made waves as part of Team Serra on The Ultimate Fighter season six, making it all the way to the semi-finals of the show before losing to finalist Tommy Speer.

Since the TUF show, Sotiropoulos has displayed ninja-like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu abilities with three straight submission victories over Billy Miles, Roman Mitichyan, and George Roop. Now that the Aussie is injury-free and training full time with Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, look for the world class black belt to consistently win fights in 2010 and kimura his way into title contention.

8. Matt Riddle (UFC record: 3-0)

Nicknamed “Chipper” by former Light Heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson on season seven of TUF , Riddle is one of the youngest fighters currently under contract with the UFC. The 23-year-old southpaw has an incredibly powerful wrestling base but also has proven to pack a ton of heat with his striking—as was evident in his devastating knockout over Dan Simmler on TUF .

Riddle didn’t win The Ultimate Fighter due to his inexperience but he has since improved leaps and bounds working with elite training camps such as Arizona Combat Sports and Xtreme Couture. He’s racked up three straight decision victories on UFC prelims and is now set to challenge British striker Nick Osipczak on the undercard of UFC 105 in Manchester, England.

A dominating performance would likely bump Riddle up to main card status in his next bout and regardless of whether or not he wins he will have time on his side to evolve into one of the greatest fighters this sport has ever seen.

7. Evan Dunham (UFC record: 2-0)

Anyone who witnessed Dunham’s first two UFC bouts recognizes his limitless potential. The undefeated striking sensation first made his Octagon debut at UFC 95 in London, England in which he knocked out heavy favorite Per Eklund with a left cross just two minutes into the first round.

His second UFC bout came against an MMA veteran and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace, Marcus Aurelio on the UFC 102 undercard. Aurelio was making his return to the Octagon and was supposed to leave the arena with one of Dunham’s limbs in a doggy bag. Instead, the 27-year-old native of Las Vegas, NV steered clear of Aurelio’s submissions and put on a striking clinic which earned him a split decision victory.

However as talented as Dunham may be he is still unknown to most fans and he will need to win a few more fights in order to be featured on the main card.

6. Terry Etim (UFC record: 4-2)

Twenty-four-year-old Etim has been dubbed a British version of UFC Middleweight champ Anderson Silva by many of his fans due to his vicious Muay Thai striking ability and lethal submission skills. While he has yet to live up to that type of hype, he has certainly showed loads of potential every time he steps into the Octagon.

Etim has improved leaps and bounds since first appearing in the UFC in April of 2007 and has developed into one of the fastest rising stars in the lightweight division. Currently the Englishman is riding a three fight win streak defeating Sam Stout, Brian Cobb and Justin Buchholz. Etim will have the honor of fighting in his homeland against Shannon Gugerty at UFC 105 in Manchester, England.

5. Aaron Simpson (UFC record: 2-0)

Unbeaten wrestling machine Simpson may just be the greatest fighter that you have never heard of. Before entering the sport of MMA, Simpson was an accomplished college wrestling champion and served as a coach for the Arizona State Sun Devils.

The hard-nosed athlete made a smooth transition into MMA boasting a 6-0 overall record with all six wins coming by way of a TKO. Nicknamed “A-Train”, Simpson made his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 18 making quick work of Tim McKenzie.

Simpson followed that victory up with a dominating performance over Ultimate Fighter veteran Ed Herman at UFC 102 and will now look to keep the momentum flowing against another TUF alumni in Tom Lawlor at UFC Fight Night 20.

4. Todd Duffee (UFC record: 1-0)

Comparable to an MMA version of Ivan Drago, heavyweight wrecking machine Duffee made a huge impact in his UFC debut against well-rounded Canadian fighter Tim Hague on the UFC 102 undercard. The 23 year old didn’t give fans much time to evaluate his abilities as he knocked Hague out in just seven seconds.

The American Top Team fighter now holds the record for the fastest knockout in the history of the organization and now has his sights set on fighting the elite of the division. He must first get through re-debuting Paul “The Head-Hunter” Buentello at UFC 107 in order to clash with the top heavyweight titans.

3. Efrain Escudero (UFC record: 2-0)

Winning season eight of The Ultimate Fighter was not enough to satisfy Escudero as the Mexican fighter now has his sights set on dominating the 155-pound division. After defeating fellow Team Nogueira teammate Phillipe Nover at the TUF finale, Escudero was placed on the sidelines for six months due to an injury.

He was set to make his return at UFC 103 against a fellow TUF veteran Cole Miller in a bout that would be presented live and free on Spike TV before the PPV. Prior to the bout everyone knew of Escudero’s powerful wrestling base but very little believed he has any stand-up skills at all.

Proving his constant evolution of a fighter, Escudero shocked fans everywhere with a first round knockout over Miller. His next fight has yet to be announced but one can almost guarantee the TUF winner will fight on the PPV portion of the card this time.

2. Carlos Condit (UFC record: 1-1)

Condit was the last reigning champion of the WEC’s Welterweight division before the entire weight class merged into the UFC. “The Natural Born Killer” is a ferocious fighter with lightning fast striking combinations and a very deadly Jiu-Jitsu game.

In his first UFC bout he headlined UFC Fight Night 18 losing a closely contested bout against top contender Martin Kampmann. Despite a solid effort the loss set Condit back from potential contender to up and coming prospect but a recent decision victory over Jake Ellenburger at UFC Fight Night 19 has rekindled some of that momentum.

Just like “Rumble” Johnson, Condit has been presented with an opportunity to establish his name as a top contender when he challenges British kickboxing powerhouse Paul “Semtex” Daley on the main card of UFC 108.

1. Ryan Bader (UFC record: 2-0)

Those that win The Ultimate Fighter usually move on to accomplish great things. For “Darth” Bader, winning season eight has turned the All-American wrestler into a rock star. Bader has yet to appear on a PPV main card but based off his recent rise in popularity you’d never even know it.

After displaying well-rounded skills and an outgoing personality on the reality show, knocking out Vinny Magalhaes in the light-heavyweight finals was just the icing on the cake for Bader. He kicked off his post-TUF career with an overwhelming decision victory over Carmelo Marrero at UFC Fight Night 18 and will now look to go 3-0 in the Octagon this Saturday night against Eric “Red” Schafer.

Although the fight is taking place on the preliminary portion of the card it will be featured live and free on Spike TV before the main card begins. The Sith lord has all the potential in the world to follow the lead of fellow TUF winners Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin in claiming UFC gold.

UFC 104 Breakdown: Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

Mitch Ciccarelli — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:19:26 -0400

On Oct. 24, live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, two of the greatest Light-Heavyweight mixed martial artists will clash for the gold.

Newly crowned champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will defend his UFC title against former 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand-Prix winner Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in what could go down in history as the greatest Light-Heavyweight battle of all time.

Who has the advantage heading into this fight? Let’s take a look.

Striking

Machida’s Shotokan karate base is that one piece of the MMA puzzle that no other fighter has been able to figure out. His evasive movements and unorthodox southpaw stance has frustrated and picked apart several of the world’s greatest 205-pound warriors.

Not only is Machida’s technique executed flawlessly but—as proven in recent performances against Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans—“The Dragon” also has knockout power to boot.

Unlike some modern-day MMA fighters, Machida won’t throw every strike with full-blown power and will instead pick his shots waiting for the right moment to drop his opponent like a ton of bricks.

Rua poses an intriguing threat with his world class Muay-Thai and it will be interesting to see if “Shogun” can put the puzzle pieces together on the feet, handing Machida a taste of his own medicine by picking “The Dragon” apart.

If Rua’s is able to cut off Machida’s angles, he could put the champion into trouble with his devastating leg kicks and striking from the Thai-clinch.

A good Muay-Thai fighter will usually defeat a good karate fighter as Muay-Thai is the more effective striking art for combat situations.

However, Machida karate is a style that has taken all the positive techniques from karate and blended it in with maneuvers that can be used effectively in the cage.

Rua won’t have an answer for Machida’s mysterious Shotokan stance, and Rua will not be able to predict Machida’s footwork either.

Lyoto Machida has the striking advantage, 10-8

Jiu-Jitsu

Both fighters have built their careers based off of their talents as high-level stand-up fighters, and because of this their ground games have been underappreciated by the majority of those within the sport.

These two Brazilian warriors are usually seen dominating opponents with crisp striking techniques, but let’s not forget the legitimacy of their Jiu-Jitsu.

Both fighters were awarded their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts a few years ago and while neither has finished very many fights by submission, one must understand that there is a lot more to Jiu-Jitsu than the submissions.

The transitioning and securing the dominant position are much more important when it comes to ground fighting, and history will show that “Shogun” has been more effective in this field.

Looking back to the finals of PRIDE’s 2005 Middleweight Grand-Prix, Rua battled highly accomplished Jiu-Jitsu fighter Ricardo Arona. To the surprise of many, “Shogun” managed to out-grapple “The Brazilian Tiger” in a dominating performance before finishing him with strikes on the ground in the first round.

Machida has proven to be no slouch on the ground, either, and has actually submitted Rameu Thierry Sokoudjou with a tight arm-triangle choke opening the eyes of many to his underrated grappling ability.

However, he also came very close to being finished with a triangle choke turned into an arm bar from former UFC champion Tito Ortiz and even though he escaped, it may have exposed some holes in Machida’s game.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has the Jiu-Jitsu advantage, 10-8

Wrestling

Not only does the champion come from a solid Shotokan background but he has also supplemented his stand-up fighting with the art of sumo wrestling at a very early age.

Through mixing sumo with traditional wrestling Machida has developed possibly the best takedown defense in the game today, and has also been successful with takedowns offensively as well.

A recent example would be his 2008 non-title bout with the aforementioned Ortiz in which Ortiz not only had difficulty taking Machida down but was also placed on his back by “The Dragon” a couple of times during the fight as well.

Ortiz is widely recognized for being one of the most dominant wrestlers of all time in the 205-pound division and his efforts to bring the current champ to the ground were futile.

The one aspect of Rua’s game that seems to be the most overlooked is his offensive wrestling abilities. Rua is not a college or Olympic level wrestling champion but he can hold his own against fighters of that caliber.

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell has made a career out of his takedown defense and has been able to defend shots from some of the very best wrestlers in the sport.

Rua is not known for being a great wrestler but he took Liddell down and even if it was a “past his prime” version of Liddell it is still an impressive feat.

“Shogun” might surprise people and do the same to Machida but it isn’t a likely scenario.

Lyoto Machida has the wrestling advantage, 10-9.

Cardio

The X-Factor heading into this title clash is whether or not Rua has fully recovered from his injuries or not. He looked to be back to his old form against Liddell but the fight didn’t last long enough to evaluate the challenger’s gas-tank.

In his PRIDE fighting days “Shogun” always displayed excellent conditioning and would be able to fight at an aggressive pace without slowing down.

When the young lion made the jump over to the UFC he tired quickly and looked horrible in his bouts with Forrest Griffin and Mark Coleman. Knocking out Liddell in the first round was a huge victory but it doesn’t prove to anyone that Rua can now go five rounds with Machida.

Machida has never once displayed poor cardio and always enters fights healthy and in shape. Rua might be more dangerous in the early rounds but if recent performances have shown us anything it’s that “Shogun” will break later on in the fight.

Lyoto Machida has the cardio advantage, 10-8

The Result

On paper it would seem that Machida has an advantage in almost every area but MMA isn’t a paper sport. Anything can happen at any given time inside that Octagon and just because a fighter is heavily favored doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to come out victorious.

Upsets happen all the time in MMA and “Shogun” could pull off a shocking victory over a man whom everyone believed was unbeatable. Rua is most dangerous on the ground and if able to bring the fight down there he could control “The Dragon” with dominant Jiu-Jitsu positioning.

Emphasize on the terms “if” and “could”, as previously mentioned Machida is near impossible to be taken down and even if Rua can put him on his back, it wouldn't be long before a reversal puts Machida either in a dominant position or back up on his feet.

Unless Rua is able to cut off Machida’s angles and time his movements he will not stand a chance against “The Dragon” in the striking department either.

Machida will do what he does best which is pick his shots, frustrate his opponent with strikes from unpredictable angles and then once “Shogun” drops his guard, Machida will put his lights out, becoming the first man to defend the Light-Heavyweight championship since the belts were unified in 2007.

Lyoto Machida by second round (T)KO

TUF Questions With Wes Sims: "I'll Be Back"

Mitch Ciccarelli — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:42:29 -0400

6’10" UFC veteran Wes “A-Whole Show” Sims was recognized as a dark-horse to win The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.

Boasting over 40 professional fights and having competed against former UFC champions such as Frank Mir (twice) and Tim Sylvia many believed Sims would rise to the occasion and stand in a list including Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping as an Ultimate Fighter winner.

Things didn’t go according to plan as Sims was matched up against Greco-Roman wrestling machine Justin Wren in the fifth preliminary fight of the season. Sims was taken down early and caught in a tight triangle choke into unconsciousness.

Fear not Sims fans because in this exclusive interview “The A-Whole Show” assures us that he will return and will always give the people what they want to see.

Mitch Ciccarelli: There was an incident early on in this week’s episode where you claimed you stepped on a pile of Zak Jensen’s “unborn children” in the shower. You approached and called out Jensen in front of everyone and he denied it.

Then in a confessional he said he actually blew his nose in the shower and didn’t do what you accused him of doing. First of all what type of person blows their nose in the shower and then openly admits to doing it on national television?

Wes Sims: He knows deep down that that was not stuff from his nose because if it was from his nose then that guy has brain matter and a horrible, horrible sinus infection. I just don’t know what he was thinking but I think it was out of his hands or in his hands if you know what I mean. Uh!

Mitch Ciccarelli: Jensen seems like the type of guy that doesn’t really stand up for himself, did that make him an easy target for a guy like you to kind of rib on him a little bit?

Wes Sims: Anybody that stands in the shower and jerks Mr. Happy sets himself up to be a target.

Mitch Ciccarelli: There was a brief clip shown in between commercials where you said you were giving Jensen a hard time to help make a man out of him and then you said that Kimbo Slice was teaching him how to shank people, can you further explain this?

Wes Sims: I pick on him but there is a difference between a bully and what I did [to him] because I wasn’t going around making fun of him or being like [expletive] this guy, you know? I was picking on him but I did it out in front of everybody and everybody [on our team] picked on him, he did it to himself. Well no one on Rashad’s team picked on him because he was off limits [to them]. It was ok for us to pick on him because we were his team and we were his family but if [Team Rashad] picked on him then they had a problem.

Kimbo was giving him some advice and he was talking about prison shanking them and I just don’t know how practical that will be in life to help him.

Mitch Ciccarelli: When I interviewed you before the season aired I thought you would be the guy to receive the most amount of camera time but up until this week’s episode you haven’t really been show a whole lot. What’s the deal? Why isn’t spike featuring the A-Whole Show? Were some of your antics a bit too crazy for TV?

Wes Sims: I don’t know what is wrong with those producers I mean they either don’t have a sense of humor or they plotted this out and said ‘hey look if we put this all in one episode Sims is going to look mentally retarded and they’ll want to put him away [in a mental institution’ so they may be doing this for my best interest.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Team Rashad’s Matt Mittrione has somewhat blacklisted himself from his own team by being a “snitch” and it seems even his own coaches were frustrated with him. How did Team Rampage perceive Mittrione at the house and what were your thoughts on the guy as a person and as a fighter?

Wes Sims: I’ll tell you what Matt Mittrione is, he’s a [expletive]. Matt Mittrione is a [expletive]… Wes Sims says Matt Mittrione’s a [expletive]!

Mitch Ciccarelli: Why exactly do you feel that way about him, was it just his attitude back at the house or what?

Wes Sims: Yeah it was his attitude and just the way he carries himself. Look if I had known that Jensen was in the shower doing that the only other person I would have blamed was [Mittrione] well actually I take that back because that stuff would not have come from that man. Maybe a bloody tampon in the trashcan would have been Matt Mittrione. A bloody cloth floating in the toilet or the trash can is what I would have found from Matt Mittrione, not a pile of kids.

Mitch Ciccarelli: There was a clip of your teammate Marcus Jones asking the other coaches to pick him to fight and they were kind of teasing him with the idea that he would be competing next. How angry was Jones when they didn’t pick him and did that anger mess with his head during practice?

Wes Sims: Oh yeah Jones is very emotional and it wouldn’t take much to get in his head and mess with him so people tried to leave him alone and we as his team tried to keep people from picking on him.

Mitch Ciccarelli: What was going through your mind when Rashad decided to match you up with Justin Wren? Were you happy with the matchup or was there someone else on Team Rashad that you had your eye on to fight?

Wes Sims: Well I would have loved to beat the dog [expletive] out of Matt Mittrione and I would have also liked to beat the ink out of Darrill “Titties” Schoonover. Honestly if I would have fought earlier I thought it would have been me against Roy Nelson because I figured they might have tried to get rid of me early. What a lot of people didn’t know is that on day one, from the first day teams were picked, I got hurt. I hurt my heel real bad and had to go to the hospital to get an MRI and I had my foot all taped up before that fight.

Guys were getting hurt all the time in practice so it wasn’t something you dwell on so you either move forward and make the best of it or pull out and not be able to fight.

Mitch Ciccarelli: You were surprisingly finished very early via a tight arm-triangle choke and due to refusing to tap out you actually passed completely out cold. When you woke up did you know where you were and what was going on? If so what was your reaction?

Wes Sims: Thank God I wasn’t in the shower! I woke up thinking ‘thank God I wasn’t in the shower’, I felt water running on me and I thought ‘oh no not again, I fell and hit my head this time’. I just got caught, you know Wren is a very tough guy and I think he’ll surprise a lot of people. He’s one of the very best Greco Roman wrestlers in the world today, I mean he’s really good and he turned down a scholarship in order to continue mixed martial arts and he’s tough [but] he might be out of his weight-class.

If I was at 100% it might have been under different circumstances but I’ve said this from the beginning it’s not going to be the best fighter that wins this show it’s going to be the guy that played the game right and I mean you heard Roy Nelson wanted to fight Zak Jensen and I mean that’s like beating up on the cameraman.

Mitch Ciccarelli: During the stare-down you towered over the guy like a skyscraper. You had to have been the tallest fighter in the competition and I think because of that most people would have thought Wren would have had a difficult time taking you down but maybe your heel injury played a factor?

Wes Sims: Oh yeah for sure I went to move my foot back and it gave out as I put weight on the heel.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Were you a bit surprised with Wren’s abilities because I mean obviously you knew the guy was a great Greco-Roman wrestler but did you expect him to have slick submissions?

Wes Sims: No and it doesn’t show it but that same week I got choked out in practice, I got caught and I don’t know if it makes it any easier to get choked out but everyone knows I’ve never been submitted and it’s all been technical submissions where the ref has had to stop the fight. When Wren put me in [the arm triangle choke] I don’t remember [referee] Herb [Dean] touching my hand, I saw Herb standing back and then everything turned white and I don’t remember anything else.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Rampage thought you were going to do the whole Hulk Hogan power-up thing when Herb raised your arm up, that would have been pretty cool, huh?

Wes Sims: I’ll tell you something… it has been said that immortality lies in Wes Sims and had he only lifted my arm one more time I would have come back like some type of Greek God. I would have stood up with Wren wrapped around my neck and thrown him off over the cage. It’s just a shame, it’s just a shame he didn’t give me one last arm-up.

Mitch Ciccarelli: You were somewhat of a big name before coming onto the show, well at least in the eyes of hardcore fans you were known. Now after being on the show, even in a losing effort you’ll have created an even bigger fan base because let’s be honest you aren’t exactly a boring personality. With that being said do you think Dana will give you another chance to fight in the UFC or was this your last opportunity?

Wes Sims: Nah I’m pretty sure I’ll be back, I’m pretty sure of that. The thing is I’ve just got to take it and be ready. I mean look at some of the guys who’ve been on the show [from previous seasons] like Leben who lost twice on the show and Jardine who also lost [his first fight] and they’ve come back and been successful. They bring guys back so you’ve just got to be prepared and you’ve got to be ready.

I’ve always said the worst possible thing to do is, everybody wants to win but if you win boring and put on a snooze fest people aren’t going to want to see you. They’d rather see you go out to give it your all and [even if] you get beat know you left it all in the ring. I made a promise from day one when I came into the UFC that none of my fights would ever be boring.

Mitch Ciccarelli: What were your thoughts on Dana’s post-fight comments about your performance? He said “I don’t know what happened to Wes Sims since he’s been out of the UFC but he did not look good at all”.

Wes Sims: He picked me to win it and then I lost and he said ‘man I don’t know what the hell happened to Wes Sims since he left the UFC’ but you know Dana’s honest when he says it and he wasn’t there that much. He doesn’t know what’s really going on, he didn’t know how our training was going and he didn’t know how good some of the guys are or how they were doing because he’s a busy man and I mean look how far the sport has gotten because of him.

It’s just constructive criticism [what he said] and Wren got me that night but I was in a room filled with 18 people but put 15,000 in front of me and I’ll march out and stomp someone’s ass.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Team Rashad is now up 5-0 and it’s obvious Rampage and his coaching staff are extremely frustrated. Did their frustration affect their coaching ability in a negative way or did it kind of motivate the remaining fighters to work that much harder in training so they could get the team out of their slump?

Wes Sims: Well Hector Ramirez is one hell of a coach and he was in there every day pushing us as was Coach Tom and Junior. Tiki and Rampage, they’re good guys but they just have their own style, I don’t know what you want to call it but they’ve got their own style.

Mitch Ciccarelli: The three remaining fighters on Rampage’s team are Marcus Jones, Scott Junk and Zak Jensen. From experience training with these three guys what can you say about their fighting ability and their chances of winning the competition?

Wes Sims: Nothing’s out of the question, I mean we had a bad start and everyone wants to pull together. It’s rough and it’s just like anything, when you get on a roll some guys will win and they’ll just keep winning fights when on paper you’re just like ‘there’s no way this guy can win this fight’ but he just keeps winning and our team kept losing and the other team just got on a roll. They continued to have control of the picks and guys stayed healthy and it is what it is.

Mitch Ciccarelli: According to last week’s episode Rampage called Junk the ‘team captain’ is that true? Was he the leading man for the team?

Wes Sims: Junk always churned in his two-cents but as for team captain I don’t think we really had a team captain. Everybody was there for a goal and we looked to our coaches and we just trained hard and every day of the week we were training our asses off in there.

Mitch Ciccarelli: A preview into next week shows Darrill Schoonover and Rampage getting into it at the gym. How serious was the rivalry between these two? I mean we’ve seen Rampage give Schoonover some flack about his “titties” but is there more to it than that?

Wes Sims: Schoonover got called that name on a daily basis and he just takes it personal. Rampage is reluctant and he won’t stop, he’ll keep calling him titties and it just got under his skin and started to mess with him.

Mitch Ciccarelli: What other antics can we expect from you? Is there a lot more of the A-Whole Show to come?

Wes Sims: Oh for sure and I’ll tell you something, if they cut out a lot of this then this [season] will probably be the best selling DVD ever. That means bonus footage, baby! There’s Wes Sims everywhere and if they don’t put it on Spike then there’s going to be a Pay-Per-View show like Jerry Springer cause I’ll tell you there’s some terrific [expletive] to come. And you didn’t bring it up or ask but yes he was accused of sniffing my shorts.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Who’s that now?

Wes Sims: Jensen… who else?

Mitch Ciccarelli: Alright Wes well thanks for taking the time out to talk with me tonight. I wish you the best of luck in the future and hopefully this won’t be the last time we see you in the Octagon. If there is anything else you’d like to say, go for it.

Wes Sims: This will not be the last time you see Wes Sims, I will be back.

Now let's take a look at the B/R Ultimate Fighter fantasy standings for week five:

Matt Randall: 10 points
Jon Madsen
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Flying Knee: 8 points
Jon Madsen
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Justin Wren

Aoife O’Connor: 8 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Peta Waller: 8 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Alysha Diaz: 8 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Melanie Wray: 8 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Cameron Mumford: 8 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Lynn Donegan: 8 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Sinaed Marie O’Hara: 8 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

E. Spencer Kyte: 8 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Jessy Morris: 8 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Ken Foss: 8 points
Jon Madsen
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Mitch Ciccarelli: 6 points
Jon Madsen
Roy Nelson
Brendan Scaub

The Truth Turcott: 2 points
Justin Wren

Stoker Mac: 2 points
Justin Wren

Eireann Go Brach: Irish MMA Is on the Rise

Mitch Ciccarelli — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:59:05 -0400

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of years, you know that MMA is the fastest growing sport in the entire world.

Originally dubbed a brutal no-holds barred blood-sport, MMA has evolved into a chess match between two combative individuals. A battle between two well-conditioned athletes, using a blend of striking and grappling techniques to checkmate their opponent into either a knockout or a submission.

The majority of MMA’s fan base comes from North America and Japan; however, in recent years, the sport has been exploding over in European countries. England, in particular, seems to be gaining most of the attention, with British fighters such as Michael Bisping, Dan Hardy, Terry Etim, and several others making waves in the UFC.

While the United Kingdom receives the bulk of MMA media attention in Europe, as was evident in Season Nine of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV, which featured a whole team of British fighters, the beautiful country of Ireland is not following far behind. In fact, Ireland may eventually surpass the U.K as far as growth in the MMA industry is concerned.

Irish fans of any sport are extremely passionate, so its MMA supporters are no different. When the UFC made its first trip to Dublin, Ireland for UFC 93 earlier this year, the crowd went absolutely crazy throughout the entire event, which impressed UFC President Dana White, who promised many more events to be held there in the near future.

MMA in Ireland has been steadily growing since the early 2000’s and it isn’t just their fan base that is impressive as the country is home to many talented young fighters that could be just a year or two away from becoming household names.

With that being said let’s take a look at some of the top prospects as well as the pioneers of Irish MMA.

John Kavanagh (MMA Record: 3-3)

Becoming a well-rounded MMA fighter in Ireland was close to impossible in the early days, as there weren’t any high-level grapplers for aspiring fighters to learn from. Ireland always had a strong base for striking arts such as boxing and Muay-Thai, but wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu was almost non-existent until Kavanagh came along.

Kavanagh is the founding father of Jiu-Jitsu in Ireland and is currently the only black belt that the country has produced and to top it off his ground game is absolutely outstanding. He’s a self-taught master that studied grappling techniques from books and tapes before traveling across Europe to enter Jiu-Jitsu tournaments.

As an MMA fighter, Kavanagh isn’t overly impressive but as a coach he can be comparable to an Irish Greg Jackson. He has teamed up with fellow BJJ ace Matt Thornton to form a branch of academies across Ireland called Straight Blast Gym.

Tom Egan (MMA Record: 6-2)

At the ripe age of 20 and already having one UFC fight on his record Egan is considered the future of Irish MMA. Egan, nicknamed “The Tank” boasted an unblemished 5-0 record before battling Englishman John Hathaway at UFC 93 in Dublin.

The Dublin crowd was certainly on Egan’s side, but it just wasn’t enough for the Irishman to overcome the more experienced Hathaway. Egan was finished by strikes in the first round and was soon cut from the UFC roster but rest assured it will not be the last time you see him competing in the Octagon.

Unfortunately, he was choked out in his MMA return earlier this month by Rob Mills but is looking to rebound against highly touted Frenchman Gary Kono at Ireland’s largest MMA show to date—Cage of Honour which will be taking place Nov. 7.

With the rumors of another UFC event to be held in Dublin in 2010, a dominant victory could put “The Tank” in consideration for a re-signing into the organization to fight on the card.

Gunnar Nelson (MMA Record: 5-0)

Technically speaking, Nelson is not an Irish fighter, since he was born in Iceland, but his fighting ability should be reflective of Ireland MMA considering the fact that he is a top student under Kavanagh and is a disciple of Thornton’s Straight Blast Gym.

Nelson now trains in The United States and as of Sept. 30, 2009 he is a BJJ black belt under Renzo Gracie. Nelson also finished fourth overall in the Abu Dhabi world championships in the Absolute Division.

With an unbeaten record and five straight finishes to his name, it’s only a matter of time for the Icelandic fighter to make some serious waves on the bigger shows.

Owen Roddy (MMA Record: 5-3)

“Rowdy” Roddy—and no, we aren’t talking about the professional wrestling legend—has established himself as the greatest featherweight fighter in all of Ireland. Roddy is well-versed at all areas of the game but his stand-up technique is especially devastating.

His Floyd Mayweather-esque hand-speed and vicious knees have led him on a four fight win-streak and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Roddy could be just a couple more knockout victories away from signing with a major organization, perhaps the WEC would be interested?

Aisling Daly (MMA Record: 5-0)

“The Bash” is ranked by some in the top five in the super-flyweight female division and is another product of Kavanagh’s SBG Ireland. She has finished all eight of her professional fights in which she has showcased brutal ground n’ pound, crisp stand-up technique, and bone-snapping submissions to establish herself as Ireland’s premier female fighter.

Daly fell in love with martial arts early on in her life studying karate at the age of 10 and eventually transitioning into Jiu-Jitsu and finally into MMA. She will be competing on the previously mentioned Cage of Honour show against Maiju Kajula in her next fight.

Her dream is to eventually compete in the United States for a big show like Strikeforce, and so long as she continues her winning ways, that dream could become a reality very soon.

Greg Loughran (MMA Record: 18-13)

Northern Ireland’s Loughran is a grizzled seven-year veteran of the game, and despite his record, he’s recognized as one of Ireland’s toughest 155-pounders. Recently, he competed and lost against top three lightweight and Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez at Bellator’s premier event. Despite a losing effort, Loughran buckled Alvarez early on with a powerful left hook but was unable to finish the Philly native.

Loughran has also fought and lost against other recognizable fighters such as Jeff Lawson and Terry Etim. He also holds a notable victory over Ultimate Fighter finalist Andre Winner via second round technical submission.

There’s no doubt that Loughran has the heart of a true Irish warrior but his skill set is limited and he has been unable to surpass journeyman status as of yet.

Stevie Lynch (MMA Record: 4-2)

Lynch is a one-time UFC veteran that competed in Belfast, Northern Ireland for UFC 72 in a disappointing loss to submission wizard Dustin “McLovin” Hazelett. He was submitted in the first round by way of a beautifully executed anaconda choke and followed that up with another loss to Jim Wallhead at a Cage Warriors event in the UK.

He hasn’t competed since but prior to those bouts he was riding a four-fight win streak and looked to potentially become the next big thing in the welterweight division. Time will tell if at 38 years old Lynch returns to fighting to recreate his winning ways or not.

Colin Robinson (MMA Record: 9-8)

Robinson is one of Ireland’s most famous heavyweights, as he has been under the bright lights of the UFC on more than one occasion. Sadly, both were losing efforts to Eddie Sanchez at UFC 72 and a devastating knockout at the hands of Antoni Hardonk at UFC 80.

The big man has had his fair share of victories utilizing his heavy-handed boxing ability but has also taken several losses. Currently he has lost his last four fights and doesn’t seem to be on the verge of a comeback.

Regardless, Irish fans recognize “Big C” as a true pioneer of the sport in their homeland and whether he eventually becomes a champion or not he will always have respect for leaving it all in the cage every single time.

Karl Roche (MMA Record: 2-4)

Roche is an up and coming heavyweight prospect out of SBG Ireland and will be headlining the Cage of Honour event against UFC Hall of Famer Dan “The Beast” Severn. Like his teammate Egan a victory could add Roche to the next UFC event in Ireland and a chance to challenge against the top heavyweights in the world.

Do not let his losing record fool you as Roche is a talented fighter posing threats both standing up and on the ground. As he gains more experience it’s inevitable that you will be seeing him competing in larger fighting avenues in the future.

These are just some of several fighters that are flying under the radar in Ireland and at the rate the sport is progressing over there it’s only a matter of time before we see the crowning of an Irish UFC champion. Certain fans may disagree with that, but the Irish should not be underestimated.

TUF Questions With Brendan Schaub: Happy With Win, Focused on Next Round

Mitch Ciccarelli — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:49:59 -0400

The Ultimate Fighter season 10 is the first in the series' history to feature four ex-NFL players turned MMA fighters competing among 12 other heavyweight fighters for a six figure contract with the UFC.

Team Rashad’s Brendan Schaub is one of those four ex-football players, but he will be the first to tell you that martial arts has always been his true passion.

A product of Greg Jackson’s MMA and Trevor Wittman’s T’s K.O fight club, Schaub is considered one of the early favorites to win the competition and after watching his first round submission victory over Team Rampage’s Demico Rogers last week it’s easy to see why.

In this exclusive interview, Schaub discusses episode four involving his preliminary fight with Rogers, why Matt Mittrione “snitched” and other interesting TUF related topics.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Starting the episode off is a recap from last week’s fight between Kimbo Slice and Roy Nelson. It seems more people were impressed with Kimbo in his loss than they were with Roy in victory, is that true?

Brendan Schaub: Yeah, I think for the most part more people were impressed with the way Kimbo composed himself. He did a good job against Roy [but] he just made a sloppy mistake by throwing that knee moving backwards.

To do that against an experienced fighter like Roy doesn’t really make sense and I think [Kimbo] has learned a lot from that fight. I think Kimbo came out the winner, even though he lost, I think he showed everyone that he can compete at this level.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Would the result have been a bit different if Kimbo were on Team Rashad and Nelson was on Team Rampage? Or do you think either way Nelson would have won just on the pure fact that he’s a much more experienced fighter with legit grappling skills?

Brendan Schaub: For Kimbo to beat Roy, that would have been a pretty tall order for him. It would be a tall order for anyone, and even if he had the best coach in the world, it would have been tough for him. I think down the road Kimbo may be able to beat him but not now so it wouldn’t have mattered who his coaches were.

Mitch Ciccarelli: There was a brief scuffle after the fight with Nelson and Rampage. I believe Nelson was kind of joking around about how he lost count of how many times he punched Kimbo in the head and Rampage kind of shoved him away and told his assistant coaches how he “can’t stand that fat mother [expletive]”.

What was that all about and is Rampage really in a position to where he can get mad at someone for being a jokester when he himself is probably the biggest jokester there is?

Brendan Schaub: That was just bad timing on Roy’s part. Roy’s a good-hearted guy and he was just kind of joking around and it was just bad timing on his part. Rampage’s top pick just got taken out so it wasn’t a good time for it but other than that Roy and Rampage get along well with each other.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Well let’s talk about the incident that happened at the house involving big Marcus Jones. He seemed to be sweating profusely and was having difficulty breathing. They didn’t really explain to us what that was all about but maybe you can give us some insight as to what that was?

Brendan Schaub: Yeah I don’t really know what that was all about with Marcus but it could be because his body isn’t used to training at such a high level [in this sport] and it just kind of sneaked up on him. He got some fluids in him and he was back on his feet at the time, man.

Mitch Ciccarelli: How were his injuries at this point in the competition?

Brendan Schaub: I think his injuries were from his days in the NFL, but he’s done a lot of rehab on it, so I don’t think that’s an issue. I think it’s just an issue of dehydration and stuff like that.

Mitch Ciccarelli: The speculation before and after this episode is that Marcus is unable to compete in the competition and is replaced by Kimbo. Now we don’t know for sure if there is any truth to that yet, but is that something you guys were thinking about at the house as well?

Brendan Schaub: Yeah, they were looking for any real reason to get Kimbo back into the competition and so when we saw Marcus might not be able to continue, we all thought Kimbo would get a chance to come back in.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Alright so let’s move into the strategy Team Rashad cooked up as far as match-ups. The biggest one that surprised me was the decision to eventually match Matt Mittrione up against Marcus.

Why exactly is that a good matchup for Matt, and do you think Zak Jensen would have been a better fight for a rookie like Matt?

Brendan Schaub: Yeah I definitely think there were some better matchups out there for Matt being as inexperienced as he is, but Marcus would be a tall order for anyone, man. The guy is very athletic and he’s pretty talented on the ground, so I think Rashad and the other coaches’ decision to match those guys up was based off of athleticism.

They were also hoping Matt could keep it standing and maybe catch Marcus. Matt’s a big dude too, not as big as Marcus though but I can kind of see their logic in matching those two guys up.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Watching the show it seemed like the coaches wanted you to fight Demico Rogers but after reading your blog on mmajunkie.com it seems like you were the one who approached the coaches with the idea of fighting Rogers? Is that true and if so why did you want to fight him first?

Brendan Schaub: Yeah I told them I wanted to fight Demico and my reason for that was because he was one of their top guys and I felt I could beat him wherever the fight went so I thought I’d make a statement to the rest of the house that I was there to win the show. I definitely could have picked some easier opponents but I decided I would take the harder route I guess.

Mitch Ciccarelli: They also offered you a fight with Scott Junk and you definitely showed some interest in it, but you also said it would be a brutal battle and wanted to wait until the later rounds to take that one. Do you think Junk is the top dog on Team Rampage?

Brendan Schaub: Junk kind of had a little bit of hype around him, not so much coming into the house but once he was in the house everyone was telling me how talented he is and how much of a brute force he was in practice.

I knew he was a stand-up guy and he had some K-1 experience, stuff like that so I told the coaches that I had my mind set on fighting Demico and I thought the game plan we had would be an easy win for me if I stuck to it, although Demico is a tough guy.

When they brought up Junk, I think it was a day or two before the fight announcements and I was just focused on Demico, so I didn’t want to change that.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Well back at the house sure enough Mittrione spills the beans to Junk and gives away all of the secret match-ups. What exactly is wrong with Mittrione, did he do this just on pure stupidity or was there a solid reasoning behind this idiotic behavior?

Brendan Schaub: Matt’s just a meat-head, man. His nickname is ‘meat-head’ and sometimes he just doesn’t think and I don’t know if he did it because he didn’t want to fight Marcus or if he was just trying to be everyone’s friend but in the end he’s actually a good guy.

I knew Matt prior to the house from football and he’s a good guy, man. He’s funny and he’s just kind of different so you just have to take him for what he is and I was still his friend but you’ll see as the show goes on the rest of the team kind of alienates him.

They kind of leave him off on his own because the guys were really upset that he did that and he lost the team’s trust after that.

Mitch Ciccarelli: When it came time for fight selections, Rashad stuck with the original plan and matched you up against Rogers.

They showed a clip of you walking around the Octagon with Coach Trevor Wittman, and he was pumping you up and calling you the best in the world. What is it like to work with such a motivational coach as Wittman and how much do his motivational words increase your performance in fights?

Brendan Schaub: Trevor has been with me since the start and he’s my coach that I work with every day [back at home] and having him there was great, he put a lot of confidence in me.

When he tells me that stuff I feel like I can compete with anyone in the world so it gives me a huge advantage mentally and they could have thrown anyone in there and I would have been ready to go with Trevor on my side.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Rashad also brought in another one of your coaches from back at home, and arguably the best coach in the world, Greg Jackson on his coaching staff for this season. But we haven’t really seen him coaching much on the show yet. Did he serve as a full time assistant coach on the show or was he only able to coach every now and then?

Brendan Schaub: No because at the time of the filming [of the show] it was right before UFC 100, so he had Georges [St. Pierre] that he was helping get ready [for his title defense against Thiago Alves] and he had a couple of other guys preparing for fights, I think Joe Stevenson too [for his fight with Nate Diaz at the TUF 9 Finale] so he was busy.

He was in between Albuquerque and Vegas so I think he only made it [to coach on the show] half the time but you guys will see more of Greg, for sure.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Another thing that surprises me so far this season is the lack of Wes Sims shenanigans. Just from interviewing that lunatic I figured ‘man, this guy is going to be all over the show’, I thought sure enough he would receive the most amount of camera time but so far he’s barely even being shown. Why do you think that is and are you just as surprised as I am?

Brendan Schaub: Heck yeah, he’s a character and hopefully they do start showing Wes because I mean this guy is entertaining, man.

He’s a weirdo, he’s funny and he’s a big bully at the same time but he just does some antics that are priceless. I think they’ll definitely start showing some of his stuff soon because it’s going to be good for ratings.

Mitch Ciccarelli: I heard something involving him and a stuffed cat, care to explain?

Brendan Schaub: Well before you go into the house they have to check your luggage and you can only bring certain things with you on the show.

Well he brought this dead stuffed cat and he was all pissed off because they wouldn’t let him bring it back to the house with him and I guess when he got back there was an ear broken on it so he was pretty pissed about that.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Well let’s go ahead and talk about the fight with Rogers. Immediately he comes out looking to take you down, and you do an excellent job of defending his shot but he eventually takes you down successfully. Were you surprised as how strong his wrestling was?

Brendan Schaub: Yeah well when he first shot that double, I kind of pride myself on my takedown defense but he just ended up getting a good shot and he got me good and clean.

I think for a lot of guys when they get taken down it’s like the end of the world and they freak out about it but training with the team I have here, I have been in a lot of bad positions before and I’m no slouch on the ground either, so if it goes down there, I’m comfortable and can win the fight down there or get back to my feet and end it there.

The rumor going around the house was that Demico was going to stand and bang with me and I was like ‘man there’s no way he’s that stupid’ but in the back of my head I thought it could have just been house rumors with guys trying to stir stuff up so it is what it is.

Demico is a tough guy and we knew he had a lot of finishes from ground n’ pound because it was kind of his thing. I think he was also the Strikeforce fight of the night a few times so he’s a tough dude and he definitely has a bright future.

I think he just got a tough draw and if he would have fought some of the other guys on the team, I think he would have done well.

Mitch Ciccarelli: I also heard he was talking by the pool about how he would be happy to win just one fight so that way he would be brought back to the finale. Was it him that said that and what was your initial reaction out of hearing this?

Brendan Schaub: Yeah he did say that, man. We were all around the hot tub and he and a couple of guys were talking like that. You know when I hear stuff like that I make a little mental note like ‘alright I’d love to fight that guy or that guy’.

When I hear stuff like that, I just think ‘man, you’re not here to win it’ so although Demico is a very talented guy that was another reason why I called him out.

Mitch Ciccarelli: The end result of that fight saw you submit Rogers with a very advanced submission hold, the anaconda choke. Everyone who knew a little bit about you knew you had solid boxing skills but I don’t think a lot of the viewers watching at home knew about your jiu-jitsu.

Were you happy you were able to showcase your ninja-like BJJ with an impressive submission over one of the top fighters on the other team?

Brendan Schaub: Heck yeah man and I think the best thing about finishing Demico with an anaconda choke is because Colorado fans know me mainly because I did the biggest [grappling] tournament out here, the Colorado open in 2007 or 2008 and I competed in the advanced division finishing six guys in a row with an anaconda choke so it’s kind of my thing.

People in Colorado when they see that I think they’ll be like ‘man I remember that guy so it was good in that aspect. It was definitely good because I train hard on my Jiu-Jitsu so it was good to win like that.

Mitch Ciccarelli: After the fight it looked like Rampage completely left Rogers in the Octagon by himself and instead of giving him some words of wisdom, he just said he was disappointed in him and couldn’t believe he got caught.

I think a lot of people, when they watch this at home they kind of lose some respect for Rampage on a personal level. Do you think he meant any harm at all in his behavior after the fight or is he just that horrible of a coach that he doesn’t understand you have to motivate your fighters even in defeat?

Brendan Schaub: You know what? I think he’s just a fighter and not a coach so I don’t think Demico was too disappointed with Rampage because they didn’t expect much out of him. He actually told those guys on the first day ‘hey guys I’ll be the first one tell you that I’m not a coach, I’m a fighter.

I’ll tell you what I know about the fight game but other than that I’m just not a coach’ so I think mentally those guys knew what they were getting into and didn’t expect much from him.

Mitch Ciccarelli: A lot of people criticize Rashad and call him cocky but do you think after watching that, people will start to respect him more and recognize him for being a very down-to-earth fighter?

Brendan Schaub: Yeah definitely and you know people say he’s cocky but as a fighter you have to have confidence.

There’s a big difference between being cocky and being confident and I don’t know any fighter who isn’t confident and if they are than they aren’t a very good one so there’s a thin line between confidence and arrogance and I think Rashad is good at doing that.

I think he’s coming off good on the show and people will see him for who he is, he’s a great coach and a great guy.

Mitch Ciccarelli: At this point you have advanced into the quarter-final round and are just about two victories away from moving on to the finals. What emotions were running through your mind? And also how was your body feeling, did you make it out of that Rogers fight unscathed or did you suffer a few nagging injuries?

Brendan Schaub: I didn’t have any injuries coming out of that fight and that was the nice thing about it but I was a little disappointed in my performance but at the same time I won in the first round and I did it without getting injured. I’m looking forward to the next round to fight again and I didn’t care who was next.

Mitch Ciccarelli: The preview for the next episode shows a couple of the fighters arguing with some guy and we couldn’t see who it was but there was a clip of you saying ‘he doesn’t belong here’. Now obviously you can’t tell us exactly what goes down until it airs but maybe you can explain a little bit about what that was?

Brendan Schaub: Yeah there’s a guy on Team Rampage who was kind of the sheep in the house and he doesn’t really stick up for himself so you guys will see how it plays out. I said he didn’t belong there and I still feel that way.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Alright Brendan, I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to come talk to me today. Hopefully, I can get a chance to talk to you again when you win the whole tournament, which I strongly believe you will.

If there are any sponsors or anyone you’d like to thank, or anything else you’d like to say before we end this interview, speak now or forever hold you peace.

Brendan Schaub: I’d just like to say thanks for having me on, man and check out schaubmma.com. It’s my new site, I just got it up and they do a bunch of give-aways and discounts on there and a bunch of other cool stuff.

TUF 10 Weekly Blog and Fantasy Game: Episode Four

Mitch Ciccarelli — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:54:32 -0400

Now that street-fighting superstar Kimbo Slice has been eliminated from the competition—although some speculate he may receive a second chance—the other fighters are finally being highlighted on the show and the spotlight is no longer being placed entirely on Slice.

However the main focus as the episode begins is the fight between Slice and Nelson from last week’s episode. The fighters are recapping the bout and while “Big Country” Nelson celebrates in the Octagon there is a brief scuffle between him and coach Rampage.

Rampage didn’t respond well to Nelson’s showboating after the victory and said “I can’t stand that fat mother [expletive]. In reality Nelson was merely joking around and while it may be a tad bit disrespectful one has to consider that Rampage is just as worse if not more when it comes to goofing off.

Back in the locker-room Rampage ensures Slice to keep his head up and continue to train hard because he’s going to turn him into “one of the best fighters here”. Slice does have a ton of potential and he showcased it in his fight with Nelson but Rampage and his coaching staff are not the guys that are going to elevate Slice to the next level. One has to wonder how far Slice would have gone if he was instead placed on Team Rashad.

Back at the house Slice talks with teammate Abe Wagner about how he doesn’t really feel like he has been eliminated and has a feeling he will be brought back into the tournament. Sure enough big Marcus Jones from Team Rampage scares everyone in the house as he sweats and breathes very heavily.

At this point everyone especially those viewing at home started speculating that Jones would not be able to compete and Slice would be resurrected into the quarter final round.

Whether or not that happens remains to be seen but one can only assume that if Jones is able to fight his conditioning and injuries will make him one of the weak despite his explosive power.

Meanwhile back at the gym coach Rashad and Trevor Wittman discuss a strategy with their fighters to make the first clean sweep in Ultimate Fighter history. They first tell Justin Wren that they would like him to fight one-time UFC veteran Scott Junk. The coaches believe that Junk is one of the top dogs on Team Rampage and they feel Wren has the best chance of taking him out.

They then tell Brendan Schaub that he would be fighting Demico Rogers and told Matt Mittrione that the ideal matchup for him would be to take on the large explosive powerhouse Jones. Good matchups but there were probably better picks that could have been made.

Moments later Wren walks back into the room to tell the coaches that he is very uncomfortable fighting his good friend Junk. Evans who is in a similar situation with teammate Keith Jardine seemed to understand the situation but he doesn’t entirely tell Wren he will switch the matchup either.

During a Rampage training session the cameras focus on ex-NFL player Jones showcasing unstoppable power and aggression during sparring sessions. You can only help but wonder what Rashad and his staff were thinking when deciding Mittrione would fight him.

Mittrione may be the most explosive fighter on their team but Jones is much more powerful and also Jones is a well rounded fighter with more experience than Mittrione so it doesn’t exactly sound like the best matchup on paper.

Mittrione apparently agrees, or so his teammates think because back at the house he spills the beans telling Team Rampage’s Junk the matchups that were discussed by Team Rashad. When Mittrione’s teammates find out, most of them believe the reason he did this was because he was afraid to fight Jones and from that point on everyone dubbed Mittrione as “the snitch”.

It’s uncertain if Mittrione gave away the matchups to the other team because he isn’t exactly an intelligent person or if he truly did not want to fight Jones and hoped by spoiling the matchups the coaches would switch the fights around. Either way he lost a lot of respect from his teammates and even the coaches announced they would be reluctant in sharing inside information with him in the future.

Rashad and his staff will probably end up switching around some of their matchups but for this particular episode they went with the original plan to have Schaub fight Rogers. Schaub was picked second overall and actually trains with Rashad and coach Wittman back home at Greg Jackson’s academy.

Due to his slick boxing ability and well rounded skills he is considered one of the early favorites to win the entire competition. Also the fact that he is the main training partner for Heavyweight contender Shane Carwin is another reason fans are very high on Schaub.

However Rampage was happy with the matchup claiming Roger’s pure athleticism and strong wrestling background would ensure his fighter to a ground n’ pound victory over Schaub.

In the pre-fight warm-up, Schaub is pumped up by his teammates and coaches while striking the pads. Meanwhile in Team Rampage’s room, Rampage and his coaches are nowhere to be found and team captain Junk informs Rogers that they went to grab a bite to eat and would be back shortly. You can’t help but feel bad for Rogers and every other fighter on Team Rampage for how poor their coaching skills really are.

Being on the show is the opportunity of a life time and it’s very unfortunate that these guys are having their dreams crushed due to not being trained correctly. Anyway as the fight begins Schaub does a good job of controlling the action with his striking but it’s not long before Rogers takes him to the ground and works from the top position.

Eventually Schaub reverses the position and locks in a beautifully executed anaconda choke for the submission victory. After suffering his first career loss and having his dreams of becoming the next Ultimate Fighter being crushed before him, Roger’s coaches do not even enter the cage after the fight to tend to him.

Instead Rashad and Wittman walk over to Roger’s corner and tell him to keep his head held high as he is a game competitor and has a bright future in the sport. People like to criticize Rashad for being “cocky” but in reality he’s a great ambassador for this sport and it’s really shining through on this season.

With the victory Team Rashad is now 4-0 over Team Rampage and if Rampage and his coaches are unable to change things up we may very well see an all-Rashad quarter final round.

Before we take a look at the standings for B/R’s TUF 10 fantasy game I would like to introduce a new segment for this blog called “TUF’s line of the night”.

"Have you ever thought about just punching someone in their face and just the fist keeps going through the back of their head, and you pull out the brain and go, 'Ahhh!' and then throw it down and spit it on – and then you kick them in the nuts?"

-Coach Quinton “Rampage” Jackson

Now let’s take a look at the standings:

Matt Randall: 8 points
Jon Madsen
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

Flying Knee: 6 points
Jon Madsen
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson

Mitch Ciccarelli: 6 points
Jon Madsen
Roy Nelson
Brendan Scaub

Aoife O’Connor: 6 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

Peta Waller: 6 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

Alysha Diaz: 6 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

Melanie Wray: 6 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

Cameron Mumford: 6 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

Lynn Donegan: 6 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

Sinaed Marie O’Hara: 6 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

E. Spencer Kyte: 6 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

Jessy Morris: 6 points
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

Ken Foss: 6 points
Jon Madsen
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

The Truth Turcott: 0 points
Stoker Mac: 0 points

Varner's Kingdom: Analyzing the WEC Lightweight Division

Mitch Ciccarelli — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:04:28 -0400

The WEC’s heaviest weight-class is its 155-pound division and sitting atop the Lightweight throne is the champion Jamie Varner.

Varner is Mufasa to the 155-pound kingdom and through his dominant WEC victories he has also established himself as one of the top lightweight fighters in the entire world.

However in his last title defense against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Varner suffered a career threatening injury and has been forced out of action unable to defend his crown.

While the champion remains seated on the sidelines, an interim title contest will be contested between top contenders Cerrone and Ben “Smooth” Henderson on Oct. 10.

The winner of the interim contest is likely to meet Varner sometime in 2010 to determine an undisputed champion. Meanwhile there are other sharks lurking around the 155-pound waters and they are hungry for gold.

With that being said let’s take a look at the top-ten lightweights in the WEC jungle.

10. Anthony Pettis

Undefeated prospect Pettis made an impact in his WEC debut back at WEC 41 submitting Mike Campbell with a tight first round triangle choke. The victory upped his overall record to 7-0 and instantly placed him on the radar as a potential contender.

He was originally slated to square off with Ultimate Fighter veteran Alex Karalexis at the upcoming WEC 43 fight card but an undisclosed injury suffered by Karalexis has scrapped the bout. A new opponent for Pettis has yet to be announced but another win could catapult him very high up the rankings—especially if the win comes against one of the top contenders in the division.

9. Ed Ratcliff

“9 mm” Ratcliff started off his WEC career with a bang scoring thunderous TKO victories over Johnny Sampaio and Karalexis but after getting caught in the first round with Marcus Hicks’ guillotine choke his momentum dropped tremendously.

A unanimous decision victory over Phil Cardella at WEC 42 has saved his spot in the rankings and he will need to string together victories if he plans on staying here.

8. Ricardo Lamas

In his first WEC contest, Lamas was called up on extremely short notice to take on dangerous striker Bart Palaszewski at WEC 39. At the time not very many people knew who Lamas was and Palaszewski was being hyped as a future title contender so obviously the WEC newcomer was not favored in this bout.

Lamas proved them all wrong by completely dominating Palaszewki with his overwhelming wrestling base to earn the unanimous decision on the judges’ score cards. Unfortunately Lamas followed that victory up with a disappointing decision loss to top five ranked Danny Castillo.

7. Anthony Njokuani

Njokuani is not only one of the most underrated fighters in the WEC but he quite possibly could be among the most underestimated fighters in MMA today. He is a tactical striker with devastating Muay Thai and is comparable to a less-talented version of UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

His WEC debut didn’t go according to plan and he was submitted by interim title challenger Henderson by way of a second round guillotine choke. The striking sensation bounced back however by completely picking apart and knocking Palaszewski out to claim his spot among the top contenders in the organization.

A dominant performance over newcomer Muhsin Corbbrey at WEC 43 could earn Njokuani an opportunity at a title shot.

6. Shane Roller

A product of Team Takedown, Roller is a highly impressive prospect with explosive wrestling, powerful striking combinations and bone snapping submission skills. He is currently 3-1 inside the WEC cage and his only loss came to top ranked “Smooth” Henderson.

Other than that Roller has beaten Todd Moore, Mike Budnik, and most recently former title contender Hicks. The former NCAA All-American wrestler could be just two or three victories away from a title shot, possibly even one win away if he defeats a top five contender in his next bout.

5. Rob McCullough

There was a time when “Razor” Rob ruled this division with an iron fist knocking out any opponent who dared to cross his path. Then he met Varner at WEC 32 and everything seemingly went downhill from there.

Since the knockout loss to Varner, McCullough has gone 2-1 with lackluster decision victories over Kenneth Alexander and the aforementioned Hicks. His loss to Cerrone at WEC 36 was a much more impressive performance than his recent two victories.

Cerrone and McCullough went to war for three full rounds in a fight that will be remembered for a very long time and despite not getting his hand raised at the end McCullough left the arena as a winner. It’s that version of “Razor” Rob that fans love to see and it’s also the type that made him a champion.

He’ll need to defeat top ranked contenders in convincing fashion if he ever plans on winning back his prestigious championship.

4. Danny Castillo

Castillo is the best fighter that you’ve never heard of. He’s relatively unknown to casual fans, even die-hard fans aren’t very familiar with him but make no mistake about he is a legit contender in the WEC’s lightweight division.

The All-American wrestler is on a three fight winning streak with victories over Rafael Dias, Cardella, and No. 8 ranked Lamas. After the winner of the Henderson-Cerrone bout squares off with Varner, Castillo is likely to be the next in line for a title shot.

Don’t let his previous WEC loss to Cerrone fool you because Castillo could become the next WEC Lightweight champion in a blink of an eye.

3. Ben Henderson

Henderson hasn’t lost a fight since 2006 and is currently riding a two-fight winning streak inside the WEC. “Smooth” is one of the fastest rising stars in WEC history because he has only been competing in the organization since January of this year and is already headlining a card against Cerrone for the interim title.

In his first fight Henderson submitted No. 7 ranked Njokuani and followed up with an explosive knockout over No. 6 ranked Roller. Varner’s injury has put Henderson on the fast track to a title shot and if able to upset Cerrone he will then challenge Varner for the undisputed championship, possibly on the WEC’s first ever Pay-Per-View broadcast.

2. Donald Cerrone

“Cowboy” entered the WEC in 2007 and has since seen his stock rise tremendously. Cerrone—a product of Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, NM has established himself as one of the best non-UFC lightweights in the entire world.

He’s tremendously well-rounded and is constantly training with world-class fighters such as Georges St. Pierre and Nate Marquardt on a day-to-day basis. His crisp striking and world class Jiu-Jitsu has led him to WEC wins over No. 4 ranked Castillo, No. 5 ranked McCullough, and James Krause.

“Cowboy” has unfinished business with his arch rival Varner whom he lost a split decision to back at WEC 38. Before their fight there was a mutual respect between the two lightweights but afterwards a bitter rivalry formed and now everyone is anticipating a rematch to see these two warriors settle the score.

But Cerrone should not look past Henderson because a loss would put his rematch with Varner on an indefinite hold.

1. Jamie Varner

He may be inactive but he certainly isn’t forgotten and until someone rises to the occasion stealing his championship away from him, Varner will remain at the top of the heap for a very long time. Varner came to the WEC from the UFC and has been victorious in every single one of his WEC bouts.

His powerful wrestling base mixed in with his explosive boxing has made him an unstoppable force in the 155-pound division.

Varner claimed the championship in 2008 knocking out McCullough in the first round. Since then he has successfully defended the title twice against Hicks and Cerrone cementing his spot as the best lightweight that is currently not competing in the UFC.

He may currently be down, but he is far from out and will look to defend his title for the third time against the winner of the WEC 43 headliner between Henderson and Cerrone.

The Ultimate Fighter: Can Team Rashad Sweep Team Rampage?

Mitch Ciccarelli — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:42:15 -0400

*Bleacher Report TUF 10 Fantasy Game standings for episode three are listed at the bottom of the page

We’re three episodes in to the 10th installment of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV and so far Team Rashad is dominating the competition boasting three straight victories over Team Rampage.

Abe Wagner, Wes Shivers, and now street-fighting kingpin Kimbo Slice have all bitten the dust and with Rashad in control of the next matchup he will look to pick apart the rest of Rampage’s soldiers one by one delivering the first clean sweep in Ultimate Fighter history.

Rashad and his coaching staff now have the opportunity to come up with a fool-proof blue print that will ensure that the rest of their team are victorious into the quarterfinal round.

We won’t know for sure what Team Rashad’s game-plan will be until the show progresses but for a bit of speculation let’s take a look at what the best on-paper matchups are.

If these are the bouts that are selected then there is a 90 percent chance that Team Rashad makes history with every single one of their fighters advancing into the next round.

Brendan Schaub vs. Marcus Jones

Jones is a very large athlete that possesses explosive power which makes him a legitimate threat to any fighter in this competition. However his conditioning does not seem up to par with the other fighters and he has been struggling with injuries as we witnessed in last night’s episode.

In next week’s preview it appears Jones becomes ill and mixed in with his injuries may have to forfeit the competition. If that is the case it is very likely that heavy-handed Slice may be brought back in as a replacement but if not Rashad should definitely set his sights on Jones.

Schaub is an up and coming prospect out of Greg Jackson’s camp in New Mexico and was picked second overall on Team Rashad. He is a very well rounded fighter known more for his striking ability and he should be able to pick the former first round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Bucs apart.

Matt Mitrione vs. Zak Jensen

Jensen was picked dead last for Team Rampage and the fact that Rampage tried to pick the cameraman before him should tell you something. Not to say Jensen is a bad fighter, because he wouldn’t be on the show if he was but if you get gogoplata-ed by Brad Imes there is a good indication that your skill set needs improvement.

Mitrione is an extremely impressive athlete that played six seasons in the NFL with the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings but boasts a 0-0 MMA record with the least cage experience in the house.

Regardless of his inexperience he has been training with UFC veterans Jake O’Brian and welterweight contender Chris Lytle so it’s not like he is entering this competition without any MMA ability.

While Jensen possesses more technical skills than the former NFL player he is not going to run through Mitrione. Stylistically the smartest approach to getting Mitrione into the next round would be to match him up against the weakest link on Team Rampage and not to take anything away from him but that weak link is Jensen.

Darill Schoonover vs. Wes Sims

Sims is one of three UFC veterans competing in this tournament and has been in there with some of the very best out there. Most fans remember him for his 2003 disqualification loss to former Heavyweight champ Frank Mir at UFC 43, but make no mistake about it; Sims is one of the top dogs in this competition.

The best possible matchup to knock Sims out of the tournament would be to pit him up against 10-0 Shark Fight Heavyweight champion Schoonover. Nicknamed “titties” by opposing coach Rampage, Schoonover on the outside appears like a chubby comic book nerd but on the inside he is an absolute killer and mixed with his never-say-die attitude he is a very dangerous opponent for Sims.

Standing as the tallest heavyweight on the show at 6'10" and weighing in at 260 pounds Sims towers over the 6'2" 250-pound Schoonover but “titties” has made a career out of besting larger opponents and Sims would be no different.

Justin Wren vs. Demico Rogers

Rogers is a mystery man in this tournament as not much is known about him. On certain websites he is listed as 4-0 but on the world’s largest fighter database—Sherdog fight finder—he is profiled as 0-0 which can be very misleading.

Regardless of his record Rogers is an impressive athletic prospect that shouldn’t be taken lightly at all. He comes from a strong wrestling and football background so in this situation Rashad would have to put fire against fire and choose Wren as Roger’s opponent.

Other than Jon Madsen, Wren is one of the best wrestlers on the team and is also very dangerous at every other aspect of MMA. He would have the best chance of neutralizing Roger’s athleticism and would likely outscore the Team Rampage prospect to a unanimous decision victory.

Mike Wessel vs. Scott Junk

Both of these fighters have competed in the UFC once before with losses over Antoni Hardonk and Christian Wellisch respectively. They are both hard-nosed competitors that are willing to fight anyone in this competition so matching them up against each other would surely produce a barn burner.

They each made their transition into MMA after their college football careers ended and have been rather impressive on the local fighting circuit. Despite each suffering defeats in their lone UFC appearances they are both well rounded fighters with knockout power in their hands.

Out of all of the other matchups this one is the closest one as either man could defeat the other on any given night. However Wessel would certainly have the advantage just on the pure fact that he’ll be training with the better team with the better coaches.

It is currently uncertain if Rashad and his staff will be able to pick these fights but in the meantime let’s take a look at the current standings in B/R’s TUF 10 Fantasy Game:

Flying Knee: 6 Points

Top Eight

Nelson
Wren
Junk
Jensen
Schoonover
McSweeney
Madsen
Sims

Top Four

Sims
Nelson
Schoonover
Madsen

Final

Nelson
Schoonover

Winner

Roy Nelson

Matt Randall: 6 points

Top Eight

Darrill Schoonover
Zach Jensen
Justin Wren
Brendan Schaub
John Madsen
Kimbo Slice
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson

Top Four

Roy Nelson
Darrill Schoonover
Justin Wren
Brendan Schaub

Final

Roy Nelson vs. Brendan Schaub

Winner

Roy Nelson

Mitch Ciccarelli: 4 points

Top Eight

Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Darrill Schoonover
Scott Junk
Wes Shivers
Wes Sims
Marcus Jones
John Madsen

Top Four
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Darrill Schoonover
John Madsen

Final
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

Winner
Brendan Schaub

Aoife O'Connor: 4 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Four

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

Top Two

McSweeney
Nelson

Winner

McSweeney

Peta Waller: 4 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Four

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

Top Two

Schaub
Nelson

Winner
Nelson

Alysha Diaz: 4 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Four

McSweeney
Rogers
Sims
Schaub

Top Two

McSweeney
Rogers

Winner
Rogers

Melanie Wray: 4 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Four

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

Top Two

McSweeney
Schaub

Winner= McSweeney

Cameron Mumford: 4 points

Top Eight

Marcus Jones
Kimbo Slice
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Wes Sims
James McSweeney
Justin Wren
Darill Schoonover

Top Four

Roy Nelson
James McSweeney
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Final Two

James McSweeny
Brendan Schaub

The Ultimate Fighter
James McSweeny

Lynn Donegan: 4 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover
Slice

Top Four

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

Top Two

McSweeney
Nelson

McSweeney

Sinaed Marie O'Hara: 4 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Four

Schoonover
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

Top Four

Schaub
Nelson

Winner
Nelson

E. Spencer Kyte: 4 points

Top Eight

Big Country
James McSweeney
Brendan Schaub
Kimbo
Schoonover
Justin Wren
Marcus Jones
Wes Sims

Top Four
Big Country
McSweeney
Schaub
Kimbo

Finalists
McSweeney
Kimbo

Winner
James McSweeney!

Jessy Morris: 4 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Four

McSweeney
Wren
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Two

McSweeney
Wren

Winner
McSweeney

Ken Foss: 4 points

Top Eight

Darrill Schoonover
Marcus Jones
Justin Wren
Brendan Schaub
John Madsen
Kevin Ferguson
Mike Wessel
Roy Nelson

Top Four

Roy Nelson
Darrill Schoonover
John Madsen
Brendan Schaub

Final
Roy Nelson vs. Brendan Schaub

Winner
Brendon Schaub.

The Truth Turcott

Top Eight

Kimbo Slice
Wes Shivers
Justin Wren
Mike Weasel
Abe Wagner
Wes Sims
Scott Junk
Marcus Jones

Top Four

Kimbo Slice
Mike Weasel
Marcus Jones
Justin Wren

Top Two

Justin Wren
Kimbo Slice

The Ultimate Fighter is: Justin Wren

Stoker Mac

Top Eight

Kimbo Slice
Wes Shivers
Justin Wren
Mike Wessel
Abe Wagner
Wes Sims
Scott Junk
Marcus Jones

Top Four

Kimbo Slice
Mike Wessel
Marcus Jones
Mike Sims

Top Two

Sims
Kimbo

The Ultimate Fighter is: Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson

Fight to the Finish: What's the Most Anticipated UFC Title Bout Left in 2009?

Mitch Ciccarelli — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:11:12 -0400

With the addition of the Anderson Silva-Vitor Belfort Middleweight title fight to UFC 108, the UFC will showcase four explosive title fights to finish out the year 2009.

The only champion not defending his belt by years end is Welterweight champion George St. Pierre who suffered a severe injury in his title defense at UFC 100 against Thiago Alves.

Which 2009 headliner is likely to produce the most fireworks? Let’s take a look.

UFC Lightweight title: B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez—UFC 107

“The Prodigy” has always been recognized as one of MMA’s most naturally gifted fighters but his heart and conditioning has always been questioned by fans. What most fail to realize is that Penn only looks out of shape when moving up in weight but his conditioning at 155 pounds has always been impressive.

This is something so many people forgot about leading into his fight with Kenny Florian at UFC 101 and Penn instantly refreshed their memories by brutally dominating the challenger and choking him out in the fourth round.

Next in Penn’s path is “The Nightmare” Sanchez who quite possibly could be the most explosive fighter to have ever walked God’s green earth. Sanchez dropped down to lightweight from welterweight early this year and was dominant in two exciting bouts with Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida.

His intensity and well-rounded skills make him a huge threat to Penn’s title and whether or not he’ll be able to dethrone the Hawaiian remains to be seen but one thing is for sure this brawl should go down in history as an instant classic.

UFC Middleweight title: Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort—UFC 108

For many months the biggest question regarding the 185-pound division was who was next in line to challenge Silva. Well at UFC 103 “The Phenom” Belfort answered that question with a huge exclamation point knocking out former champion Rich Franklin three minutes into the first round.

While one can certainly make the argument that top contenders Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt have deemed themselves more worthy of a title shot you also have to take into consideration that each of them had their chance against “The Spider” and lost quite convincingly.

The UFC has announced that Marquardt and Henderson will instead battle it out to determine who gets that almighty rematch but in the meantime Belfort gets Silva at UFC 108: The Ultimate 2009 for the Middleweight crown.

While technically UFC 108 is taking place in early 2010, it is still considered the end of year show for the UFC comparable to how Super Bowl XLIV will be taking place in February of 2010 but determines a champion for the 2009 season.

Silva is head and shoulders above every other fighter in the world in terms of technical ability and on most fans lists he is ranked as the pound for pound best in the world. However against Belfort it will be the first time in awhile where someone may actually pose a threat to "The Spider."

Belfort seems to have gone through a tremendous amount of changing since his first UFC run as he seemed much more patient and relaxed against Franklin in his return to the Octagon. It will be interesting to see if the newly evolved "Phenom" will be able to do what no man in the UFC has ever done before—defeat Silva.

UFC Light Heavyweight title: Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua—UFC 104

Fresh off victories over Rashad Evans and Chuck Liddell respectively, Machida and Rua will do battle in what could potentially go down in history as the greatest 205-pound matchup of all time. Those who followed the Pride Fighting Championship around as if it were a cult are very high on the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix winner Rua.

But make no mistake about it while Rua has maintained a 2-1 record since coming over to the UFC from Pride he has not looked anywhere near as impressive as he once was. Machida on the other-hand boasts an unblemished 14-0 MMA record and seems to look better with each performance.

Though that’s not to say Rua poses no challenge to "The Dragon" as his strong Muay Thai base and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills should not be taken lightly at all. Machida has made a career out of frustrating opponents with his unorthodox shotokan base but this may be the first time in his career where he is fed a spoonful of his own medicine.

Regardless of who is left standing at the end with their hand raised fans can expect a very technical bout on October 27th between the two best 205-pound warriors.

UFC Heavyweight title: Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin—UFC 106

Mark down Nov. 21 on your calendars because that is the night the biggest Heavyweight bout in the history of the sport will be taking place. When this fight is underway fans will believe they are witnessing a real-life monster fight rather than an actual MMA bout.

Ever since submitting to former Heavyweight champ Frank Mir in his UFC debut, Lesnar has bulldozed Heath Herring, UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture and Mir in a rematch. The former WWE champion is rapidly progressing in MMA and is well on his way to establishing himself as the most dominant heavyweight of all time.

But he will first have to get past Carwin who is unbeaten with 11 straight victories and coming off a devastating knockout over Gabriel Gonzaga. Every single one of Carwin’s victories has come by way of a first round stoppage and his pimp slap-esque knockout over Gonzaga is proof that he has the heaviest hands in all of MMA.

Out of the four title bouts listed above this Heavyweight title bout is the most anticipated and is likely to not only go down as the better fight but also a bigger PPV draw than the previously mentioned headliners.

Kimbo Slice an Eventual UFC Champion? Not Likely

Mitch Ciccarelli — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:18:15 -0400

When YouTube street-fighting sensation Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson burst onto the MMA scene in late 2007 he brought with him a ton of hype and attention from mainstream media.

To the casual observer Slice was this unstoppable bad-ass that reigned punches down on his victims like the hammer of God. But to the true MMA fan, Slice was nothing more than a backyard bruiser and not a true mixed martial artist.

Due to his Hulk Hogan-like drawing power and marketability, Slice was immediately pushed to the main event in the now defunct Elite XC organization without first gaining the necessary cage experience.

Elite XC promoter Gary Shaw hand-fed the bare-knuckle brawler lower tier opponents such as Bo Cantrell and out-of-shape UFC veteran David “Tank” Abbott just to build up Slice’s record.

Slice only boasted a mere 2-0 professional record when he was matched up with James “The Colossus” Thompson on the first ever live MMA event broadcasted on CBS.

Die-hard fans were outraged to see a man who not long ago was beating people up outside of McDonalds on YouTube, instantly being pushed into a headliner for the very first MMA program on national television without proving himself worthy of his spot.

Hardcore MMA fans hated him for it and would tell anyone that would listen that the hard-hitting thug was nothing but a joke and wouldn’t last 30 seconds in the cage with a legit heavyweight.

When Slice was vanquished in just under 20 seconds by Seth Petruzelli—a man who naturally competes at light heavyweight—it would seem the hardcore fans were correct in their assumptions.

But did Slice really deserve all the negative remarks from the fans for being put in such a high position early in his MMA career? After all the man was just trying to feed his family during these hard economic times and jumped at the opportunity just as anyone else in his position would have done.

“I'm doing what I do to take care of me and my family you know what I'm saying and to put food on my table,” Slice said in a recent teleconference with the MMA media. “You know, so there’s [a] recession out there right now. I don't know if you noticed. And the only way to make some good money right now is to fight or to be a professional at something.”

Slice doesn’t fight for himself; he fights for his children. And while fighting is certainly something he loves to do you can rest assured he isn’t competing for the attention or the superstardom.

“I mean because that's what it's about. I have three boys. I have three girls, you know what I'm saying? And they're not from the same female and I'm taking care of them,” Slice said. “They're living with me, you know, under my roof under my care, under my watch and I'm responsible for them. So everything I do, it’s a life lesson for myself and for them.”

One of Slice’s biggest doubters came in the form of UFC President Dana White. “Kimbo Slice sucks,” White would say. “He’s always going to be the toughest guy at the barbecue but he’s not a real MMA fighter."

So it came to everyone’s surprise when it was announced that Slice would be earning an opportunity to enter the UFC—the premier MMA organization in the world—by competing on an all-heavyweight season of the hit reality series The Ultimate Fighter.

Slice will be competing in tomorrow night’s episode on Spike TV against the man who is heavily favored to win the competition, the first and last IFL Heavyweight champion Roy “Big Country” Nelson. The fight is being dubbed as the most anticipated bout in Ultimate Fighter history, and is expected to produce a new ratings record for the series.

Whether or not Slice wins you can rest assured you will be seeing him again in the UFC. He might not win The Ultimate Fighter but he’s way too popular for the UFC to let go. With that being said, what can fans expect from the street-brawler in his post-TUF career inside the UFC’s Octagon?

Well, firstly, if Slice does manage to defeat Nelson and go on to win the competition, it will instantly put him into title contention, or very close to it.

Before you get your pitchforks out, let me just explain: one can certainly make the argument that Nelson is extremely close to being considered a top-10 heavyweight, so a victory over a fighter of his caliber is going to boost Slice up the ladder at a highly accelerated pace.

And even if he is beaten by Nelson, he will still maintain some relevancy as there will certainly be no shame in losing to a grizzled veteran such as “Big Country."

All Slice would have to do is win his fight at the season finale in December and he would just be a few victories away from earning a title shot at the UFC Heavyweight championship, so long as those victories are against legit contenders.

However, the UFC’s heavyweight division is no walk in the park and with names like Shane Carwin, Junior dos Santos, Frank Mir, and other sharks swimming around in the heavyweight waters, Slice is going to have his hands full.

At the ripe age of 35, Slice does not have time on his side, but according to him age is not a factor.

“You know, you’ve got to realize that 30’s the new 20's, 40’s the new 30, you know what I’m saying?” Slice said. “I feel I’m at my best right now, you know what I’m saying, and I’m still actually like going up, climbing like up this mountain right now.”

One thing that could be the determining factor on whether or not Slice develops into a legit heavyweight is his recent decision to train at the elite MMA training camp, American Top Team in Orlando, FL. Prior to The Ultimate Fighter show and signing a UFC contract, Slice trained under the tutelage of MMA legend Bas “El Guapo” Rutten.

No disrespect to “El Guapo” but he isn’t exactly known for producing world champions whereas ATT is the training ground for elite fighters such as WEC Featherweight champion Mike Brown and top UFC Welterweight contender Thiago Alves.

There is also the possibility that Slice may go over to New Mexico to train with the opposing coach on TUF 10, Rashad Evans, at Greg Jackson’s elite training facility. After the filming of The Ultimate Fighter, Evans sent an invitation for Slice to train with him and that is something the former YouTube superstar is considering.

“Yes that would be a possibility. Greg Jackson’s camp I've heard is the best that's out there right now,” Slice said. “Anyone who's trying to become a fighter or want[s] to become a fighter or if you are a fighter and you want to [become] a better fighter, you know, I've heard other than American Top Team, that Greg Jackson's camp is the best camp out there.”

So while Slice may have entered this sport at an old age he certainly has all the potential to become one of the elite.

The old saying goes that steel sharpens steel, and being constantly pushed to his limits in the gym from some of the best fighters in the world and being coached by some of the greatest coaches in the world is going to make a huge difference in his MMA career.

However, Kimbo fans should not get their hopes up as the power-punching sensation is likely not going to claim UFC gold and probably won’t even challenge for the prestigious championship either. Slice is a quick learner and adapts new techniques to his arsenal rather quickly, but there is only so much you can learn.

With his current skill-set he would be easy pickings for most of the higher caliber heavyweights, so the chances of seeing the former Elite XC headliner rise to the top of the heap are very slim. He will, however, put on several exciting wars inside the Octagon as he always comes to fight and always gives it 100 percent.

Tomorrow night Slice takes on “Big Country” Nelson on episode three of The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights on Spike TV. It’s a fight that is going to answer several questions about the heavy-handed slugger and a fight you definitely do not want to miss.

Set your tiVo’s, ladies and gentlemen, because Slice tells us that this is one of his best fights to date and produced more fireworks than the Fourth of July.

“This fight is very exciting,” said Slice. “This is probably, I would say, not hands down, but pound-for-pound a good fight, one of my best fights…I was impressed with my performance. I was impressed with everything. I’m not crying about nothing.”

The Ultimate Fighter Season 11: Celebrity Deathmatch

Mitch Ciccarelli — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:58:22 -0400

There has been on an ongoing trend lately where celebrities and professional sports stars are making the jump over to the world of MMA (mixed martial arts). Some use the fastest-growing sport in the world as an outlet to get their name back out to the general public, a publicity stunt if you will. Major League Baseball superstar Jose Canseco did just that and made a fool out of himself against 7’2 “Techno Goliath” Hong Man Choi in Japan. Others, however, truly do have a passion for the competition of combat and grew up training in traditional martial arts. Former green power ranger Jason David Frank and NFL legend Herschel Walker come to mind and while they may be mocked for stepping into a cage one can certainly admire their passion. The problem is with so many celebrities trying to transition into MMA it’s hard to separate the posers from the real fighters. Well here’s the solution, let’s take sixteen celebrities including movie stars, musicians, professional athletes, even politicians and have them prove themselves on The Ultimate Fighter. The Ultimate Fighter: Celebrity Deathmatch will feature an open-weight mixed gender tournament featuring some of the most high profile stars in the world today. The format will follow TUF season 4: The Comeback where there are no individual coaches other than the guys brought in to help the celebrities train. Also the winner of the competition instantly earns a title shot against UFC Heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar, regardless of their weight class. Different from previous seasons, the matchups will be predetermined by a mentally challenged orangutan. With that being said let’s take a look at the first round brackets for what is sure to be the highest rated show in television history.

Begin Slideshow

TUF Questions With Roy Nelson: Kimbo at 205 Would Be a "Real Threat"

Mitch Ciccarelli — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:58:11 -0400

The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 features the most star studded cast in the show’s history. Among those is the man who is heavily favored to win the entire competition, Roy “Big Country” Nelson.

Nelson may not be known to the casual MMA fan, but the die-hard fans know his credentials, and many were thrilled to hear he would be competing on TUF.

“Big Country” is a five year veteran of the sport and was the last reigning Heavyweight champion of the IFL before the organization crumbled like a stale cookie. He has competed against some of the very best out there, including former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski and Jeff “The Snowman” Monson.

Next week, Nelson will partake in his first TUF bout against the super-hyped street fighting phenomenon Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson, in what many are calling the most anticipated fight in TUF history. In this exclusive interview with Nelson, he discusses the fight, as well as a recap of episode two which aired last night on Spike TV in North America.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Early in the episode you talked about how you’ve been trying to get a fight with Kimbo for years. Tell us a little bit about why you wanted that fight so badly?

Roy Nelson: When I was fighting in the IFL, I wanted to fight Kimbo because it would have been a good payday. When I got into the house, though, Kimbo was probably the last guy I wanted to fight just off the pure fact that there are three fights [in the competition].

Mitch Ciccarelli: So are you saying that you thought he was one of the strongest fighters on Rampage’s team?

Roy Nelson: I think there are probably two top guys on Rampage’s team and he was one of them.

Mitch Ciccarelli: It seemed like you and the coaches butted heads somewhat on last night’s episode. Coach Trevor Wittman said that he feels like you want to work your own corner, and he called you "uncoachable." He even went as far as to say that if you didn’t get your act together, he would ask Rampage if they need another guy. What was going through your mind when the coach’s were saying this to you?

Roy Nelson: I was just going, ‘you know what you’re probably right cause I probably will be coaching myself’ and then I actually went into detail about how James McSweeney and Brendan Schaub are basically teammates of Rashad and Trevor Wittman. I told them that I won’t be getting the same coaching that those guys will be getting and they agreed. Then I said ‘ok is that your final answer’ and they were like ‘yep’ so then I’m like ‘ok you guys are some pretty messed up friends cause if you were my friend I’d really want my friend to do better’.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Why were they so upset with you and did you feel like your method of training was better than what they were offering you?

Roy Nelson: I think it was because I was goofing around a bit when we were grappling. I basically would [pretend to] eat a sandwich and drink a beer while I was grappling with some of the other guys. I was pretty relaxed but at the same time being very dominant and I think they took it as disrespect but it’s more of a mindset where if I’m tired I’d rather put my hands somewhere else, make myself more enjoyable.

Also [during a training session] they had us start from our knees and I said ‘I never fight from my knees’ so I kept pulling guard and fighting off my back. They were like ‘why aren’t you fighting at your knees’ and I said ‘have you ever fought on your knees in a real fight?’ and they said ‘no’ and I’m like ‘exactly so why would I?’

Mitch Ciccarelli: How did you feel about how you were portrayed in last night's episode?

Roy Nelson: I think it was just that I’m an old school vet and they are trying to teach an old dog some new tricks. Finally they kind of whipped me a little bit and I kind of bowed down to them and really that’s not what happened it was more the other way around.

Mitch Ciccarelli: What was the best thing about the training on Team Rashad, and what was the worst thing?

Roy Nelson: On Team Rashad we have a bunch of guys just pushing each other, you know? In training we would get some good technique when Greg Jackson would come in but overall it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. There was some good stuff with that but as far as the bad stuff they were training us for fights as if we had 12 weeks to prepare for it and you don’t do that when you know you’re fighting next week because that’s when injuries happen.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Back on the first episode, coach Rampage Jackson was giving you some flack and cracking jokes about your physique. Were you a bit surprised that a former Light Heavyweight champion such as Rampage had no idea who you were?

Roy Nelson: I think that was more for TV because I actually know Rampage from two years back when I used to show him some side mount escapes and stuff. As far as the joking around and stuff I think he was just kind of testing the waters to see how far he can push us and it makes for better TV.

Mitch Ciccarelli: What are your thoughts on Rampage recently announcing his retirement from MMA to pursue an acting career?

Roy Nelson: I think he’s the next Tito Ortiz when it comes down to getting more money out of the UFC.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Let’s talk about last night’s fight for a little bit. Rampage picked one of his biggest yet most inexperienced fighters in Wes Shivers up against the No. 1 hitman on Team Rashad, James McSweeney. What did you think about this pairing and coming off of a loss was it smart for Rampage to go after the No. 1 pick?

Roy Nelson: When we first saw the pick we were like ‘oh my God, what is Rampage thinking’ but then after watching the fight it was actually a lot closer [than I had originally thought it would be]. Maybe Rampage knew something that we didn’t? And I think in that fight Wes Shivers actually lost it for himself.

Mitch Ciccarelli: It was a close fight, would you agree that it should have went to a third round?

Roy Nelson: I believe it could have went to a third round but I think the two rounds were ok just on the pure fact that if you looked into Wes’s eyes [you could tell that] he didn’t want to go to a third round. He would have lost in that third round so I guess the judges kind of helped him out with that one.

Mitch Ciccarelli: There were some moments in the fight where Shivers was just standing there with his hands on his hips completely exhausted. Rashad is screaming for McSweeney to attack but he isn’t engaging. Why didn’t McSweeney pull the trigger?

Roy Nelson: I think he was just dog-tired too, and I think he was afraid to get punched. He was just kind of playing it safe in the second round because he already believed he was winning on the scorecards.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Towards the end of the episode they announced the next fight, and Rashad picks you against Kimbo in what is being called the most anticipated fight in Ultimate Fighter history. How did this matchup come about, did you ask for it personally or was it something the coach’s decided on their own?

Roy Nelson: It was either the TV producers or the coaches because when the producers approached me about fighting Kimbo, because they came up to all of us and asked us who we’d like to fight, I said I wanted to fight Zak Jensen and they asked why I wanted to fight him and I was like ‘well he got gogoplata’d by Brad Imes and I think I can Boston-Crab him’.

They were like ‘well I think you match-up better with Kimbo’ and I’m like ‘yeah but I want the easy fight, I want three easy fights so I can make it to the finale [unscathed]. That’s the smart approach and it’s what Dana [White] always says, you know you want the least resistance on the road to the finale and that’s what I was trying to go for. Then they were like ‘well we want you to fight Kimbo’ and I said ‘oh so it’s the producers trying to be coaches’.

I guess the only way they wanted Kimbo to lose was to a reputable fighter [like myself] to keep him relevant in the mainstay.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Heading into this fight, how did you think you matched up with Kimbo on paper? Obviously he is known for his straight forward power punching style, because of that do you think it would be easy to counter his telegraphed punches?

Roy Nelson: No, I actually think Kimbo is one of the better stand up fighters out there and if he was able to drop down to 205-pounds I think he would be a real threat to the Light Heavyweights in the UFC. As far as the matchup we knew his weakness was wrestlers and jiu-jitsu guys so that’s pretty much what I am, a ground fighter with decent hands.

Mitch Ciccarelli: The biggest flaw Kimbo seems to have is his ground game or lack thereof, with your Brazilian jiu-jitsu credentials was that something you were looking to exploit or did you just want to stand and bang with the street fighting sensation?

Roy Nelson: Well see the thing is your mindset changes on the show as opposed to a regular fight. If I were to fight Kimbo outside in a regular UFC fight [on a pay-per-view] I would probably stand up and bang to give the fans what they want to see but on the show you have to strategize to make sure you take the least punishment to win the fight. It doesn’t matter who you’re fighting, you want to take them down and submit them or pound them out but you always want to take the least amount of damage.

Mitch Ciccarelli: The premier episode drew an incredibly impressive 4.1 million cable rating; do you think your fight with Kimbo next week on episode three will top that?

Roy Nelson: I think next week will probably set a new ratings record on Spike.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Do you think this might be the first ever TUF season where the winner of the show instantly establishes himself as a top ten UFC Heavyweight? I mean one can certainly make the argument that you yourself are very close to the top ten so if you were to win, you would probably become an instant contender. And on the flip side if someone happens to beat you they would become a contender as well, would you agree?

Roy Nelson: Yeah I would agree, it’s very similar to TUF season 4: The Comeback where you are pretty much in UFC title contention right off the bat.

Mitch Ciccarelli: What are your thoughts on Kimbo Slice as a person? Did you get along with him at the house or were you not very fond of him?

Roy Nelson: Kimbo was actually my roommate and he’s a good guy. I helped him out on the MMA business side and he kind of helped me out with the movie side.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Was there anyone in the house that you absolutely could not stand to be around?

Roy Nelson: For the most part all the guys respected me just because I have been around the business for a long time and I’m pretty much a straight shooter and I tell it how it is. There wasn’t anyone in the house that really ruffled my feathers. There’s Wes Sims who is definitely a funny character and he didn’t ruffle my feathers but in the house he was being a bit of a punk.

Mitch Ciccarelli: I recently spoke with both Wes Sims and Mike Wessel from the show and they told me some pretty interesting things about your eating habits, my friend. Sims told me that at one point in the show you went out in the backyard and ate a shrub out of the ground, is there any truth to that or is Sims just completely out of his mind that he is making stuff up?

Roy Nelson: Well Wes Sims is also the guy that will tell you he won’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. I think like Rampage, Wes is trying to do the whole TV career instead of fighting. As for food eating I probably ate the least amount because I always had to watch my weight to make sure I wasn’t over.

Mitch Ciccarelli: Alright Roy well that's all the questions I have for you today. Thanks so much for taking the time out to talk to me today. If there are any sponsors or anyone you would like to thank the floor is yours.

Roy Nelson: I just want to thank all the fans out there first and foremost and if anyone wants anymore information go to roynelson.com.

TUF 10 Weekly Blog and Fantasy Game: Episode Two

Mitch Ciccarelli — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:55:42 -0400

This episode of The Ultimate Fighter starts off in the house with a close-up shot of the man responsible for last episode’s record breaking 4.1 million cable rating, Kimbo Slice. Slice shares with his teammates that he believes he will be the next to fight.

Say what you want about the backyard brawler, but he came to this show willing to fight anyone and for that he deserves respect.

The cameras catch Team Rashad members Justin Wren and Roy Nelson talking about a potential bout with Slice.

Nelson says it’s a fight he has been trying to get for years and a bout against the former Elite XC star would be a headliner between two “veterans.” It’s a bit humorous that Big Country is calling the street-fighting sensation a “veteran” when he has only had four professional MMA bouts.

At the gym, Slice gets some special instruction from Rampage and his coaching staff. The former Light-Heavyweight champion admits that he sees a little bit of himself in Slice and wants to help the still-developing MMA fighter learn some new tricks.

Meanwhile, during a Team Rashad training session, Big Country Nelson is stirring up some drama and getting on the nerves of his coaches. The coaches believe Nelson has a chip on his shoulder and isn’t taking direction well.

They are basically deeming the last IFL Heavyweight champion “un-coachable” and during a private lecture coach Trevor Wittman pretty much tells him if he doesn’t get his act together he will ask if Team Rampage is looking for an extra fighter. Ouch, Team Rashad isn’t messing around.

When it comes time for the fight selections Rampage picks former Tennessee Titan Wes Shivers up against Rashad’s No. 1 pick, James McSweeney.

On paper, it would seem like a horrible matchup, neither have much MMA experience but Shivers literally boasts an 0-0 pro record. McSweeney has a losing MMA record of 2-4 but has had hundreds of kickboxing bouts and is well versed in the art of Muay Thai. However, this bout turns out to be much more competitive than one would think.

Prior to the fight Jackson arrives at the gym and finds Rashad working on a mental training session with his team five minutes after their scheduled slot at the facility. It results in a standoff between the two coaches, and though each are smiling and joking you can tell things are about to get heated between the two.

It was somewhat disrespectful for Rashad to laugh in Rampage’s face when Rampage politely approached him on the matter. At the same time Rashad shares that his team was also forced to start five minutes late, so in all reality, it really wasn’t that big of a deal. But regardless, Rampage had a right to be upset and you have to applaud him for not losing his cool this time.

Heading into this fight most would think an easy first round knockout for McSweeney, but that wasn’t the case at all. Shivers made it a very competitive first round charging in aggressively and putting his weight on the Greg Jackson trained fighter. McSweeney did land some solid strikes including a couple of devastating leg kicks but Shivers stole the first round.

Both fighters were horribly gassed in the second round and less than a minute into it Shivers has his hands on his hips. This would appear to be McSweeney’s chance to strike but he doesn’t pull the trigger and Rashad is screaming in the background “Don’t wait.”

Towards the end of the fight McSweeney drops Shivers and also comes very close to locking in a guillotine choke but Shivers survives to the final bell. The fight was extremely close and probably should have gone to sudden victory but they gave McSweeney the split decision win.

Everyone seems to be picking McSweeney as the favorite to win the tournament but if he struggled like that against one of the most in-experienced fighters in the house how will he do up against some of the more talented fighters?

Then again Shiver’s tremendous size definitely played a factor but when a man is standing there with his hands on his hips shouldn’t you look to finish the fight instead of just standing around letting him catch his breath?

With the win Team Rashad is now 2-0 over Team Rampage and they also have control over the next matchup. Rashad pits Nelson against Slice in what UFC President Dana White is calling the most anticipated fight in TUF history. That fight will take place on the next episode but until then let’s take a look at the TUF 10 fantasy game rankings:

(P.S, each week I will be interviewing a TUF 10 fighter right here on Bleacher Report. This week it's Roy "Big Country" Nelson. I will be interviewing Nelson tomorrow afternoon so if there are any particular questions you would like me to ask him, let me know in a comment to this article.)

Flying Knee: 4 Points

Top Eight

Nelson
Wren
Junk
Jensen
Schoonover
McSweeney
Madsen
Sims

Top Four

Sims
Nelson
Schoonover
Madsen

Final

Nelson
Schoonover

Winner

Roy Nelson

Matt Randall: 4 points

Top Eight

Darrill Schoonover
Zach Jensen
Justin Wren
Brendan Schaub
John Madsen
Kimbo Slice
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson

Top Four

Roy Nelson
Darrill Schoonover
Justin Wren
Brendan Schaub

Final

Roy Nelson vs. Brendan Schaub

Winner

Roy Nelson

Mitch Ciccarelli: 2 points

Top Eight

Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Darrill Schoonover
Scott Junk
Wes Shivers
Wes Sims
Marcus Jones
John Madsen

Top Four
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Darrill Schoonover
John Madsen

Final
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

Winner
Brendan Schaub

Aoife O'Connor: 2 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Four

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

Top Two

McSweeney
Nelson

Winner

McSweeney

Peta Waller: 2 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Four

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

Top Two

Schaub
Nelson

Winner
Nelson

Alysha Diaz: 2 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Four

McSweeney
Rogers
Sims
Schaub

Top Two

McSweeney
Rogers

Winner
Rogers

Melanie Wray: 2 points
Top Eight

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Four

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

Top Two

McSweeney
Schaub

Winner= McSweeney

Cameron Mumford: 2 points

Top Eight

Marcus Jones
Kimbo Slice
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Wes Sims
James McSweeney
Justin Wren
Darill Schoonover

Top Four

Roy Nelson
James McSweeney
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Final Two

James McSweeny
Brendan Schaub

The Ultimate Fighter
James McSweeny

Lynn Donegan: 2 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover
Slice

Top Four

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

Top Two

McSweeney
Nelson

McSweeney

Sinaed Marie O'Hara: 2 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Four

Schoonover
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

Top Four

Schaub
Nelson

Winner
Nelson

E. Spencer Kyte: 2 points

Top Eight

Big Country
James McSweeney
Brendan Schaub
Kimbo
Schoonover
Justin Wren
Marcus Jones
Wes Sims

Top Four
Big Country
McSweeney
Schaub
Kimbo

Finalists
McSweeney
Kimbo

Winner
James McSweeney!

Jessy Morris: 2 points

Top Eight

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Four

McSweeney
Wren
Schaub
Schoonover

Top Two

McSweeney
Wren

Winner
McSweeney

Ken Foss: 2 points

Top Eight

Darrill Schoonover
Marcus Jones
Justin Wren
Brendan Schaub
John Madsen
Kevin Ferguson
Mike Wessel
Roy Nelson

Top Four

Roy Nelson
Darrill Schoonover
John Madsen
Brendan Schaub

Final
Roy Nelson vs. Brendan Schaub

Winner
Brendon Schaub.

The Truth Turcott

Top Eight

Kimbo Slice
Wes Shivers
Justin Wren
Mike Weasel
Abe Wagner
Wes Sims
Scott Junk
Marcus Jones

Top Four

Kimbo Slice
Mike Weasel
Marcus Jones
Justin Wren

Top Two

Justin Wren
Kimbo Slice

The Ultimate Fighter is: Justin Wren

Stoker Mac

Top Eight

Kimbo Slice
Wes Shivers
Justin Wren
Mike Wessel
Abe Wagner
Wes Sims
Scott Junk
Marcus Jones

Top Four

Kimbo Slice
Mike Wessel
Marcus Jones
Mike Sims

Top Two

Sims
Kimbo

The Ultimate Fighter is: Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson

Is Matt Hughes Ducking Josh Koscheck?

Mitch Ciccarelli — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:39:48 -0400

After scoring an impressive first round TKO over seasoned veteran Frank Trigg at this past weekend’s UFC 103 event, Josh Koscheck announced he’d like to fight former UFC Welterweight champion Matt Hughes.

Hughes is one of the most accomplished fighters in UFC history and is basically guaranteed induction into the UFC Hall of Fame before the end of his illustrious career.

However Hughes recently announced in a blog post on his website, matt-hughes.com, that he is not interested in a bout with top 170-pound contender Koscheck and is surprised to hear the former NCAA Division I wrestling champion call him out.

"I find Koscheck calling me out kind of interesting, and I actually don't know why he is doing that," Hughes wrote. "I was used to kids doing this when I was the champ, but as you know, I don't have the belt now, and I'm puzzled as to why Koscheck wants to fight me and not the champion in the weight class."

I guess Hughes did not watch the UFC 103 post-fight press conference where Koscheck said he does indeed want a rematch with Georges St. Pierre for the championship. Koscheck, a product of the world renowned America Kickboxing Academy is willing to fight anyone in the division to earn that title shot.

Why wouldn’t he want a fight with a legend of the sport such as Hughes? Hughes is not just your average run of the mill former champion. He was one of the most dominant welterweight champions in UFC history holding the title on two separate occasions with nine combined title defenses including a submission victory over current welterweight kingpin St. Pierre.

One can make the argument that Hughes is past his prime and nowhere near the fighter that he once was back in his glory days but the fact remains he’s still a household name and a top contender in the division. A victory over a name opponent like Hughes would catapult Koscheck into title contention and that’s exactly where he wants to be.

So what’s the problem Mr. Hughes? Is Koscheck not a worthy enough opponent for you, sir? Clearly you must understand that Koscheck is ranked very highly in your weight class and a victory over an opponent of his status could deem you the number one contender and a chance at reclaiming your Welterweight crown. After all that is why you’re still competing, to prove you’re still the best 170-pounder in the world, right?

Or, like most former champions are you only interested in putting on compelling matchups for the fans?

If that’s the case shouldn’t you be jumping at the opportunity to step into the Octagon with an exciting big-name fighter such as Koscheck?

"I have no interest in fighting Koscheck, and as he was showing everybody, he's just a kid," Hughes wrote. "As of yet, the UFC has never come to me and asked me to fight him."

It’s one thing to say the UFC hasn’t offered him the fight but to say he has no interest at all in squaring off with Koscheck is mind boggling to say the least. Maybe Hughes is not very confident he would be able to defeat a young lion with the skill set Koscheck possesses?

With the career Hughes has had fighting Koscheck is no different than fighting anyone else so it’s not a matter of fear but it is possible the former champion does not think the matchup will be in his favor. At this point Hughes may only be interested in fights he knows he can’t lose.

Every fight is going to be tough especially when you’re an older fighter competing against young athletic studs but Hughes still has the brute strength and wrestling ability to control a fighter with weak takedown defense.

Surely Hughes won’t be able to out-wrestle Koscheck who other than St. Pierre may be the best wrestler in the division.

Koscheck would use his strong wrestling ability to keep the fight standing up and would give Hughes fits with his superior striking. It isn’t a great matchup for Hughes on paper and that might be why he is reluctant in wanting it.

If UFC matchmaker Joe Silva offered Hughes the fight, he would accept it like a professional, but obviously if it was up to him he would choose to take on someone else. There are plenty of talented fighters for Hughes to fight which would include Koscheck’s good friend and training partner Mike Swick.

Swick is another fighter that is being considered for a title shot so if Hughes were to defeat him it could potentially earn him that almighty fourth bout with St. Pierre for the championship just as a victory over Koscheck would.

Swick is a very aggressive striker but unlike Koscheck might not be able to defend Hughes’s takedowns. On paper it’s a much better matchup for Hughes and just as high-profile as a bout with Koscheck would have been so there is a good chance Hughes will accept that fight.

According to UFC President Dana White, Hughes is expected to return to the Octagon in early 2010. It’s anyone’s guess as to who his opponent will be as he is clearly ducking Koscheck and not showing much interest in any other bout.

Time will tell who the future Hall of Famer will be matched up with next, hopefully said fighter will have strong takedown defense that way we will not have to witness another "lay n’ pray" fiasco from Hughes.

Not to take anything away from the legendary fighter but taking someone down and laying on them like a wet blanket is nothing to be proud of.

Hopefully that won’t be taking out of context but realistically he should be coming off of a loss as Matt Serra clearly defeated him if that fight was judged correctly, which it wasn’t.

UFC 103 Aftermath: Is Vitor Belfort Ready For Anderson Silva?

Mitch Ciccarelli — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:41:20 -0400

On a night when the UFC went head-to-head with a major boxing event, everyone is now speculating on which event drew the highest ratings.

Whether or not the UFC comes out victorious in this ratings battle shouldn’t matter because the fact is UFC 103 was one of the most explosive cards of the year thus far.

The fighters put it all on the line inside the Octagon tonight showcasing a true display of what MMA is all about. Even if the boxing event headlined by the return of Floyd Mayweather outdid the UFC in PPV buys the UFC put forth a night of exciting matchups that left the Dallas crowd and everyone at home watching on Pay-Per-View wanting more.

Now that UFC 103 is in the past we must begin to focus on the future. For as many questions as the event answered, it presented even more.

What’s next for Efrain Escudero and Tyson Griffin?

Ultimate Fighter winner Escudero and Xtreme Couture standout Griffin both scored impressive knockout victories tonight over Cole Miller and Hermes Franca respectively. Not only have both fighters made a huge splash in the lightweight division waters but they also proved they have what it takes to finish fights without relying primarily on their wrestling backgrounds.

Season eight TUF champion Escudero is a highly marketable fighter and factoring in his Mexican roots means he can be a strong asset to the UFC fan base in Mexico. He shouldn’t be rushed into high profile bouts with legit contenders just yet. On the contrary he can’t be hand-fed lower tier opponents either because we don’t want to turn him into the Michael Bisping of the 155-pound division.

Griffin on the other hand deserves bouts with the top sharks in the division in order to work his way up into title contention. An intriguing bout would be for Griffin to take on the winner of the Spencer Fisher/Joe Stevenson bout that is taking place at UFC 104 next month.

Was Frank Trigg’s return to the UFC short lived?

After getting knocked out by devastating strikes from Josh Koscheck in the first round of his Octagon return many are wondering if Trigg will be cut from the UFC roster. Trigg can cry early stoppage all he wants but the fact is he lost to a much better, much younger fighter.

That being said it’s doubtful the UFC will release Trigg after just one loss. Trigg is a big name fighter and the man still has the heart to compete. Let him remain under contract and put him up against a lower tier prospect like Jake Ellenberger in his next bout.

Is Paul Daley in the mix for a Welterweight title shot?

British kick boxer Daley shook up the entire 170-pound division with his incredible upset victory over heavily favored Martin Kampmann.

Prior to the bout Kampmann was considered to be in line for a shot against Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, but all of that came crashing down in two minutes and 31 seconds as Daley landed a left hand and followed with ten unanswered strikes for a standing TKO stoppage.

Although an impressive victory it’s hard to believe that 'Semtex' will be challenging for the title in his next bout. He will however get an opportunity to earn a title shot against another top ten contender such as Mike Swick—who was originally supposed to fight Kampmann on this card but pulled out due to injury—or Carlos Condit.

The welterweight division is very cloudy right now and there isn’t a clear cut No. 1 contender that stands out. The UFC has ample time to develop a new contender as St. Pierre will be sidelined until February with an injury.

An interesting matchup that could determine said contender would be a bout between Koscheck and former Welterweight champ Matt Hughes. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan Koscheck called out Hughes and got a good reaction from the crowd. A bout between the two would not only be an absolute barn burner but it would be a good step in determining St. Pierre’s next victim.

Should Mirko Cro Cop retire?

When it was announced that MMA legend Cro Cop would be making his return to the Octagon his supporters were confident that the Croatian superstar would make a full comeback and eventually capture the UFC Heavyweight championship.

When Cro Cop dispatched of Mustapha al Turk at UFC 99 those same fans claimed their favorite fighter would be the one to end Heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar’s reign of dominance. Then they were all brought back down to reality as Dos Santos brutally beat Cro Cop down for three rounds forcing the PRIDE Grand Prix winner to submit from punches.

The man who was once the most feared heavyweight striker on the planet looked scared and uncomfortable against Dos Santos. You can’t help but feel bad for Cro Cop after his performance tonight but that being said let’s not completely count him out either.

He still has some fights left in him and hopefully he can bounce back with some impressive victories. Since he is one of the smallest fighters in the heavyweight division one has to wonder the benefits he would acquire if able to drop down to 205-pounds.

Not only would he not have to deal with overpowering Goliaths but it would also open the door for several interesting matchups.

Is Junior Dos Santos the future of the Heavyweight division?

Nicknamed 'Cigano', Dos Santos opened up a lot of eyes with his domination of MMA legend Cro Cop upping his UFC record to a perfect 3-0. At the ripe age of 25 the sky is the limit for this Brazilian wrecking machine.

Dos Santos is clearly one of the most devastating strikers in the division and poses threats to the majority of UFC heavyweights. Though he still has holes in his game that would be exploited by top fighters like Frank Mir or Brock Lesnar, he has all the time in the world to evolve into one of the greatest heavyweights in the world.

The young lion is ready for a higher caliber opponent in his next bout and fellow Brazilian Gabriel Gonzaga fits the bill. A bout between the two would be something straight out of an old monster film as these two behemoths would be standing toe-to-toe throwing bombs.

Is Vitor Belfort ready for Anderson Silva?

Belfort’s return to the Octagon was a successful one as he took out former UFC Middleweight champion Rich Franklin just three minutes into the first round. The Phenom will now drop back down to the 185-pound division where he will look to capture the divisions crown from current champion and pound-for-pound kingpin Anderson Silva.

The question is, will he have to earn a title shot with a victory over a top middleweight contender or has his victory over Franklin solidified his spot as the No. 1 contender?

With top middleweights Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson patiently waiting in line for a rematch against Silva, the right thing to do would be to match Belfort up with another top middleweight and give the next title shot to either Marquardt or Henderson.

On the flip side the more marketable bout would be Belfort challenging Silva as it wasn’t too long ago that fans saw Silva dominate both Hendo and Marquardt. Belfort presents a newer, fresher matchup for Silva and believe it or not some fans believe Belfort has what it takes to dethrone the champion.

Either way the UFC has plenty of time to come up with a decision as Silva will be sidelined for the rest of the year and won’t be defending his title until mid-2010.

The Countdown: The 10 Greatest Non-Title UFC Main Events of All Time

Mitch Ciccarelli — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:10:02 -0400

This weekend the UFC will hit Dallas, Texas for the first time ever for UFC 103. The card is stacked from top to bottom and headlined by a 195-pound catch-weight bout between former champions Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort.

The only thing missing from this explosive card is a five-round title fight which was missing from the last UFC event as well. Fans will have to wait until UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun to see a championship contested in the Octagon.

With the UFC’s new business strategy of stringing together more cards in a year it is becoming difficult to set up title fights to headline each event. However this isn’t a bad thing at all because as proven in past events a headliner does not need to be a championship bout in order to produce fireworks.

In fact let’s take a look at the ten greatest non-title UFC Pay-Per-View main events of all time.

10. UFC 96: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Keith Jardine (3/1/2009)

Eight months prior to this fight Jackson lost his Light Heavyweight strap in a five-round war to Ultimate Fighter winner Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. Suddenly the scariest man in the 205-pound division didn’t seem so terrifying anymore.

Then Jackson took on arch rival Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 and knocked ‘The Axe Murderer’ out with a crushing left hook in the first round. The Mike Tyson of the MMA world was back and ready to reclaim his championship.

But before challenging for the title Jackson would first have to get through top Light Heavyweight contender “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine at UFC 96.

Heading into this fight most expected an easy victory for Jackson but Jardine proved the naysayers wrong standing toe-to-toe with Jackson for three full rounds in a back and forth battle.

The end result saw Jackson winning the judge’s decision unanimously but it was later revealed afterward that had Jardine not been dropped in the final seconds of the third round he would have won the fight.

9. UFC 93: Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson (1/17/2009)

For years fans would talk about what would happen if Franklin were to take on Henderson so when the opportunity presented itself UFC matchmaker Joe Silva was quick to sign the matchup as the headliner for the UFC’s very first event in beautiful Dublin, Ireland.

The Irish fans were treated to an entertaining battle which saw Henderson winning the judge’s decision and also earning a spot as a coach for Team USA on season nine of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Team U.K’s Michael Bisping.

The Dublin fans went absolutely crazy during this fight and throughout the entire event. Ireland MMA is on the rise, there is a huge fan base out there that is constantly growing larger every day. UFC President Dana White was so impressed with the passion from the crowd that he promised there would be many more events in Dublin in the future.

8. UFC 85: Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves (6/7/2008)

When two main events fell out due to injury the UFC called former Welterweight champion Hughes up on short notice to battle rising prospect Alves in London, England.

Hughes was just five months removed from screaming uncle at the hands of current 170-pound champ Georges St. Pierre and was looking to work his way back into the mix. Alves on the other-hand, although a tough prospect was relatively unknown by casual fans at the time. He was on a five-fight win streak and coming off an impressive knockout over Karo Parisyan.

Due to a sprained ankle injury Alves failed to make weight but Hughes agreed to proceed with the fight at a catch-weight of 175-pounds. However come fight time Alves was clearly well over 190 and looked like a Brazilian version of The Incredible Hulk compared to Hughes.

Alves knocked the former champion out with a flying knee that was heard around the world just one minute into the second round. The Pitbull went from relatively unknown to top welterweight contender in just one night.

7. UFC 76: Chuck Liddell vs. Keith Jardine (9/22/2007)

After losing his Light Heavyweight title to Jackson by way of a brutal first round knockout Liddell was looking to rebound against Jardine. Funnily enough Jardine was also coming off a crushing first round knockout at the hands of then-UFC newcomer Houston Alexander.

This may have been the first and only time you will see two fighters headline a UFC event after being finished early in their last bout. This was supposed to be the fight to get The Iceman back on track, an early Christmas present in the form of an easy victory but things didn’t go as planned.

Jardine’s herky-jerky style gave Liddell fits and after spending three rounds battering the eventual Hall of Famer with bone shattering leg and body kicks The Dean of Mean was awarded the split decision victory.

Not only did Jardine beat Liddell but he turned him into a mutant leaving welts all over his body as a result of the kicks.

6. UFC 70: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (4/21/2007)

When Croation head-kicking sensation Cro Cop made the move over to the UFC from PRIDE everyone expected big things from him. After all this is a man who was knocking out everyone in the PRIDE Fighting Championships left from right including Wanderlei Silva, Mark Coleman, and Aleksander Emelianenko.

After stopping Eddie Sanchez in his UFC debut Cro Cop was matched up with Gonzaga to determine the number one contender to then-Heavyweight champion Randy Couture.

Everyone was betting against Gonzaga and predicting Cro Cop to begin his reign of UFC dominance and then the next thing you know Gonzaga knocks Cro Cop out cold with a thunderous head kick in the first round earning the title shot against Couture.

Gonzaga not only scored one of the biggest knockouts in UFC history but also one of the biggest upsets as well.

5. UFC 88: Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans (9/6/2008)

Fresh off his victory over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79 Liddell was set to take on then-unbeaten Evans at UFC 85 but a torn hamstring kept him off the card. The Iceman wasn’t out of action for long however and the fight was rebooked for the UFC’s very first event in Atlanta, GA.

The speculation heading into this bout was that if Liddell were to win he would be granted an immediate title shot against the champion at that time—Forrest Griffin. Liddell fans were adamant that the former champion would triumph over Evans and then conquer Griffin to reclaim his Light Heavyweight crown.

Those dreams were crushed as Liddell went for an uppercut and left himself open for an explosive overhand right from Evans that dropped Liddell like a sack of bricks. The entire arena went to complete silence the moment Liddell hit the canvas.

4. UFC 99: Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva (6/13/2009)

Five months following a disappointing decision loss to Henderson in Ireland Franklin met MMA legend Silva in the UFC’s first trip to Cologne, Germany. Much like Franklin’s next bout with Belfort this Saturday night, Franklin fought Silva at a catch-weight of 195 pounds.

Both fighters were coming off losses and needed a win to prove their relevancy in the sport. What made things even more interesting was the fact that Franklin had decided to train with current UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva leading up to this fight.

Not only has Anderson completely dismantled Franklin on two separate occasions but he has also trained with Wanderlei for many years until they had a falling out.

The UFC were hopeful that Wanderlei would defeat Franklin that way they could set up a high profile bout between the two Silva’s for the 185-pound strap but things didn’t go according to plan.

Franklin outpointed Wanderlei in an exciting three round war to earn the split decision victory. The German crowd definitely appreciated the battle between these two legendary fighters.

3. UFC 47: Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz I (4/2/2004)

The feud between former friends Ortiz and Liddell led to what at the time would be the biggest fight in UFC history.

Back when Ortiz was the Light Heavyweight champion he seemed to be avoiding Liddell, who was at the time the clear cut number one contender to Ortiz’s title. Ortiz refused to accept the fight because he claimed the two were close friends and that they made a pact that they would never fight each other.

Liddell denied such claims and expressed his desire to square off with Ortiz in the Octagon for the championship but the fight took two years to put together.

It wasn’t until after Ortiz lost his title to Couture that the bout between Ortiz and Liddell was finally signed.

Liddell scored a second-round TKO in the fight, but not without a little controversy. Liddell appeared to poke Ortiz in the eye just before the final closing sequence on the cage, when Liddell rained combinations on Ortiz before Ortiz fell to the floor and the referee stopped the fight.

Ortiz said afterward that he couldn’t see properly because of the eye poke, which aggravated Liddell even more.

2. UFC 60: Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie (5/27/2006)

This matchup pitted MMA’s most dominant champion at the time in Hughes up against the hall of famer and UFC pioneer in Gracie. It was the new-school fighter taking on the old-school fighter and the new-school fighter wanted to prove to the old veteran that the sport has passed him by.

In the early days of the UFC Gracie introduced Jiu-Jitsu to millions of fans in America and used it to dominate much larger opponents. Back in Gracie’s day there weren’t any rules and there weren’t any weight divisions.

Prior to facing Hughes the last time Gracie competed in the Octagon was all the way back at UFC 5 and the sport had evolved tremendously since then and Gracie didn’t keep up.

Hughes basically had his way with the Brazilian and flattened Gracie out on his back before pounding him out with strikes for a first round TKO.

1. UFC 102: Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (8/29/2009)

Not only is Couture vs. Nogueira an early candidate for fight of the year but it may rank as one of the greatest MMA fights of all time.

Prior to the bout some fans were fearful these two legends would put on a stalemate in front of the Oregon crowd but boy were they wrong or what? The speculation heading into the fight was that Couture was too old and Nogueira was past his prime.

Well for an old man Couture can still perform on a very impressive athletic level and Nogueira didn’t look past his prime whatsoever. This fight was an explosive three round battle that saw Nogueira win the majority of the rounds to earn the unanimous decision.

Clearly both fighters still have a lot left in the gas tank and aren’t ready for retirement just yet.

TUF 10 Weekly Blog and Fantasy Game: Episode One

Mitch Ciccarelli — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:31:17 -0400

Following a display of explosive MMA action from UFC Fight Night 19, MMA fans witnessed the premier episode of the most-anticipated season of "The Ultimate Fighter" in recent memory.

The reality show that everyone has been talking about by the water cooler at work for months has finally begun. Each week, I will be blogging my thoughts as well as updating my weekly TUF fantasy game right here on Bleacher Report.

Early in the episode coaches Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson are seated on a bench bickering like an old married couple about how one is going to knock the other out.

Rampage tells Evans that he’s going to “knock his ass out” and Evans counters claiming Jackson is too slow and his big head makes him an easy target.

Clearly, this show is being promoted on the wrong channel, as Comedy Central would seem to be a better fit for this particular season than Spike TV.

While the coaches continue to trash talk one another, the season’s competitors make their way into the UFC training center putting a halt on the verbal grappling among the former Light Heavyweight champions.

It isn’t long before the war of words starts up again as Rampage begins to poke fun at the way Evans was knocked out in his last bout by current UFC Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. Evans maintains a confident smile and fires back with insults of his own bringing up a 2005 defeat Jackson took at the hands of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

I don’t know about you guys but I have Evans winning the trash-talking portion of the show so far. Jackson is a very funny guy, but Evans seems to be more clever and logical with the things he says.

UFC President Dana White warns the coaches not to get into a fistfight and then tells the other fighters to line up for an announcement. White announces that there are only 15 contestants in the room, not 16, and that one more fighter was on his way in.

“I know this next guy is a fighter. The question is, is he a mixed martial artist?” White said. “I’ve talked more [expletive] about this guy than anyone else.”

Rampage wonders if it’s Tank Abbott that White is referring to, but Abbott was too busy chugging down a case of Coors light and eating live kittens to make it down to Vegas for the show.

Instead, YouTube Street-Fighting sensation and former Elite XC headliner Kimbo Slice walked through the door, garnering mixed reactions from the other competitors.

Rampage made it known that he wanted Slice on his team and informed his rival coach to “stay away from Kimbo.”

During the two-hour fighter evaluations, Evans put the fighters through heavy bag drills which Rampage laughed at claiming that the only way to evaluate the fighters is to have them fight.

During Rampage’s evaluation he put the fighters through sparring sessions while cracking jokes at Roy Nelson’s pot belly and Darrill Schoonover’s “titties.” Neither fighter seemed all that amused by Rampage’s comments, but I’m sure everyone watching at home choked on their popcorn from laughter.

After the evaluation, both teams evaluate their talent and prepare for the draft. The traditional coin toss is implemented prior to team selection, but White tells the coaches that the winner of the toss can take either first pick or select the tournament's first two matchups.

Evans wins the toss, and he elects to take the first draft pick. For his first pick Evans selects his good friend and training partner James McSweeney, which isn’t all that surprising.

McSweeney is a deadly striker, but he isn’t very experienced in MMA. While it would seem most have listed as an early favorite to win the competition he could be in trouble up against a strong grappler.

Rampage follows up on his word and selects Slice as his No. 1 pick. Obviously, Slice has the most hype out of the 16 competitors, but will he be able to live up to it?

He has been over-hyped in the past and was exposed with a first round knockout at the hands of a much smaller Seth Petruzelli.

It will be interesting to see how much Slice has evolved since then and if Rampage can mold the internet superstar into the next Ultimate Fighter.

Surprisingly Roy “Big Country” Nelson—the man whom most fans are picking as a dead-on favorite to win the show, was selected late in the draft as Evans' fifth pick.

The picks end up as follows, listed from top to bottom in order of selection:

TEAM RASHAD

James McSweeney
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren
John Madsen
Roy Nelson
Darrill Schoonover
Matt Matrione
Mike Wessel

TEAM "RAMPAGE"

Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson
Abe Wagner
Demico Rogers
Wes Sims
Scott Junk
Wes Shivers
Marcus Jones
Zak Jensen

During the team selections, there were some comical moments as Rampage called Rogers “Rashad’s big older brother” and UFC veteran Sims blatantly lies in his confessional claiming he is "the only man to defeat Frank Mir on two separate occasions. ... And one more thing, Wes Sims will never let the truth get in the way of a good story."

Also not only was Jensen picked dead last, but he was also publicly humiliated by his new coach as Rampage jokingly tried to pick the camera man instead of Jensen. Not cool, Rampage, not cool.

Both coaches are confident that they've picked the better team. The fighters enter the house, and Slice finds his bed knowing he'll be sleeping with a target on his back.

When the teams return to the gym the following day after their first training session Rampage announces his pick for the first fight. He selected his second pick, Abe Wagner to face Jon Madsen.

Talk about a horrible, horrible matchup for Wagner; what was Rampage thinking? Madsen is a wrestling machine who actually holds a victory over current UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in a high school wrestling match. Wagner is a decent fighter and has a size advantage over Madsen, but his ground game is mediocre.

What is even more mind-boggling is the fact that Rampage believed his fighter's “good Jiu-Jitsu” would be enough to handle the grizzly bear-like wrestling ability of Madsen. Nothing against Wagner, but it’s not like he’s an elite-level black belt, and Madsen is a very high-level wrestler.

Pretty much the whole fight was Madsen constantly taking Wagner down like a bull and bloodying him up with ground n’ pound. Wagner wasn’t able to mount any sort of offense as Madsen dominated both rounds with relentless takedowns and ground control.

The best advice Rampage could give Wagner in this fight was “Get up, Abe! Abe, get up! He’s doing the same thing ("Abe! Get up”) before throwing a temper tantrum and storming out of the gym.

Meanwhile, Evans actually gave technical commands ordering for Madsen to posture up and work to finish the fight which didn’t happen.

Madsen dominantly won both rounds to win the unanimous decision in what White calls “the bloodiest fight in TUF history.” With the win, Madsen advances into the quarter finals and takes one step further in becoming the next Ultimate Fighter.

Here are the current standings in Bleacher Report’s TUF 10 Fantasy Game.

Flying Knee: 2 Points

Top 8

Nelson
Wren
Junk
Jensen
Schoonover
McSweeney
Madsen
Sims

Top 4

Sims
Nelson
Schoonover
Madsen

Final

Nelson
Schoonover

Winner

Roy Nelson

Mitch Ciccarelli: 2 points

Top 8
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Darrill Schoonover
Scott Junk
Wes Shivers
Wes Sims
Marcus Jones
John Madsen

Top 4
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Darrill Schoonover
John Madsen

Final
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub

Winner
Brendan Schaub

Matt Randall: 2 points

Top 8

Darrill Schoonover
Zach Jensen
Justin Wren
Brendan Schaub
John Madsen
Kimbo Slice
James McSweeney
Roy Nelson

Top 4

Roy Nelson
Darrill Schoonover
Justin Wren
Brendan Schaub

Final

Roy Nelson vs. Brendan Schaub

Winner

Roy Nelson.

Aoife O'Connor:

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top 4

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

Top 2

McSweeney
Nelson

Winner

McSweeney

Peta Waller:

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

4
McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

2
Schaub
Nelson

Winner
Nelson

Alysha Diaz:

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top 4
McSweeney
Rogers
Sims
Schaub

Top 2
McSweeney
Rogers

Winner
Rogers

Melanie Wray:

8= McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

4=McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

2=McSweeney
Schaub

Winner= McSweeney

Cameron Mumford:

Marcus Jones
Kimbo Slice
Roy Nelson
Brendan Schaub
Wes Sims
James McSweeney
Justin Wren
Darill Schoonover

Top Four
Roy Nelson
James McSweeney
Brendan Schaub
Justin Wren

Final Two
James McSweeny
Brendan Schaub

The Ultimate Fighter
James McSweeny

Lynn Donegan:

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover
Slice

McSweeney
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

McSweeney
Nelson

McSweeney

Sinaed Marie O'Hara:

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Schoonover
Wren
Nelson
Schaub

Schaub
Nelson

Winner
Nelson

The Truth Turcott:

Kimbo Slice
Wes Shivers
Justin Wren
Mike Weasel
Abe Wagner
Wes Sims
Scott Junk
Marcus Jones

Kimbo Slice
Mike Weasel
Marcus Jones
Justin Wren

Justin Wren
Kimbo Slice

The Ultimate Fighter is: Justin Wren

Stoker Mac:

Kimbo Slice
Wes Shivers
Justin Wren
Mike Wessel
Abe Wagner
Wes Sims
Scott Junk
Marcus Jones

top4:
Kimbo Slice
Mike Wessel
Marcus Jones
Mike Sims

Sims
kimbo

The Ultimate Fighter is: Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson

E. Spencer Kyte:

Big Country
James McSweeney
Brendan Schaub
Kimbo
Schoonover
Justin Wren
Marcus Jones
Wes Sims

Top 4
Big Country
McSweeney
Schaub
Kimbo

Finalists
McSweeney
Kimbo
.
Winner
James McSweeney!

Jessy Morris:

Top 8

McSweeney
Slice
Wren
Nelson
Sims
Rogers
Schaub
Schoonover

Top 4

McSweeney
Wren
Schaub
Schoonover

Top 2

McSweeney
Wren

Winner
McSweeney

Melvin Guillard: "Diaz Doesn't Bring Anything Special to the Table"

Mitch Ciccarelli — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:19:48 -0400

During today’s teleconference call for UFC Fight Night 19, which airs live Wednesday night on Spike TV, headliner Nate Diaz was a no-show but opponent Melvin Guillard was around to answer questions from the media concerning his bout with Diaz.

The arrogant and brash Guillard that appeared on The Ultimate Fighter Season Two just a few years ago did not show up to this call. Instead we were graced upon the presence of a newly matured version of Guillard who is focused and determined at becoming one of the greatest lightweight fighters in the world.

Guillard is riding a three-fight winning streak and will look to make it four in a row against Diaz this Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.

When it was announced that these two lightweight warriors would be headlining the card most fans expected a war of words leading up to this fight, but that isn’t the case as Guillard explains there is no bad-blood between the two.

“It’s pretty much the new, mature Melvin. I have no bad blood with any fighter other than Rich Clementi,” Guillard said. “I’m already to the age now where I’m 26, I’ve aged overnight. I had to grow up overnight if I wanted to continue to be successful in this sport. I have no problems with Nate.”

Guillard and Diaz both competed on The Ultimate Fighter season nine finale in their last fight and actually ended up in the same sauna together while cutting weight before the weigh-ins. Guillard talks about having a friendly conversation with his soon-to-be opponent and how he isn’t as brash as he is made out to be.

"As a person [Diaz] is a great guy and it's kind of weird that we are fighting and headlining the show against each other because in the last show we did in June he fought Joe Stevenson and I fought Gleison [Tibau] and we were actually in the sauna cutting weight together just having friendly conversation,” Guillard said. “He's a nice guy; I don't think anything bad of him. A lot of people are like 'beat that little punk up' but in defense of Nate I always tell people that in actuality he and his brother [Nick] are nice guys."

Despite respecting his opponent on a personal level Guillard doesn’t think Diaz brings anything worthy to the lightweight division. He believes his opponent is just an average fighter with a lot of name recognition from winning season five of The Ultimate Fighter.

"As a fighter I think he's just average. You talk about guys like Clay Guida, Joe Stevenson, Myself, Diego Sanchez, Gray Maynard, you’re talking about guys that bring something special to the game,” Guillard said. “Diaz is just one of those guys that won The Ultimate Fighter so of course people are going to talk a lot about him but as far as him bringing something special to the game I don't see anything special about him."

Diaz is world renowned for his superior Jiu-Jitsu ability, once the fight hits the ground he’s like an electric eel squirming around in odd positions before latching on to a constricting submission. However he has recently announced a desire to stand and trade strikes with Guillard.

“The Young Assassin” would love nothing more than to trade strikes with Diaz as he does not think his opponent’s stand up game presents any sort of threat to him.

"I don't feel his stand-up is great at all," Guillard said. "He has mediocre to average stand-up but the one thing that concerns me is his ground game. After my last fight with Gleison Tibau I think my confidence and my patience on the ground really helped me through that fight."

Guillard is confident that his striking will be far superior to Diaz’s and a stand up battle would play to his favor. The New Orleans native has been spending a lot of time focusing on his boxing with world class boxing champions and claims he brings a boxing style to MMA that most MMA fighters neglect.

"I focus a lot on my boxing, I have a boxing coach that is very well known and I think I spend more time now in my boxing gym than I do in my MMA gym,” Guillard said. “I mean I'm sparring with boxing champions and I hold my own against them.

"The one thing I bring to the game that a lot of MMA fighters don't is a lot of fighters sit there and take peppering shots [from a guy like Diaz], just sitting there taking what they throw but I'm slipping jabs, I'm slipping right-hands and I'm counter punching as well so I think my superior boxing is going to make for a great fight for me if it does become a stand up battle."

If the fight hits the ground that is where Guillard feels his opponent is the most dangerous so he plans on being very relaxed and cautious in every position.

"The biggest threat with Diaz is his submission game is not like any ordinary submission game,” Guillard said. “He's one of those guys where you could think you're in a good position but then he'll throw a submission on out of nowhere so I just have to be very cautious.

"I have to be very methodical about my attack and I have to watch my aggressiveness. I'm going to aggressive but I can't be too over aggressive because Nate likes to wear his opponents down and try to get them to gas out and then finish them."

To prepare for this fight Guillard has been drilling some sick strength and conditioning routines with a new strength coach. In the past he has been known to come out explosive only to gas out later in the fight but Guillard explains that a lot has changed since those days.

"For this fight I've learned a lot more strength and conditioning that I wasn't doing in the past. Being that I have a new strength and conditioning coach I think my muscle endurance will be able to withstand Nate's game."

If able to secure a victory over Diaz, Guillard will have earned four straight wins in the UFC. A win would catapult Guillard very high up the ladder in a stacked lightweight division and he is hopeful he will earn bouts with the top five fighters of the division.

"I'm hoping that after this victory I can fight a top five contender,” Guillard said. “Maybe someone like Frankie Edgar, Tyson Griffin or somebody of that nature.”

Stringing together victories in a stacked weight class is very beneficial in determining title contenders but Guillard also feels he will have to defeat one of UFC Lightweight champion B.J Penn’s previous victims first in order to secure a shot at his title.

“In order to get a title shot in the UFC you have to be on a win streak but I'm also going to have to end up fighting somebody who fought B.J [Penn],” Guillard said. “I would have to beat the guys who have lost to B.J so even with me and Joe Stevenson, we are really good friends, we talk all the time but if I would have to fight Joe again in order to secure a title shot I would have to do that."

Heading into this fight with Diaz, Guillard talks about a new outlook on life and how he has finally put his personal demons behind him. His main focus and determination is on the sport and his drive is his goal on one day becoming the UFC Lightweight champion of the world.

“I feel reborn again. Me and my wife will be married for a year (on) Oct. 27. I’ve always learned growing up that you don’t how the good times are unless you endured the bad…I just don’t look at any of the bad things anymore. I just want to keep moving forward, keep progressing in the sport, and hopefully someday be a world champion.”

UFC Fight Night 19 airs this Wednesday night on Spike TV and will serve as a lead in for the season premier of The Ultimate Fighter season 10: The Heavyweights.