Bleacher Report - Articles by Stoker

UFC 107: Does Frank Mir "Have a Prayer in Memphis" Against Cheick Kongo?

Stoker — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:44:31 -0500

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is scheduled to entertain and enlighten us with its 107th event next month, and this time it will illuminate from the FedEx Forum in the beautiful and picturesque city of Memphis, Tenn.

I've never visited the American city, yet whenever I hear someone speak of Memphis, I immediately envision the portrait brilliantly painted in the lyrics of the classic song "Walking in Memphis."

The song was written by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, from his self-titled 1991 album, and he walked us through Memphis as surely as if we had been there.

I don't know whether the former UFC heavyweight cagefighting champion Frank Mir ever owned a pair of "Blue Suede Shoes" or not. However, what I do know is that he will undoubtedly have to board a plane next month and "touch down in the land of the Delta Blues" for what will undoubtedly be another tough UFC Octagonal battle.

It may not be "in the middle of the pouring rain," either, but he is sure to encounter foul weather in the middle of the cage from the 6'4", 240-pound French kickboxer known as Cheick Kongo.

Mir has been very outspoken recently, regarding his desire to get revenge on the now-sidelined UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, but "first thing's first," Mir needs to get past this next huge hurdle.

Kongo is an amazingly conditioned athlete, yet, luckily for Mir, he is a kickboxer with very little experience in submissions. However, he does possess the size, power, and certainly the reach advantage to give Mir trouble should Mir get cocky and try to keep the fight standing.

In a recent YouTube.com video, Mir decides to take a test drive in a bright yellow Lamborghini, and he jokingly refers to Kongo as a great "groin striker," saying he plans to wear "family jewel protection" with a spike implanted on the surface, just in case.

We sportswriters, most times, try to be as unbiased as possible, but I will admit that I've been a fan of Mir since watching his amazing standing arm-bar submission over Tim Sylvia at UFC 48, a move that visually snapped the large bone in Sylvia's forearm.

Sylvia, another huge fighter at 6'8", 250 pounds, not unlike Lesnar, was also a dominant UFC champion at the time, but he had recently been stripped of the title for failing a random drug test.

This was the first evidence that Mir was nobody to mess with from the BJJ guard position, and if it weren't for his career being interrupted by a potentially crippling motorcycle accident, he would have undoubtedly been a dominant champion even back then.

To borrow a line from the greatest heavyweight boxer who ever lived, Muhammad Ali, "Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them—a desire, a dream, a vision."

The greatest heavyweight boxer of all time could have easily been describing a former mixed martial arts champion, such as Mir, who has certainly demonstrated rare human qualities—not only in his career, but also in his life.

Life skills which are extremely hard to come by, such as honor, integrity, courage, and a tremendous amount of pride.

His passion for the sport is clearly evident also in his on-air commentating for the lightweight fight promotion known as World Extreme Cagefighting.

I am thoroughly impressed with the detailed job he does, especially during a recent featherweight championship event.

Mir took the time to explain each transition in detail, which is appreciated by laymen such as me who have no formal training in regard to the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu side of MMA.

Understandably, Mir is extremely proud of his accomplishments so far. And from watching his fights throughout his career, it seems Mir not only believes he is a winner and a survivor, he has also proven it and lived through it.

As we know—from watching the most recent UFC event—trilogies in fight sports are extremely popular, so, if Mir beats Kongo impressively, he may just find himself in another rubber-match of sorts between him and the behemoth Lesnar.

Or perhaps Mir will face off against a new interim heavyweight champion.

In any event, Mir may not have had a prayer last time out against Lesnar, but that was then, and this is now, and to borrow a line from Cohn and his famous song: Mir, "boy you've got a prayer in Memphis."

Are Dan Henderson and Dana White's UFC Contract Issues Just a Jealous Money War?

Stoker — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:59:03 -0500

In a recent on-air mixed martial arts discussion, which is credited here—MMAjunkie.com Radio—the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship, Dana White, had some very interesting things to say concerning what he feels is the real reason behind former UFC cage fighter Dan Henderson recently avoiding contract renewal negotiations.

It's important to note that although he is currently inactive, Henderson's stock hasn't dropped.

He is still one of the UFC's premier middleweights, and the consensus amongst most fans is that he is responsible for his own unhappiness: a simple matter of the fighter overpricing himself.

To make matters worse, White declared earlier this month that he was positive Henderson had signed with Strikeforce.

The rumor, however, was unsubstantiated and was dismissed by Strikeforce head promoter Scott Coker. So the UFC drama concerning Hendo is still ongoing.

The latest installment is that White has a "new and improved" theory as to why the fighter is reneging.

"Dan is in I-don't-want-to-make-a-deal mode." say's White.

"There are some deals in which you go in and negotiate and make a deal. You know you want to make a deal. ... Dan Henderson knows he does not want to make a deal."

UFC fighter Tito Ortiz has also butted heads with the UFC brass, but he ended a 16-month layoff and re-signed with the UFC only to lose his comeback debut last weekend to Forrest Griffin.

According to White, the Ortiz contract is the primary fuel which is driving Henderson's stubbornness to work out a deal with the company.

"The bullshit that Dan came in and said in my office regarding the money he wants, it's unrealistic, and he knows it," White said.

"And it's basically based off of, 'I heard this guy is making this, and I heard this guy made (this much).'

"Basically, what everybody gets pissed off about is Tito. 'Oh, I heard Tito is making all this money, and Tito is this and that.' And it's because Tito likes to go out there and say stuff like that, or somebody in his camp did."

"That's how bullshit gets started."

White also stated in the interview that he is still open to discussion concerning the matter.

"Doors are never closed," he said. "I'm in the fight business. We put on fights. Doors never close."

"Never say never. Dan could call me tonight. Fedor could call on three-way with him. We could sign them both up tonight if they want to call."

To hear the entire discussion with White, download Friday's edition of MMAjunkie.com Radio.

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan, and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Is Jose Aldo the WEC Version of Anderson Silva?

Stoker — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:06:17 -0500

Before last Wednesday, former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Mike Brown, 23-4, was an extremely highly touted pugilist.

He was coming off two dominant wins over Urijah Faber, so Brown's stellar fighting reputation was understandably justified.

Faber was the former WEC featherweight champion from March of 2006 until his loss to Brown at WEC 36 on Nov. 5, 2008, and before losing to Brown, Faber was ranked the No. 1 featherweight fighter in the world by almost all reputable sources.

If it's true that you are only as good as your last fight, then Jose Aldo is now among the elite and certainly near the top of the world's pound for pound best cage fighters.

Aldo, a Brazilian native, is currently on an explosive path of destruction, winning nine straight matches, which culminated in the demolition performance last Wednesday night in Las Vegas over Brown to win the WEC featherweight championship.

Many experts had agreed before the match that Brown would surely "weather" this upcoming storm as he had done many times before; however, once the two began exchanging punches, it soon became evident that—for Brown—this would be anything but smooth sailing.

The champion was about to have his hands full with "Hurricane Aldo."

Aldo was the pressure fighter in the match, which he established early by coming forward—a tactic which the champion Brown obviously was not used to or very comfortable with.

The hand speed of Aldo also proved in the opening seconds to be more accurate and crisper than Brown's, which became more evident as the defending champion began to get peppered with combinations mixed with bone-numbing leg kicks.

Brown also ran into a secure defensive barrier while attempting to take Aldo—who is a Brazilian ju-jitsu black belt—down to the ground. Aldo effectively stuffed nearly all of the champion's valiant takedown attempts.

With Brown losing round one in the thorough fashion he had, round two looked to be the beginning of the end for the champion.

Aldo—after sensing blood in round one—turned up the heat on Brown, and after a furious flurry of punches between the two, the champion made a rare visit to the canvas, thus dangerously exposing his back to the highly skilled and hungry contender Aldo.

All in one motion, or so it seemed, Aldo was on Brown's back.

With both hooks firmly in place, and by flattening out and totally immobilizing the champion, Aldo rained down hammer fists from hell, effectively bringing an end to Brown's championship reign.

Although he has been called a controversial referee, Steve Mazzagatti did an excellent job in this fight, and he called the bout to a halt as an overwhelmed and emotional Aldo collapsed to the canvas in utter euphoria.

For this newly crowned champion Aldo, the sky is now the limit, the world is his oyster, and his professional cage fighting future seems golden as well.

The brilliant performance last Wednesday night against Brown has undoubtedly catapulted him to the elusive "elite fighter" status.

Not since Anderson Silva have we witnessed such a "well-rounded" and dominant performance from a fighter, which also effectively made a great champion and fighter such as Brown look horribly bad.

Tito Ortiz Vs. Forrest Griffin III as "The Ultimate Fighter 11" Coaches?

Stoker — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:02:58 -0500

According to a recent article from a well-known cage fighting website, which can be found here, Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz, the two main event pugilists from UFC 106—which illuminated last Saturday night from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas—are eyeballing the opportunity to become the coaches for the 11th season of the UFC's Spike TV reality show series known as The Ultimate Fighter.

Taping for the upcoming season is rumored to be only two months away, and—not surprisingly—the arrogant and egotistical Ortiz is trying hard to sell himself in a bid for one of the opening coaching slots.

From another perspective, Ortiz has kids to feed, twin boys to be exact, so it's understandable—coming off a close split-decision loss to Griffin in the main event last Saturday—why he is in such hot pursuit of his next meal ticket.

Ortiz was quoted in the above credited article as saying he and Griffin would be the best men for the coaching jobs, which would also serve as a primer to their "best two outta three" rubber match at the end of the show.

"It'd be awesome," Ortiz said. "We'd break records with that one."

The original meeting between the two was in '06, which was won by Ortiz, and being the self-promotional genius that he sometimes is, he also proclaimed himself the winner of last weekend's rematch.

"I'm pissed because I didn't have my hand raised at the end," Ortiz said. "I thought I won. ... I thought I took the first two rounds."

My back ground is in boxing, and from my view, Ortiz—by standing in one spot directly in front of Griffin and not jabbing—became a stationary sitting duck and an easy target for the wild-swinging TV show champion Griffin.

The way to beat Griffin—who by the way is perfectly happy to stand up and take shots to the face, as evidenced in other matches—is to circle to his left, throw straight punches down the pipe, and above all, keep the left jab in his face.

Constant lateral movement would also be an effective tool against his lethal leg kicks.

Ortiz lost the fight, not from anything Forrest had done, but from his own inactivity during the third and final round, when he was seemingly frozen in one position, blocking punches with his forearms and waiting for an opportunity that never came.

That opportunity—which was clearly obvious to everyone, including Griffin—was to shoot for double-leg takedown and try to pummel Griffin into submission from the top.

Tito, as I stated in one of my previous articles, is from a "whole 'nother era." His time has come and passed, and he will undoubtedly never again be the same fighter he once was.

That being said, surprisingly the main event and rematch between the two on the weekend was much more entertaining than I had initially predicted.

Should they be lucky enough to be picked as coaches, let's hope they can transfer some of that rivalry, and friction into their TV show performances.

Ortiz, I feel, was one of the best, if not the best coach ever on The Ultimate Fighter show; he is a natural born celebrity. I would have no problem watching him repeat as a coach once again on the newest production.

Griffin is also a popular household name due to his appearances on TUF.

As TUF season 11 coaches, they would certainly make for an entertaining evening of reality TV viewing, because as we saw in the post-fight interviews, there seem to already be some unsettled issues between the two.

The win over Ortiz this past weekend has seemingly allowed most fans to forget about Griffin's speedy jog out of the arena—in true Forrest Gump style—after losing his match against Anderson Silva earlier this year.

Most fans except me, of course.

Josh Koscheck Should Shut Up: GSP Could Take Him and Dan Hardy on the Same Night

Stoker — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:16:26 -0500

One of the most truly bizarre cage fights ever witnessed took place from the Mandalay Bay Events Center this weekend, at the Ultimate Fighting Championship's 106th event.

The match was fought at 170 pounds, and it was between welterweight contender/pretender Josh Koscheck and up-and-comer Anthony "Rumble" Johnson.

Koscheck—after losing most of the standup battle—decided to take the fight to the ground and was then accidentally fouled by Johnson while attempting a wrestling maneuver known as a double-leg takedown.

Depending on who you ask, the foul was an illegal knee strike to the arm or shoulder area. Nevertheless, the behavior displayed by Koscheck following the foul was nothing short of Oscar-winning.

He cried, wailed, moaned, and seemingly wanted three weeks of recovery time for a foul that, in all honesty, other fighters would have shaken off in a matter of seconds.

Yet, in the end, he presumably decided to do the right thing; he started acting like a true professional cage-fighter, sucked it up, and went back to work.

However, for a guy who was supposedly injured, mortally wounded, or in severe agony, he displayed no outward signs whatsoever.

In fact, Johnson seemed to be the one affected; in a fight which he was once dominating, he seemed to now be mentally and physically absent, no longer able to hold his own.

As a result, he quickly gave up his back to the revitalized Koscheck, who wasted no time sinking in a sloppy-looking choke submission for the win.

Koscheck presumably also won the equivalent of the UFC presidential lottery, which is $140,000 for both the submission and Fight of Night honors, given out by commander in chief Dana White.

It's this writer's opinion, however, that Koscheck, in his actions, displayed a weak heart and lack of courage, and therefore he should receive no award money—not even a door prize.

The fight of the night, in my opinion, should have been awarded to Ben Saunders, who—even though he looked to be at least 220 pounds at fight time—was technically brilliant in defeating "the human punching bag," Marcus Davis.

The award to Koscheck seemed to be more along the lines of a gratuitous gift, for hanging in there, finishing the fight, thus satisfying the blood-thirsty crowd instead of leaving them in an unhappy and riotous booing frenzy.

If that's not enough, during the post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan, the 170-pound "pretender" Koscheck—who is nothing more than a pumped-up offal from The Ultimate Fighter reality show—decided to take advantage of his TV time and call out British MMA head-hunter Dan Hardy.

He stated, in effect, that he—and not Hardy—should be entitled to the upcoming title shot at the elite French Canadian fighter, and UFC welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre.

Hardy, who was seated at cage-side, basically laughed it off, gesturing that Koscheck should cry him a river.

My advice to Koscheck, who has already lost decisively to St-Pierre once and has two other losses to much more skilled contenders—Brazilians Thiago Alves and Paulo Thiago—is that maybe he should prove himself worthy of a title shot first.

Certainly beating a rookie such as Johnson or "tomato cans" like Yoshiyuki Yoshida or Frank Trigg doesn't "fill the bill."

And, finally, that he should also be very careful what he wishes for, because he just might get it.

My feeling is that St-Pierre would easily devour both Koscheck and Hardy on the same night and still have room left over for a large Montreal smoked meat sandwich.

Manny Pacquiao Video Confirms Future Showdown vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Stoker — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:28:56 -0500

It will be the boxing equivalent to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, a mega super-fight of monolithic proportions rumored to be held at the largest of venues, Yankee Stadium.

In this newly released video, pound-for-pound "runner-up" Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao confirmed to the world of boxing, his future plans to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr.

In the opinion of this writer, it's potentially a bad decision, a critical mistake, and could also be the equivalent of career suicide for the quick-fisted Filipino.

As for Mayweather, even though public popularity has eluded him, it matters not; because most knowledgeable experts will agree that the undefeated master pugilist—when speaking in terms of the No 1 pound-for-pound greatest—is still at the top of the food chain.

The " Pretty Boy " , has enjoyed—by clubbing his way past some of the greatest names in the sport, such as Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya, and Ricky Hatton—a pristine fight record of 40 wins and no lossses.

And let's not forget his most recent and arguably greatest performance ever, over the former unwritten pound-for-pound king Juan Manual Marquez.

This truly dominant win over the elite Mexican native Marquez leaves no doubt in the mind of this writer that Mayweather is still the true king. However, Pacquiao's diehard fans continue to remain in a state of denial and still maintain that their beloved "Pac" is the ultimate king of boxers.

I will say this much: He has single-handedly revitalized boxing, and with the absence of greats like Joe Calzaghe and De La Hoya, has given the sport a much-needed and life-saving shot in the arm.

However, it's also my opinion that in his recent win over a very game Miguel Cotto, Pacquiao was exposed, hit numerous times, wobbled at one point, and, notably, the Filipino predatory boxer even had trouble finishing his mortally wounded prey when Cotto was on the brink of defeat.

Keeping those things in mind, his reasoning for wanting to fight Mayweather, besides the obvious monetary gain, somewhat escapes me.

"Pretty Boy Floyd" is 100 times more skilled than Cotto, and my prediction is that Pac would fall in the same fashion as the other slick southpaw, a lightning-fast counter-puncher by the name of Judah.

At any rate, boxing fans are the real winners here; those who were ecstatic before at the potential of this Pacquiao vs. Mayweather super-fight will now be even more anxious to witness the history-making boxing event.

Yet, when all is said and done, I have a hunch it will be Mayweather who will emerge victorious and still standing in this upcoming showdown; I have a feeling that Pacquiao will ultimately be outdrawn by a faster, slicker, and more greatly skilled gunman.

The Muhammad Ali-type greatness in Mayweather is evident; "Pretty Boy" puts me in mind of the former greatest heavyweight in many ways, one being the way he can back up his brash demeanor and braggadocios ways, the other being this carefully crafted poem by Mayweather that's worth repeating, so enjoy.

I wish them both luck.

"When 'Pac' beat the ol’ legend Oscar De La Hoya, He was over the hill, Now it’s time for you to swallow the same damn pill, So get your tickets now people and let’s make it clear, That the Pacman ass woopin is almost here."

—Poem by Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Lyota Machida-Mauricio Rua 2 Set for Montreal, but What About Georges St-Pierre?

Stoker — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:29:31 -0500

According to Yahoo! Sports scribe Dan Wetzel, the highly anticipated rematch between Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the UFC light heavyweight belt is set for May 1, here in my home country of Canada.

UFC president Dana White was quoted by Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday as stating “Lyoto Machida will fight May 1 in Montreal against 'Shogun.'"

Machida defeated Rua by unanimous decision on Oct. 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. However, the counter-punching style of Machida—and the extremely obvious, somewhat biased UFC on-air analysis from UFC commentator Joe Rogan—had people convinced that Rua had won the fight.

Whether or not White had future monetary pay-per-view interests in mind—which could have possibly clouded his judgment—is unknown by this writer, but unfortunately he also favored Rua and then promised an immediate rematch.

To borrow a line from a famous and classic song: "The three people I admire most are not the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost." In this case it's the three judges who disagreed with White, Rogan, and the in-house majority.

The three highly experienced and extremely competent judges who scored the fight unanimously in favor of the champion—48-47 across the board.

Criticize them all you want, but they got it right, and the karate-based, cage-fighting champion will rightfully retain his title—a title which took him many years of highly disciplined training to acquire.

At first, the rematch was tentatively scheduled for Jan. 2, 2010, in Las Vegas, but it was postponed due to Machida needing time to recover from surgery to repair a broken hand, known in medical terms as a "boxer's fracture."

According to the informative Yahoo! Sports article by Wetzel, the upcoming rematch between Machida and Rua will be the main event and will headline the UFC’s third-annual spring event here in Canada.

All of this has me scratching my head, though, because if it truly does come to fruition and is held here at Montreal's famous Bell Centre—how can it not include the hometown hero, Georges St-Pierre?

The UFC has twice headlined sold-out shows at the city’s 21,000-seat Bell Centre, and one of them was when GSP reclaimed his welterweight championship against Matt Serra at UFC 83 in April, 2008.

The other was when—Elite 185-pound middleweight champion—Anderson Silva defended his belt against Thales Leites at UFC 97 in April 2009.

Coincidentally, both these elite fighters' names have been in the news of late, yet it's been St-Pierre who has been most vocal, virtually calling out the "Brazilian Widow Spider" in a recent interview.

There have also been recent rumors regarding a showdown of sorts between St-Pierre and British knockout brick-thrower Dan Hardy.

Rumor has it that the two will coach the next season of the Spike TV-aired reality show The Ultimate Fighter, which will culminate in the usual season-ending match between the two coaches.

My feelings are that—even though he has recently defeated Mike Swick, a man who I felt would give St-Pierre a true test—it is too soon to determine how Hardy would fare against the elite 170-pound champion.

Hardy is a great stand-up slugger, but it's likely that St-Pierre, with his incredible fight smarts, would take the legs away from the brawler Hardy, and, once on the ground, there seems to be no escape from being pounded into submission by the French Canadian cage-fighter.

Just ask elite 155 mainstay champion BJ Penn, who was twice defeated by GSP with his effective double-leg-shooting style, combined with his equally great, gravity-defying horizontal sprawling take-down defense.

It could be merely wishful thinking on my part; however, the match-up we would all love to see come to fruition would be GSP vs. Spider. And I also think I speak for most of cage-fighting fans by saying that.

So let us keep our fingers crossed, shall we?

Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin 2: Much Ado 'Bout Nothing

Stoker — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:19:10 -0500

AUTHOR'S NOTE: "The Huntington Beach has-been! " .....Forrest "Gump" Griffin wins by split decision over Tito Ortiz. 11/22/09

Please don't everyone stand and cheer at once, but Tito Ortiz is scheduled to make his incredible, yet laughable, return debut to the Octagon this weekend against Forrest "Gump" Griffin, at the Ultimate Fighting Championship's 106th event.

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I don't mean to sound ungrateful, yet—for the sake of the fans, and everyone else involved—some of these once-great retired fighters should just stay retired.

For one thing, even though 2006 wasn't that Long ago, the UFC has grown by leaps and bounds since the days when Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, and Ken Shamrock were top contenders.

Ortiz's best days have come and gone, and no matter what he—or his die-hard fans—may attempt to sell you, don't buy it; he cannot possibly return and be the fighter he once was.

And the other thing is this: I don't remember him being that good to begin with.

Wasn't he more of a flamboyant wrestler-type showman with the flags, T-shirts, and whatnot?

Once, during a fight with Wanderlei Silva, didn't Ortiz actually turn his back at one point and start to jog the other way?

Didn't he actually steal his charismatic nickname from his friend and sparring partner, Tank Abbott, who was the true "Huntington Beach Bad Boy"?

New Brazilian brick-throwers now inhabit the UFC 205 light-heavyweight division.

Young men such as knockout slugger Thiago Silva and former Pride FC star Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who - by the way - also looked great his last time out.

These top contenders are also extremely well rounded, and with hands of stone, would definitely make short work of a one-dimensional wrestler such as Ortiz.

The Ortiz-type fighter is from another era, an era when acquiring just one basic skill could win you a UFC title; those days are now thankfully, gone forever.

Fighters from that aforementioned era—such as Ortiz, Hughes, Shamrock, and Liddell—have starved and stagnated themselves by becoming slaves of their personal favorite style.

As a result, some of them continue to die a long and painful death, hanging on tightly to the exposed threads of what was once was an unbeatable formula.

Once upon a time, those simple wrestling—or the Gracie's BJJ techniques—were a basis for everything else; however, today's UFC fighters need to be equipped with much more diverse tools.

Stand-up striking with a slick boxing style is now one of the most powerful weapons in a cage-fighter's arsenal.

To borrow the words of Joe Rogan, "they need to not only be great at one style, they need to be great, or very good, at all styles of combat."

With all due respect to Ortiz, he is approaching his 35th year of life; most pro fighters who are going to do it have done it by age 35, and those who haven't will inevitably become gatekeepers or has-beens.

That factoid—along with undergoing extensive back surgery, which required long layoffs—undoubtedly would spell disaster should he enter the Octagon against any of the top contenders at 205 pounds.

Furthermore, there are fighters at 185 who would love to use the name Ortiz as a stepping stone for bigger paydays down the road.

Nate Marquardt, I'm sure, would have no problem moving up to 205, if nothing else than for the sole purpose of kicking sand in the face of the Huntington Beach has-been and adding Ortiz's name to his recent list of victims.

Ortiz once used his win and near-win over Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin, respectively, as justifiable reasoning behind his claim that he can still compete at the highest level.

Those two dogs, however, no longer hunt.

Evans and Griffin are still somewhere in the running, but they're not nearly as relevant as they once were.

He would be facing a fire-breathing dragon in Lyoto Machida—an undefeated fighter whom Ortiz has already once lost to at 205—and a deadly spider in Anderson Silva at 185, if he should foolishly decide to try his luck at fighting lighter and smaller men.

His chances of winning a championship title from those two cage-fighting predators are slim and none.

So even with his new-found top boxing trainer—Freddie Roach—in his corner, winning a Griffin rematch may be the best that Ortiz can accomplish at this late stage of his career.

The expiration date on the relevancy of this rematch with Griffin has also long passed, and it's my opinion that it also has snooze-fest written all over it.

Yet no matter how thrilling, it still won't be enough, I'm afraid, to catapult the Huntington Beach native back into the 205 mix.

The reason Ortiz is back escapes me, but I have a hunch it may have something to do with the return to the UFC of Vitor Belfort, whom Ortiz has a decision win against in 2005 at UFC 51.

Or maybe UFC president Dana White needs a former highly touted big-name fighter with a Mexican-American heritage in order to promote his latest quest. Which is to gain as many Latino fans as possible for his future shows near the Mexican border—possibly the loyal boxing followers who never miss a fight from the LA Staples Center.

For Ortiz, who has been around seemingly forever, fighting after 35 can also be a huge health gamble. After the long layoff, and surgery, I would be extremely surprised if Ortiz's once-prominent skill set hasn't now diminished to the point of no return.

Because, let's face it, it matters not whether you are the "Huntington Beach Bad Boy," the "Iceman," "Iron-Man," or "World's Most Dangerous Man"—if one is truly past his fighting prime, his well-known name recognition will only get him so far.

The famous Ortiz name may get him a few last quick paychecks before he retires, or he may end up like Muhammad Ali with irreversible heath damages from sticking around too long, chasing those quick paychecks.

Or, sadly—like the once-great Mike Tyson—at age 43, he may find that he can still make the front-page headlines, if only for being awarded a first-round knockout over a defenseless photographer.

And the venue being nothing more than a nearby Airport Terminal.

Georges St-Pierre: "I'm Not Afraid; Give Me Anderson Silva"

Stoker — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:17:06 -0500

“My goal is that when I retire, I want to be considered the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the history of the sport, and to have made a difference in the sport,” St. Pierre (19-2) said.

“I’m not afraid of any man in the sport.

“Now Anderson wants to fight heavyweights and light heavyweights. Everything is a question of timing.

“Everybody is a threat.

“It’s always a mathematical problem. I look at what my opponent’s chances are against me in every part of the game and try and find where he has the lowest percentage of chance to win.

“He’s considerably bigger. It all depends on what the UFC and the public wants. But a lot can happen. I could lose or he could lose and then the interest would drop. But I’m up for it.”

—Quotes courtesy of Dave Meltzer, yahoosports.com.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship's elite welterweight champion is a fighter who seems to have no equal. However, if he did, one would have to give the nod to the UFC middleweight champion, Anderson "The Spider" Silva.

In the minuscule world of insects, the Spider is undoubtedly king; in the middleweight division of the UFC, the 185-pound champion Spider Silva also reigns supreme.

So much so, in fact, that it's no longer a debate regarding who will defeat him in the future; it's now a question in the minds of many—with only three fights left on his contract—if he can possibly be beaten at all.

Yet where Silva has been successful at 185 and 205, Georges St-Pierre has also had similar success at 170; he has single-handedly wiped out the welterweight division of any and all serious competitors.

In the opinion of this writer, the recent win over Mike "Quick" Swick by British fighter Dan Hardy was nice, yet unfortunately it doesn't translate into a win against St. Pierre.

"The Spider" Silva facing St. Pierre, however, would be an entirely different matter.

The Spider seemingly has few deficiencies in his well-rounded arsenal—yet if there is one area, it would have to be his wrestling ability.

Dan Henderson twisted him off his feet somewhat easily in their meeting last year, and as we know, St. Pierre has been called one of the best, if not the best wrestler in MMA.

GSP would certainly need every ounce of his bolt-of-lightning agility and ground-slamming wrestling maneuvers to have any chance of beating the 185 champion Silva.

Although it's never been proven, "The Spider," in this writer's opinion, could easily cross over and become a world-ranked top-10 boxer; therefore, it's also my opinion that the chances of St. Pierre winning this fight from a vertical position are slim to none.

However, GSP shoots for his opponent's legs like he has been literally fired from a cannon—so the extra 15 pounds of added weight would undoubtedly give GSP's double-leg shooting technique a definite edge and would likely be the key to victory.

At this point, the actual fight is no more than a mere rumor, but even the remote possibility of the match is enough to make this writer excited.

So good luck to you, my fellow Canadian; stay out of the Spider's web, don't stand with this guy, use your wrestling skills, and most of all, try not to fly straight into his trap—as the others before you did.

All the same, win or lose, your country will continue to support you unconditionally.

Mike Tyson, Fedor Emelianenko, Tito Otiz: The Power of Name Recognition

Stoker — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:53:20 -0500

The former heavyweight champion of the world and self-proclaimed baddest man on the planet, Mike Tyson, hasn't fought inside the ropes since June of 2005, when a "Tomato Can" named Kevin McBride literally pushed him over during the end of the sixth round.

The Iron in Tyson was clearly rusted, and at that point in his long and storied career, the "has been" had been, and he simply was no more.

Tyson—in this, his very last fight—was fighting on his name recognition alone, and he merely rolled over, attempted to get up, staggered to his stool, and quit.

He was defeated, not by anything McBride had done, but by his own oxygen-starved body, which is a sad and pathetic byproduct of being past your prime, having diminished skills, and lacking the proper training and conditioning.

Still, these old and courageous pugilists fight on, like war-wounded soldiers from some distant and ancient battlefield.

Or jilted lovers who have long ago worn out their welcome yet feel they need just one more chance to get back in the good graces of their women.

A top prizefighter with name recognition, and specifically the money in which it brings, is insanely convinced he can push forward after the sport and the fans have long since divorced him.

For a great example which demonstrates my point that Tyson's "name brand" power is still alive and well, albeit in a not-so glamorous way, we need look no further than last week.

Tyson, now 43 and tremendously overweight and out of shape, was arrested again recently after getting into a scuffle and punching a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport.

Although he hadn't won any boxing titles or awards that day, he unquestionably would have garnered far less press coverage if that had been the case. The above mentioned scuffle was a top news item and was plastered on every news and sports Web site on the Internet.

A recently held cage-fighting event—aired on CBS during prime time—known as Strikeforce is another example of the power of name recognition.

Fedor Emelianenko is the Tyson of mixed martial arts, or cage fighting; people will pay big money to see him fight no matter where, but therein lies the problem.

Twice now, against Andrei Arlovski and Brett Rogers, Emelianenko's fights have ended in somewhat thrilling fashion—he gets beat up in the early minutes but then comes right back and ends it all with one haymaker-style punch.

The guy has great name-brand recognition, but so far he has had no supporting actors and continues to insist on performing in one man shows; as a result, I'm doubtful he will survive while debuting "off Broadway."

The former Huntington Beach, Calif., cage-fighting bad-boy Tito Ortiz will return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship's 106th event this weekend, following an 18-month layoff due to contract issues and back surgery.

It's unfortunate for us fans, but in the opinion of this writer, Ortiz's career was over long ago.

He was pummeled twice by semi-retired Chuck Liddell and was showing signs of declining cardio and punching power in his original matchup with another name-recognition fighter—Forrest "Gump" Griffin.

Maybe it's just me being me, but it boggles my mind as to why these two "soup cans" are scheduled to demonstrate to us, in an unjustifiable rematch this Saturday, just why we couldn't care less about them.

There is only one answer which fits the equation.

Name recognition—it's a powerful and hungry pay-per-view, money-grabbing beast, and it will undoubtedly trick you into thinking you are going to see something special.

But I will be the first to inform you that—if the fight is anything like the first one—you will be far better off to enter your local pub and punch the biggest guy in there in the back of the head, then blame it on the guy seated next to you.

A much more skilled and entertaining fight will erupt, and it will cost you far less in the long run.

Pacquiao - Cotto Fight Result Proves That Floyd Mayweather Jr. Is Boxing's Best

Stoker — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:56:26 -0500

The cracked, parched and dried-up landscape of boxing received some long overdue rain this weekend.

And now unfortunatley—even though the sky is still filled with hungry cage-fighting-buzzards—those who have awaited the death of the sport, may just have to wait a bit longer.

Yes, boxing is still undoubtedly surrounded by desert and unquestionably stunted by bad weeds; however, it has—thanks to a 130-pound Filipino superstar named Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and his pay-per-view-/seat-filling potential—recently experienced a much-needed healthy growth spurt.

This weekend the man who has single-handedly performed life-saving hand-to-hand resuscitation on the sport entered the squared circle once again.

This time however, "Pacman" had his hands full in a hard fought war, on route to a 12th rd. stoppage against the pride of Puerto Rico, Miguel Angel Cotto.

A great fight, yet it was anything but pretty, and did little to secure Pacquiao a place among the greats, he is now merely the second best in boxing.

Pacquaio, along with elite pugilist, "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather Jr., are in contention for the top prize in boxing, which surprisingly has little to do with title belts.

It has more to do with the bragging rights of professional boxing, which is the right to be called the No. 1 fighter pound-for-pound on the planet.

Last time out—against Manchester England's Ricky Hatton—Pacquiao had his arm raised in victorious celebration while the legions of British fans looked on from their stadium-filled seats in utter disbelief.

"The Hitman," who was considered more of a British god than a fighter, lay motionless on the canvas, knocked out cold in the second round by a lightning-fast, perfectly timed, brain-numbing left hook.

It was a punch that the tough former world and British champion didn't see coming, and it erased any doubts regarding Pacquiao's greatness in the minds of many.

Many, that is, except Mayweather.

At an undefeated and unbelievable 40-0, Mayweather truly believes he is the man, the greatest ever, and he very well could be.

Pretty Boy literally put on a boxing clinic last month against a fighter many including this writer felt was the true holder of the pound-for-pound title, Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez.

I had Marquez beating Pacquiao in both their fights, not just the second one.

So the win over Marquez in my eyes was a career-defining performance which demonstrated Mayweather's supreme dominance in the sport, and it should be solid proof to us all that he is undoubtedly at the top of the food chain when regarding the world's pound-for-pound boxers.

Pacquiao, however, has achieved his own level of greatness, mostly in his home country of the the Philippines, where little Pacman Pacquiao was transformed from a mere ambassador for the sport of boxing to a great ambassador for the entire country, and he is now nearing sainthood.

In the words of his promoter, Bob Arum, "he could, one day, become President."

After all but ending the brilliant careers of boxing legends like Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar De La Hoya, and now Hatton, Pacquiao has likely surpassed the legendary Pancho Villa as the greatest Filipino boxer ever to emerge from the great island nation.

A few months ago I wrote an article asking the question that I felt was in the minds of many fans at the time, which was: Will Pacquiao bring Mayweather out of retirement?

Whether it was actually Pacquiao who brought him back or not—who knows?—the fact remains, Mayweather has returned, and now he wants to reclaim what he feels is rightfully his: boxing's No. 1 pound-for-pound throne.

Although public popularity has eluded him, it's a well-known fact that Mayweather has enjoyed many career-defining wins against great names such as Zab Judah, De La Hoya, and Hatton; thus, the recent win over Marquez leaves no doubt in the mind of this writer that Mayweather is still the true King.

With the absence of greats like Joe Calzaghe and Oscar De La Hoya, some doors have been closed forever, but, thankfully, others have been re-opened.

With tonight's win over a very game Cotto, Pacquiao will undoubtedly take the next step along the road toward a super fight with Mayweather, and I'm predicting that he will do just that.

If he does, boxing fans who were ecstatic before at the potential of a Pacquiao vs. Mayweather super fight will then be even more eager to witness the history-making boxing event which could potentially take place next spring.

Like those popular and well-hidden wild flowers—the ones that only bloom once a year, during May—I'm sure much more will be revealed in the early quarter of 2010.

I wish them both luck.

—Poem by Floyd Mayweather Jr.

UFC Weekend 105 Preview: Randy Couture "The British Are Coming "

Stoker — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:23:52 -0500

"The British are coming" was the cry heard by American soldiers during the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, and the man who shouted it, Paul Revere, will forever live on in the minds of United States citizens as a silent reminder of the patriotism of that historic time.

This weekend, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, led by "Captain America," Randy Couture, will be staging its 105th event and, once again, setting sail for overseas into English territory.

This time it's the Americans who are coming, and the UFC's No. 1, 170-pound welterweight contender and lethal cage-fighter Mike Swick had better be firing on all cylinders on Saturday when he faces the dangerous up and comer Dan Hardy of the UK.

Swick, a 30-year-old native of Houston, is representing one of the foremost MMA Stables in the world, American Kickboxing Academy, and he is—for all intents and purposes—a masterful kick boxing-style fighter.

From the referee's signal to fight, Swick wastes no time cutting off the cage and applying pressure to his retreating opponents, who are unwary of his hand speed and accuracy.

Then, utililizing his nickname, he—quickly—displays his fearsome blitzkrieg style of attack which brought sudden endings to more than half of this lighting like pugilists previous 14 contests.

This game plan, which we have witnessed many times before, was also was used by Matt Serra in his defeat over Georges St-Pierre; it's quick, lethal, and extremely effective—and Swick has it down to a science.

Secondly, in Swick's diverse arsenal is his self-proclaimed Swick-o-tine.

It's a product of Brazilian jujitsu, or judo, known as the guillotine-choke-hold. Pressure to the throat from the forearm is an air-choke, the other form, where the neck is cranked tightly, proceeds to cut-off arterial blood flow to the brain, both types will cause sudden, and painless unconsciousness.

Quick Swick has mastered—and perfected—this move, and he applies it while having his opponents back firmly trapped against the cage. And you can be sure that—once Swick gets his hooks (feet) in the proper position, there will be no escape other than tapping or snoozing.

Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy is indeed the real deal. He has extremely impressive past UFC wins against Rory Markham and Akihiro Gono, but his most impressive performance was a win his last time out against Marcus Davis.

Davis, who calls himself "The Irish Hand Grenade," has a background in amateur and professional boxing and is known to have lethal hands.

Yet, in this writer's opinion, he lacks solid defense and as a result gets hit far too much resulting in losses which are, to say the least, ugly to watch.

Hardy faced off with Davis at the UFC's 99th event held in Cologne, Germany, in June of this year. It was a brawl and a grudge match of sorts between the two which began with Davis, who has Celtic roots, bragging about the success he enjoyed against British sub-par opposition.

Whether this was all hype—prearranged to boost promotion for the fight—is unknown to this writer. But the smack-talking got serious when Hardy began openly insulting Davis and calling him among other things, a "wannabe Irishman," and jokingly saying that Davis' internet site resembled an explosion at a St. Patrick's day gift shop.

What was explosive, however, was the three-round-war waged between the two, which went to Hardy by a narrow split-decision margin, and justifiably so.

Also, noteworthy to mention that, since that time, there have been many rumors regarding a rematch, which would undoubtedly promise to be another great fight.

First thing's first, however; The Outlaw from Manchester, England, needs to sneak "quickly" past—pardon the pun—a much improved, and more dynamic Swick, a fighter who I contend has all the tools to give the current 170-pound champion—and my countryman—Georges St-Pierre, all he can handle.

Hardy versus Swick will be the fight to watch in my opinion, a win for either man is of the utmost importance here, a title shot is up for grabs so everything in the both fighters careers is on the here, thus, a stand-up striking fan's dream match should ensue, and I'm more excited to see it than the headlining event.

The main course in this British-cage-fighting-pot-luck-supper, involves an over-the-hill Couture, struggling to hang on to his fading youth, against Brandon Vera, a younger, bigger, stronger, and much tougher competitor in comparison to Couture at this point.

Honestly, I love Couture's fights—his longevity in the sport of cage-fighting is stoic and admirable. However, my true feelings are that it's time for "The Natural" to hang em up for good.

The other match-up doesn't thrill me. It involves Michael "The Count" Bisping, who will be attempting to get back on track against part-time Canadian cage fighting veteran Denis Kang, after being cold-cocked by Dan Henderson earlier this year.

All in all, this event with the added USA vs. Britain flavor should leave us bloodthirsty fans with our fight cravings quenched and satisfied, so good luck to all fighters, no matter which country they hail from.

UFC 105, Saturday, Nov. 14, at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England.

"Strike Farce": Dana White Unimpressed by Fedor Emelianenko Vs. Brett Rogers

Stoker — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:10:41 -0500

In a just released news article, published only an hour ago by yahoosports.com's excellent scribe Dave Meltzer, which can be found here, Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White aims low and fires both barrels in the direction of a recently held—CBS prime time-aired—cage fighting event known as Strikeforce.

“CBS made its biggest mistake partnering with a tiny, small show with a roster no one cares about,” said White. “Just because you read on MMA.TV that someone is a superstar doesn’t make it true. This should prove that no one out there gives a [expletive] about Fedor.

“We’re pulling those numbers on Spike,” White said. “I mean, how the [expletive] is what they did considered any good in any way, shape, or form? What kind of numbers do you think we would pull with a live show on CBS? I’ll tell you. Huge. It would be significantly, significantly more than what they got with these idiots from Showtime.”

Is he right?

Well, unfortunately in many ways, and in the opinion of many experts including this writer, the answer is a resounding yes.

It's very unfortunate, however, to those of us who aren't rolling in the green stuff and wish there were weekly shows with real live sanctioned cage fights.

Because, honestly—the soap opera atmosphere, along with the umpteen million commercial ads for video games we have to put up with now on the weekly episodes of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV, leaves something to be desired.

President White points to Spike TV and his reality show baby TUF in the above article, stating that he has a much better product, which offers more bang for the buck; and predictably he also mentions the rare times one of his larger pay-per-view events is generously aired on the network for free.

Here is where I get a little skeptical, because my feelings and intuitions are that Mr. White only airs these freebies during weekends where he is challenged by other promotions and has no other choice but to try and compete.

Times such as this weekend, when his British UFC event will showcase an "over the hill" Randy Couture, who continues to fight on name recognition, facing a confident but questionably skilled up and comer named Brandon "The Truth" Vera.

The event will be aired live and free of any PPV charge on White's beloved Spike, which—by the way—has a partnership/sponsorship contract with Zuffa, which owns the partial rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

So in the eyes of this writer, this weekend seems to be a classic case of "charity begins at home."

Because a closer look will tell us White's reasoning for his generosity is not so much to do with his love of us loyal fans, but more so with the fact that he happens to be up against the king of PPV number-grabbers, Filipino boxer Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, which airs on the same night.

Pacquiao was mobbed by more than 1,000 cheering fans on his arrival at the MGM Grand on Tuesday and is certain to attract most of the support at the 16,000-seat arena on Saturday when he faces Puerto Rican superstar boxer Miguel Cotto.

For those of us who scoff at the monopoly that the UFC has over cage fighting, and the way we hate to slap down our hard-earned $50 for a night of controlled mayhem, in many ways, the free major event on Spike this weekend will be a blessing.

White is most certainly doing the right thing by not attempting to go "head to head" with Pacquiao in the PPV numbers department, where he would undoubtedly lose by a huge margin.

For fans such as me, it will be a "two for the price of one" package, because I'll pay for the boxing and record the UFC cage-fighting event.

Honestly, it would be nice to see all of these combat sports promotions and lowlife promoters somehow coexist in this wonderful world of pugilism.

Because I believe the fans who—let's face it—pay the salaries and the wages of these crooks are the ones who should ultimately—excuse the pun—get to reap the benefits.

I, for one, can't seem to ever get enough of this stuff, whether it be Strikeforce, UFC, or even a Bob Arum Top Rank or Golden Boy Promotions boxing event—I want it all and then some.

Yet whether the big American network CBS/Showtime can compete with the UFC and continue to give us these great free fights—similar the ones we saw last Saturday night—is anybody's guess.

There is only one aspect in this scenario which I know for sure.

Fedor Emelianenko in a televised fight against anyone—even in an empty parking lot with the town drunk at a local 7-11—would still be a huge spectator draw. So if they keep showing his beat-up face—on CBS prime time—they can't go wrong. The viewers will continue to show up.

The way he gets clobbered by these no-name fighters before thrilling his fans with the big one punch knockout is the perfect story to try to sell to any audience.

Best of luck to Strikeforce and Emelianenko going forward—they both will need it.

Stokermac Mma

Thank you to Loretta Hunt (sherdog.com) for the photo.

Is Fedor Emelianenko the Iron Mike Tyson of Cage Fighting?

Stoker — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:42:40 -0500

The Russian heavyweight mixed martial arts cage fighter known as Fedor Emelianenko won his national television fighting debut in style last Saturday night, when he came back from the brink of defeat to end the night for Brett "The Grim" Rogers with a bone-crushing overhand right to the jaw.

The Rogers vs. Fedor matchup was the headliner in the event—which was a collaboration between Strikeforce and Russian M-1 global promotion,—and after being served up hot off the grill—on CBS prime time television—the result was certainly a satisfying feast of pugilism, which undoubtedly quelled even the most casual fight fan's appetite for blood and violence.

Long before the Emelianenkos, the Strikeforces, or the sport of cage fighting became popular, it was boxing's heavy-handed pugilists who thrilled the world with their concussive short-circuiting of opponents' messages from brain to legs.

In boxing, one could find the solid punchers, the slick lateral movers, and the crafty jabbers, but more importantly, the most devastating knockout artists in the world.

Very much similar to Emelianenko, there were plenty of power-punching heavyweights in boxing who could also knock their opponents out cold with one well-placed crack on the jaw.

Names like Sonny Liston, who—after learning to fight while serving time at one of America's toughest prisons—went on to become one of the greatest punchers of all time with two huge knockout wins over the dominant heavyweight champion at that time, Floyd Patterson.

Before Liston came along there was another great young heavyweight named Joe Louis, who once fought a fighter named King Levinsky. Levinsky was so incapacitated by fear and frozen by his panic—concerning the fight with Louis—that he literally had to be carried to the ring.

No other boxer in history, however, was as feared, avoided, and revered for his murderous punching power as the man known as "Iron Mike."

Mike Tyson—by today's standards—was quite small for a heavyweight—a mere 5'11" and only 220 pounds—yet he could generate such devastating power from his tree trunk-sized legs and upper torso that he could literally knock out his foe with either hand.

Tyson also possessed another advantage, known as the "the fear factor"; his reputation for knockouts preceded him, thus he intimidated his opponents by his mere presence.

So badly, in fact, that most of them were beaten even before stepping into the ring with him.

Michael Spinks nearly fainted during the playing of the national anthem before his June 1988 knockout encounter with Tyson and at times seemed to be running to escape the oncoming pressure fighter.

There was no escape.

Spinks was knocked out cold in 91 seconds and never laced up gloves again.

That fight—many experts including myself feel—was during the brief period in which Tyson was undoubtedly at the fighting prime of his career.

Tyson, a pressure fighter, threw mostly all power hooks to the body and head, which came upward from his legs like a coiled spring. Very seldom could he be seen throwing a left jab or a straight punch, and that, I feel, is what led to his diminished skills later in his career.

While watching Emelianenko duke it out with Grim Rogers Saturday night, I couldn't help but reflect upon the historic boxing upset match between James Buster Douglas and Tyson in June of 1990.

Grim Rogers was not intimidated in the least by Emelianenko, so there was no fear factor; also to his credit, he had the presence of mind to see many openings—and that Emelianenko was vulnerable for a left jab, so he used it and scored well with it, breaking the Russian's nose.

Douglas, on the other hand—in his match with Tyson—literally picked the champion apart with many left jabs and followed them up with hooks, straight punches, and uppercuts.

The great lateral movement to Tyson's left—utilized by Douglas—also negated any opportunity for the champion to plant his feet in the proper way in order to unleash his knockout-style hooks, which he previously had become famous for.

I think Grim Rogers had the correct game plan, and he executed his boxing game well against the Russian, but not well enough.

Rogers needed more of those nose-breaking jabs and also—with lateral movement—to circle away from the right hand power of the Russian.

Of course, a boxing match it wasn't, and it also wasn't Buster Douglas facing Emelianenko. However, the Russian's stand-up punching game—in my opinion—is very similar to Tyson's.

Emelianenko loads up on every punch, is beatable with a jab and straight punches, and I feel if he ever found himself in the big show, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, he might need to learn a little bit more than that old, Hendo vs. Bisping style "look low, go high" punch.

It's old, and he has used the same punch in back-to-back fights with Andrei Arlovski and Rogers, and even though it has produced great crowd-thrilling results, someone, someday soon, is bound to solve that very simple equation.

However, there shouldn't be any fear of that happening at Strikeforce any time in the near future, as his next opponents will be hand-picked from the two Brazilian "Tomato Cans" which nearly put us to sleep on the undercard.

The ones who took turns playing slap-fest-patty-cake for three full rounds.

Yes, I'm speaking of Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva and Fabricio "Were-done" Werdum.

One of these two wannabes is a UFC exiled fighter, who regardless of hype and black belt credentials couldn't make the cut in the big leagues of the UFC.

The other, Silva—a subpar fighter and Sasquatch lookalike—has also gone as far as he is going. However, he will make a great gift for Emelianenko somewhere down the road, at a future Strikeforce event.

So it looks to be "business as usual" for Emelianenko, safe and sound at Strikeforce; because if not for the unforeseen future, there isn't another James Buster Douglas anywhere in sight.

Fluky Fedor Strikes Again: Emelianenko Survives Against Brett Rogers

Stoker — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:21:35 -0500

A well-known poem by famous writer and poet Rudyard Kipling appropriately describes the courageous underdog known as Brett "Grim" Rogers. Part of it reads:

If...you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss...

The cage-fighting event known as Strikeforce took place last night and was witnessed by millions of dedicated MMA fans around the world on CBS TV.

No, the Russian version of Thor didn't show up in his Chariot drawn by Golden Stallions, as planned by his followers.

Instead, he arrived as a fallible human being—albeit also a very arrogant one.

This Russian cage-fighter, a foreigner, thought himself far too great—and holier than thou—to grant a beautiful American CBS reporter a pre-fight interview.

Instead, he sent his wannabe training coach and an overweight female interpreter to take his place.

And as for the fight? Well, the Russian didn't do so good—during the first round—in that area of expertise either.

He resembled a very beatable cage-fighter, one who belongs in these subpar promotions, against these less-than-stellar ranked heavyweights.

My background is in boxing, and from where I stand, Fedor Emelianenko has many weaknesses.

One of them is his inability to throw straight punches, and another is his vulnerability to be hit with said straight punches.

He also has a ravenous appetite for eating left jabs, which may be strategically placed upon his ugly Russian chin or nose at any point during the match.

We first saw this when he fought Andrei Arlovski, and then once again last night when —with only seconds gone into the match—Emelianenko received an enormous left jab from Rogers that caused considerable deviated septum damage and spattered his Russian blood some two feet into the air.

Yes—from a very tough and durable Rogers, during the first five minutes, the invincible Emelianenko was reversed on the ground, took left jabs to the face, was beaten up, and tossed around the cage like a rag doll.

Rogers undoubtedly isn't feeling too well this Sunday morning after being knocked down and stopped by a tricky Emelianenko looping overhand right, but the great invincible Russian hype machine is also licking his wounds and certainly knows he took a first-round beating.

Arlovski and Rogers both "got caught" by the same punch, and both made amateurish mistakes.

In Arlovski's case, he may have perceived that Emelianenko was no longer dangerous, but just as any good hunter will explain, it's never a good idea to move in on a wounded animal without a loaded gun.

In Rogers's case, he emerged in the second-round up on his toes dancing, possibly also a slight bit cocky but certainly not doing what he should have been doing, which was moving to his right, away from the Russian's power hand.

Another mistake Rogers made that was similar to Arlovski's was thinking that Emelianenko was fatally wounded, finished, or hurt.

The Russian hype machine is also a ferocious Siberian white tiger, and only the "coup de grâce" will finish him, and unfortunately Rogers failed to do that in premier moments of round one.

In this case, as was also the case with Arlovski, the hunter got eaten by an only slightly hurt wild Russian boar, an animal which should be respected and always approached with extreme caution.

Let's finish off with the rest of that verse from Kipling:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And—which is more—you'll be a Man, my son!

Strikeforce MMA Result: Gegard Mousasi Stops Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Stoker — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:37:20 -0500

Gegard Mousasi retained his Strikeforce light-heavyweight championship belt and improved his outstanding record to 28-2-1, 15 KOs, with a second-round ref stoppage over a very "game" Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou live on CBS Saturday night.

Mousasi is now on a 15-fight winning streak, notching another victory after coming off his greatest performance to date—a spectacular first-round crowd-thrilling knockout over Renalto " Babalu" Sobral at the last Strikeforce event in August on the Gina Carano-Kris Cyborg undercard.

Tonight, Sokoudjou, a black belt in judo, showed why he is one of the most highly respected fighters in the game, by giving Mousasi his hands full in the first round and taking the champion to the mat numerous times in the second before being mounted, dominated, and subsequently pounded into submission.

Soko was much stronger physically than Mousasi, or so it seemed, and also displayed much better wrestling and judo technique, which served to baffle the quick-handed champion somewhat.

However, Mousasi, being an outstanding grappler and a member of the Red Devil International Sport Club, has amazing natural hand speed, which, during his youth, allowed him to become a boxing champion in the Netherlands at the amateur level.

The hard accurate pinpoint striking from Mousasi was what made the difference in this match.

The 24-year-old Mousasi isn't a household name as of yet; however, if the elite Dutch-Armenian kickboxer continues to thrill fans with his winning ways, as he did tonight, he will soon be on his way to being just that.

My personal feelings are that Mousasi is one of the top cage-fighters in the game, but it's also my opinion that he is playing in the wrong field; he would gain much better exposure in the top organization, The Ultimate Fighting Championship.

I'm also hoping, as a fan, that Mousasi—if he plays his cards right, and depending on the uncertain future of Strikeforce and Dream fighting promotions—will find himself competing there one day, against arguably some of the greatest fighters in the world.

Recently, Mousasi has been in a war of words with former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho, who stated that he would like to compete in a "winner take all" match with the newly crowned Strikeforce champion.

This would be a great matchup and certainly a possible one, as both fight for the same organizations, both are young, and both are quick-striking-style fighters. And both certainly have their greatest fights yet to come.

Best of luck in the future to this outstanding young cage fighter.

Fedor Emelianenko: "It's My Favorite Sweater"

Stoker — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:31:52 -0500

Fedor Emelianenko (30-1, 1 NC) will face undefeated Brett "The Grim" Rogers (10-0) during the main event of this weekend's MMA event known as Strikeforce, which can be viewed live on CBS TV this coming Saturday night.

The fight is set to roll about 48 hours from now, but one question still remains unanswered.

Emelianenko wears one particular sweater constantly, and many people, including me, were wondering why the overrated Russian hype machine—who, by the way, is considered by many "opinionated" fans as arguably the world's top heavyweight MMA fighter—has such incredibly poor taste in clothing.

Emelianenko, in this recent video, talks to FanHouse's Ariel Helwani about his favorite sweater.

For more, check out http://www.mmafanhouse.com

Is Brock Lesnar Causing Shane Carwin a Minor "Mono" Nuclear Catastrophe?

Stoker — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:49:52 -0500

According to the Ultimate Fighting Championship's No. 1 heavyweight contender, Shane Carwin, on his official website, his scheduled Jan. 2010 fight with current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar has now become a somewhat confusing "vision quest" rather than an actual reality.

Although no official word is currently available as to the status of the UFC’s heavyweight champion Lesnar or his current condition, since the rumor first broke, he has been accused of having everything from HIV to H1N1.

Now, according to many highly unreliable sources, Lesnar is said to be suffering from mononucleosis, an illness which is often spread by saliva and at one point during the '70s and '80s was well known and contagious among teenagers, and therefore dubbed “the kissing disease.”

Carwin voices his frustration on his Internet site in his recent entry:

"Guys my manager Jason Genet just told me that UFC 108 is not happening. Brock has Mono and what the UFC has told me is that I have earned the title shot but I have to wait for the title holder.

"I hope Brock gets well soon. I highly suggest he get into a Max Muscle store because they have the best advice and supplements to support that advice. It really is the only way to make it through the grueling weather and training we live through.

"Here's to spending some time with the family and eating as much as I can at Thanksgiving.

"Thanks to my amazing sponsors Max Muscle, Beaver Buzz Energy, PerformanceMMA, Nightrider Jewelry, MTX Audio, and Warrior Wear. "

—Shane

Unfortunately, not a lot is known about the 34-year-old from Greeley, Colorado, and other than the fact that he is undefeated through 11 fights, six by knockout, only one of Carwin's past wins can be considered "high-profile."

That one was his extremely impressive "back from the brink" knockout—after being wobbled and tossed to the mat—by Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 96 last March.

Carwin remained calm, weathered the early storm from Gonzaga, and with one short right-hand punch to the chin ended the night for the highly touted Brazilian contender.

If it is true that patience is a virtue, and pride is one of humanity's greatest emotions, then it goes without saying that Mr. Carwin has an obvious, healthy abundance of both.

Let's be honest, Carwin certainly has not made a large amount of cash for his past prizefighting endeavors, so this upcoming fight with Lesnar could easily be compared to someone awarding him a large monetary paycheck and then demanding he not spend a dime of it.

Any normal heavyweight cage fighter in this precarious position would undoubtedly be confused, angered, and certainly frustrated, to say the least.

Yet not only does he seem unshaken, stirred, or even fizzed by the current events surrounding Lesnar, Carwin is also extremely polite and even wishes Lesnar well and bids him a quick and speedy recovery.

Carwin, in demonstrating his respect for Lesnar, is saying a lot about himself as a person and an athlete. He seems to possess the qualities necessary to become a success in any future endeavor he should embark on.

Self-discipline, courage, honesty, and hard work: These are the qualities of a true champion, and I wish Carwin luck and hope he gets his long-awaited title shot, because if he didn't deserve it before, he certainly does now.

Hang in there, Carwin. All good things come to those who wait.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Could Be the Next Test for Cain Velasquez

Stoker — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:45:17 -0500

According to a recent article that can be found here, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend and former UFC interim heavyweight title holder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is set to face the undefeated heavyweight and cage-fighting steamroller known as Cain Velasquez (7-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) on Jan. 2 at UFC 108.

The Southern California native Velasquez is a Mexican-American heavyweight fighting machine—a solid 6'1", 240-pound self-proclaimed chain wrestler who fights out of San Jose at the American Kickboxing Academy.

He now stands undefeated through seven fights—five by knockout. Velasquez was coming off the biggest win of his career—against Cheick Kongo at UFC 99—when he continued his winning ways in front of his hometown crowd at the Staples Center in LA last month at UFC 104.

With that superbly fought and truly dominating victory performance over a very game Ben Rothwell, this talented young UFC heavyweight will now undoubtedly face the toughest test of his MMA career against "Minotauro" Nogueira.

Nogueira is a grappler who is as tough as they come and also a legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu submissions expert.

"Big Nog," as he is known in MMA circles, made his name in the now defunct organization known as Pride Fighting Championships and is coming off a huge win recently at UFC 102 over the ageless UFC pioneer Randy "The Natural" Couture.

This has the look of a great technical battle between two of the best heavyweights in the game.

If Velasquez can keep the fight standing, it will allow him his best chance of winning due to Nogueira's obvious lack of boxing skills and punching power. In addition, the Brazilian Minotauro has also demonstrated somewhat of a fragile chin in past and recent fights against Tim Sylvia and Frank Mir.

However, if the fight does happen to go to the mat, I would most definitely give the advantage to Nogueira, who is a tricky BJJ specialist and also possibly the best heavyweight submission fighter in the game next to Mir.

In this writer's opinion, it should ultimately be a classic duel between a great wrestler and a legendary submissions expert, yet I feel that the sheer physical strength and punching power of Cain will be the overlooked factor here.

I'm predicting another impressive victory for the young Mexican Velasquez, who will become seemingly unstoppable and continue to mow down a path of destruction toward his future UFC heavyweight championship title shot sometime next year.

Will a Brett "Grimm" Rogers Upset over Fedor Emelianenko Shock the UFC World?

Stoker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:38:18 -0500

"He's flat-footed, and has no technique, but he can punch, that always helps.

He's accurate. He'll follow you right to the floor, so he's aggressive. But that aggressiveness can be used to an advantage, I think.

"If you give him momentum, he'll kill you."

"A lot of guys lose the fight before it starts, because he is similar to Mike Tyson, guys are scared of him. So the mental game is so important that you can't be scared. You have to be fearless against him."

The fighter whom boxing trainer Freddie Roach was referring to in the above quotes, originally published in this Sports Illustrated article , is none other than the mythical former Pride FC heavyweight champion and current WAMMA title-holder, Fedor Emelianenko.

Roach was hopeful, if nothing else, that the man who he had just finished weeks of training with—Andre "The Pitbull" Arlovski—would somehow be able to stick to a game plan and emerge the victor over Emelianenko, whose rumored greatness, in this writer's opinion, still remains very much unjustified.

Emelianenko is nothing more than "the best of the minor leagues," an untested and as-yet-unproven heavyweight cage-fighting urban legend.

Still, in the imaginative young minds of many of his 15-year-old fans, Emelianenko remains the equivalent of some larger-than-life legendary ancient Greek war god.

Such as Thor, who was the famous Scandinavian lightning-bolt-tosser, the bearded, burly, red-headed Lord of Thunderstorms.

If you will excuse this writer's embellishment here, it's as if Emelianenko ruled the now-defunct Pride FC, with a magical golden hammer, while seated in a silver chariot pulled by two powerful winged stallions.

He would then propel his Russian Hammer and Sickle through the air with scalpel-like precision, beheading all 30 of his former low-level opponents.

Sorry, kids, "here in the real world," Emelianenko is just an ordinary man. Nothing concerning his personality or demeanor speaks to any Greek legend.

Emelianenko is of average height, 230 pounds, and certainly possesses no such "winged chariot" or "golden hammer"—only two hands and two feet, just like any other human on the planet Earth.

And, although he is a well-known professional cage-fighter, if you met him on the street and you weren't a fan of the sport, you'd likely pass right by him without so much as blinking an eye.

What Emelianenko does possess, however, is a tremendous amount of strength from years of weight training; to add to that, he involves himself in a notorious conditioning program that is said to be the best in the world.

So last January, during the heavyweight WAMMA championship fight in Anaheim, Calif., Roach's hopes and predictions for his fighter—Arlovski—were short-lived.

Because—although he was winning the fight in superb fashion with accurate well-timed combinations—Arlovski, perhaps sensing that the end was near, decided to abandon Roach's carefully crafted game plan and do a little improvising on his own.

After delivering an effective front kick to Emelianenko's midriff, which sent the Russian hype machine reeling backward against the cage, Arlovski obviously became far too overly excited.

Arlovski, with only 10 seconds left in the round—attempted a flying knee but instead ran head on, crashing full force into Emelianenko's fastball-pitcher-style overhand right.

Emelianenko scored a home run that night, only instead of a baseball, it was Arlovski's head that almost landed in the upper-deck.

Next batter? Well the man on-deck is undefeated cage warrior Brett "Grimm" Rogers.

Rogers is 10-0 and a 6'5", 265-pound mountain of a man, and he plans to make it 11-0 when he faces Emelianenko, who is now 29-1, 1 NC, in the latest event offering from the MMA promotion known as Strikeforce, which can be viewed live on CBS TV this coming weekend.

Yes, Rogers is the proverbial underdog, a dark horse, a long shot—the metaphors are many and the chances of him winning are few, albeit the ol' familiar puncher's chance...that is if he can somehow keep the fight standing.

Grimm definitely brings lots of explosive knockout power; he is a heavy-handed fighter with a boxing technique that would undoubtedly make even coach Roach proud.

And speaking of which, somewhat ironically, "Grimm" has also sent the "banger from Belarus," Mr. Arlovski, to an unplanned trip to dreamland during the opening seconds of their fight, which took place last June.

In 1974, when the greatest heavyweight boxer who ever lived, Muhammad Ali, was preparing to meet the most terrifying fighter in the world at the time, George Foreman, in Kinshasa, Zaire, for the heavyweight championship of the world, he was ridiculed by sportscaster Howard Cosell.

Needless to say, Cosell didn't think much of Ali's chances against the murderous punching Foreman and had become extremely outspoken concerning Ali and his predicted outcome.

The Greatest then retorted by uttering one of my of all-time favorite "Ali quotes."

"Cosell, you told everybody I don't have a chance. You told them I don't have nothing but a prayer," Ali said.

"Well, chump, all I need is a prayer, because if that prayer reaches the right man, not only will George Foreman fall, but mountains will fall, mister!"

The question now, in the minds of many, is if Grimm Rogers can become Emelianenko's "Grimm Reaper"?

If he can, it would bring a welcomed ending to all the hype and hoopla surrounding Emelianenko—which, understandably, so many of us are tired and sick of hearing.

So let's go, Grimm.

Step up to the plate and hit that grand slam to win the World Series. I'll be rooting for you, underdog!

UFC's Patrick Cote: "I'll Be Back in April, Guys"—Does Anyone Care?

Stoker — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:37:38 -0500

The French-Canadian born cage-fighter known as Patrick "The Predator" Cote, who holds a career record of 13-5 overall and is 4-5 in the UFC, has been quoted on SB Nation as saying that he is looking to make a return to action in April of next year.

Well, in the words of the late great Jimmy Cannon: Nobody asked me, but...this writer's reply—in the form of a question—to monsieur Cote would be "who cares?"

Honestly, and with all patriotism aside, my countryman from Montreal, Quebec, may have been great in the subpar world of the Canadian promotion known as TKO, but in regards to his time spent in the UFC, he has never once even slightly impressed me.

When he was a cast member on the reality show The Ultimate Fighter, his exhibition matches put me in a state of frustration.

They showcased Cote as a young wannabe UFC cage-fighter with aspirations of becoming somewhat of a power-punching knockout artist, yet, sadly, it also showed to the world his obvious deficiencies.

Specifically speaking, it continues to be the opinion of this writer, from studying Cote, that he loads up too much and tries much too hard to land that big haymaker.

Most times he delivers them from the wrong distance, and the wrong angle, so he may as well throw water balloons; his punches were not only inaccurate, they were also lacking subtance, and firepower.

He propelled one at the champion-Silva—during thier fight—which "The Spider" shrugged-off as if it was an annoying insect, about to alight on his left shoulder.

To be fair, he did show flashes of good technique with nice counter-punch stoppages over Drew McFedries and Kendall Grove, yet both these men are "far and away" from being top-tier middleweights.

In his match with Chris Lebin—another "tomato can," by the way—they resembled two young male children pinning each other against a playground fence engaged in a game of "who can stomp on whose toes the most."

Cote’s fight with Ricardo Almeda at UFC 86 in July of 2008 was no better; it's one that is surely to go down in MMA history as one of the worst UFC contests ever witnessed—a boring snooze-fest, to say the least.

To add insult to injury, the winner was promised a title shot against the reigning and defending 185-pound cage-fighting superstar Anderson Silva, so is it any wonder that the champion Brazilian "Spider" lacked enthusiasm leading into and also during the fight?

A cat toying with a mouse would undoubtedly have been the best way to describe the match on the night in question, or "another lamb to the slaughter," as they say.

Cote supposedly blew his knee out in the third round of this title fight at UFC 90 last October, but it is this writer's opinion that he should never had been in with such a foe in the first place.

Understandably, there does exist a smattering of fans out there who truly believe that Cote should get credit for making it to the third round, which may justified.

But what does that say about Cote concerning his possibilities of becoming a future threat to the middleweight division?

Is having a strong, iron-clad jaw, or chin, a good enough reason to come back to the UFC and continue to either get injured, beat up, or worse?

I think not.

All I can say—in my poor-man's French—is, “Monsieur Cote, bonne chance, mon ami!”

Kimbo Slice vs. Houston Alexander: TUF 10 Finale Matchup Now Confirmed

Stoker — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:47:09 -0500

According to this NWI Times article posted yesterday, the UFC has scheduled Houston Alexander to face Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson in his UFC debut.

The fight will take place at the scheduled event known as "The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale" on Dec. 5 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas.

The above source also states that the match has been agreed by both to be contested at a special catchweight of 215 pounds.

Alexander, in case you are wondering, is the powerful stand-up striker who took the cage-fighting world by storm by knocking out the established UFC 205-pound mainstay Keith Jardine in 48 seconds at the promotion's 71st event in May, 2007.

Unfortunately, however, they say that "there is someone for everyone," and even though the quote may have been intended for the love-lorn, the saying can also sometimes be applied to events that sometimes unfold in the world of combat sports.

That someone for Alexander came at UFC 78, in the form of a Brazilian brick-throwing knockout artist who was—at that time—an undefeated contender, Thiago Silva.

Silva, a hungry Brazilian headhunter, wasted no time in demonstrating to the packed crowd in attendance that, when it comes to big guns, he has two which are cocked, fully loaded, and able to deliver strikes with magnum force—and are also much more powerful than those of Alexander.

Silva won by TKO referee stoppage in the very first round, as he had the floundering Alexander on his back, mounted, and was raining down heavy power-punches and hammer-fists that were right on target.

This was the beginning of the end for Alexander, and after another quick loss to "The Sandman" James Irvin in April of '08, and a submission stoppage to Eric "Red" Schafer on a Spike-televised UFC Fight Night show, Alexander then quickly disappeared off the cage-fighting radar.

He has since surfaced once again, however, scoring a recent first-round TKO win, albeit in a subpar promotion against no-name opponent Sherman Pendergarst at Adrenaline MMA last month.

According to the source, this upcoming fight with Kimbo—which has been rumored for over a month—was originally going to take place at light heavyweight. But Ferguson, the source said, is not able to make the drop to 205 pounds, and the two fighters then agreed to fight at the 215-pound catchweight limit.

Ferguson tipped the scales at 230 pounds for his fight with Roy "Big Country" Nelson on The Ultimate Fighter show, which was filmed over the summer and was a disappointment for fans and a losing effort for Slice.

After the loss on the show—which was televised on Spike for millions to witness—it still remains a mystery to this writer just how the UFC will justify the upcoming matchup, when it will obviously be focusing on a loser of the reality show.

Maybe the good folks at Spike TV will simply hold it on the basis that fans are clamouring for it, which—depending who you ask—may or may not be true.

In any case, don't blink, because these two are both stand-up slugger-style fighters. As a result, something similar to a bare-knuckle boxing match should likely ensue, and thus the fight may not extend past the 30-second mark before one of the two is knocked out cold.

Randy Couture: "Brandon Vera Is My Stepping-Stone Toward Lyoto Machida"

Stoker — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:10:16 -0400

Later this month, on Nov. 14, the 105th cage-fighting battleship of the Ultimate Fighting Championship—skippered by the ageless "Captain America," Randy Couture—will once again be sailing overseas to Manchester, England.

The main event will showcase Couture, who at 46 is undoubtedly in the winter of his career yet still seeking past glory, hoping that an impressive victory over Brandon "The Truth" Vera will catapult him back to the summit of the UFC's 205-pound light-heavyweight division.

And, likewise, a possible future title shot against the formidable champion, Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida.

The problem this writer sees with Couture's future aspirations is somewhat of a physical one, but to a much larger degree it is most certainly a mental one.

The physical part of the problem is obvious. Vera is a far younger, undoubtedly stronger, and much tougher competitor in comparison to Couture at this advanced point in "The Natural's" long and storied career.

The mental aspect of Couture's problem, however, is a hidden one, and one in which most 46-year-old men at some point get fooled by and subsequently need to deal with.

Somewhere hidden deep inside the cortex, or the complex circuitry of Couture's middle-aged brain, there exists a 22-year-old courageous young warrior, a once highly decorated Greco-Roman wrestler, and a three-time former UFC heavyweight and two-time light-heavyweight champion.

Therein lies the problem.

This younger fantasy fighter, which lives inside Couture's psyche, is undoubtedly still very much a huge part of the middle-aged Couture's career, still driving his bus, so to speak, and likewise could be steering him over the proverbial cliff.

Nonetheless, Couture intends once again to flatten every obstruction placed in front of him on his steep and rugged pathway to the 205-pound championship.

Another part of the problem could be that Couture has had upset victories—when the odds were stacked against him—in the past. Over some very big names, too, I might add.

So besides the obvious, which is the financial gain, it wouldn't take Sherlock Holmes to detect why "The Natural" clings to his past glory, constantly dreaming of regaining it in the way that he sometimes does.

Before Couture's huge and relatively recent upsets over the likes of heavyweight contender Gabe Gonzaga and former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, he was beating up such notables as Chuck "Iceman" Liddell and Tito Ortiz.

Some of those aforementioned cage-fighters are now history, and as a result may no longer be relevant, but there is one who is still very much in today's UFC title mix.

Couture has the better of a trilogy—and a light-heavyweight championship win to go with it—over Vitor Belfort, who will be fighting for the 185-pound title early next year.

Belfort was a young 19-year-old phenom in October of '97 at UFC 15, yet out of his four previous fights before meeting Couture, none had gone longer than the 1:17 mark.

Couture—who, at the age of 34, was even then considered old for the game—demonstrated his signature clinch-wrestling and dirty-boxing skills, annihilating the young Belfort and leaving him in a bloody slump against the UFC's octagonal cage.

Ten years later at UFC 68, Couture was still in legendary form; he had been retired for more than a year, yet the young warrior living deep inside him once again beckoned him onward. Couture sensed he could once again become the heavyweight champion of the world by dethroning Tim Sylvia.

The 6'8" Sylvia was still at that time considered a mainstay UFC champion; he was on a six-fight win streak and was a huge favorite to demolish the older, smaller, and certainly less strong Couture.

Writers such as me thought him to have lost his marbles; not only was Couture going against the odds by moving up in weight, he was an old man fighting a 6'8" Goliath.

However, in normal Couture style, he came into the fight well prepared, with a strong game plan.

In the opening seconds, the elder statesman faked a low kick to Sylvia's legs, and when the big man dropped his hands Couture flattened him. The crowd roared to their feet.

The rest of the match saw Couture totally dominate the much larger champion en route to winning a unanimous decision.

So you see, this upcoming fight against Vera in England at UFC 105 is nothing new to Couture—he is fighting against all odds once again, and even though he is one of everybody's all-time favorites, I can't see him winning this time out.

At the same time, though, I'm sure among his legions of fans worldwide, none will be overly shocked if "The Natural" emerges in victory...and, honestly, I won't either.

Dan Henderson's New Interview Video Sheds Light on UFC Contract Stalemate

Stoker — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:22:19 -0400

The following is a new YouTube.com video posted today concerning the recent high-priced contract stalemate negotiations between the the Ultimate Fighting Championship and one of the greatest 185-to-205-pound cage-fighters to ever lace up the gloves, Dan "Hollywood" Henderson.

For my related article regarding the subject, click here.

For the sake of his many fans, let's hope Hendo reneges on these high-priced demands and looks to move into 2010 by accepting UFC's latest or highest offer, before it's too late.

Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi Welcome Karl "Psycho" Amoussou

Stoker — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:10:56 -0400

According to a recent article posted to the popular cage fighting site known as FiveOuncesofPain.com, the Japanese cage-fighting organization known as DREAM may have acquired another great future MMA prospect by the name of Karl Amoussou.

Details are sketchy at this time, but the article goes on to say that Amoussou—who goes by the fight nickname "Psycho" and who also has accumulated a respectable professional mixed martial arts record of 11-2-1—has signed an exclusive new four-fight contract with the promotion.

Amoussou is 23 years old and, at 5'11" and 185 pounds, he is a solidly built lethal striking and kicking machine, yet, not unlike the man who we discussed in my last article—Pat "HD" Barry—this French-born fighter undeniably may also have a questionable ground game.

Important to note here, however, is that of Amoussou's 11 victories he does have seven by submission, five of them being choke techniques and the other two by armbar.

His fighting style is Savate, Judo, and freestyle out of Île-de-France, and with this announcement he could be joining two other world-ranked and highly touted fighters.

Amoussou would in effect be joining DREAM'S middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi, and WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, which would also effectively add much more "bang for the buck" for their cross-promotional partners, the CBS-backed Strikeforce promotion.

Which, notably, is due to launch its mega TV event next month, headlining its cross-promotional M-1 GLOBAL cash cow in Emelianenko.

Emelianenko will be facing a human grizzly Bear of a man, a powerful knockout artist who is intimidated by nothing and nobody, known as Brett Grimm rogers.

Emelianenko, who has spent most of his career fighting in Japan against subpar opposition, remains unproven at the top level.

The Russian grappler has amazing strength, however, and his specialty is Sambo fighting, which involves grabbing, clinching, and then throwing his opponents to the mat; once this is achieved, he then proceeds to pound them into submission.

As a result of many thrilling wins by Emelianenko in this fashion, many younger fans and also some well-known fighters—who have never faced him—feel he is, without a doubt, the premier heavyweight cage-fighter in the world.

I, however, do not.

In any event, another soldier named "Psycho" Amoussou has been added in the promotional war and ongoing see-saw battle between Strikeforce and the big show, UFC; so stay tuned as the plot continues to thicken with the big CBS event scheduled for Nov 7.

UFC 104: Is Pat "HD" Barry the UFC's Next Top Heavyweight Contender?

Stoker — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:29:03 -0400

The Ultimate Fighting Championship held its 104th event this past Saturday night, and the main event was a controversial one—a virtual technical-striking chess match destined to become one of the most debated cage fights in UFC history.

It's this writer's opinion, however, although he looked bad doing it, the right man won in an extremely close fight.

Surely, a split decision may have also been fair, but that isn't for us to decide.

We are mere mortals who spout our armchair opinions from the comfort of our living room, or the padded chair behind our trusty keyboard, as I am doing this very second.

The bottom line here is that I respect the decision of the three well-qualified and competent judges who sat at cage-side, and who—by the way—all scored the fight unanimously for Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida.

Now that we have dealt with the elephant in the room, I'd like to focus my attention on another animal—a hungry, cage-fighting lion.

This 30-year-old heavyweight is a K1-level striker and quite possibly will also become a new and thrilling addition to the UFC heavyweight picture in 2010.

Pat "HD" Barry is a native of New Orleans and has a fight record of 5-1 using a Sanshou, Muay Thai kickboxing style, taught to him at Duke Roufus Martial Arts Academy by his trainers, Master Shawn Liu, Ernesto Hoost, and Jeff Roufus.

This truly brilliant stand-up fighter demonstrated why he may become a future force in the heavyweight picture on Saturday night when he faced off with his fellow Rufus Academy sparring partner Antoni Hardonk during the televised UFC 104 preliminary fight on Spike.

Barry is only 5'11" and had his hands full with his 6'4" opponent, a heavy-handed Holland fighter who—like Barry—is also trained by the four-time K-1 world champion Hoost.

Barry got off to somewhat of a rough start in the match, as he was the victim of a eye poke from Hardonk, who was pawing at him while trying to establish striking distance.

The courageous and determined Barry weathered the storm and trudged onward, however, and began to mix up his punches and kicks with lighting-like precision, which began to have the effect of chopping the bigger, taller opponent down systematically.

Hardonk, for his part, seemed to be fighting with an inner fury; he refused to touch gloves in the beginning and seemed as if he was on a mission to murder the much smaller Barry.

Sometimes, however, as was the case in this fight, brains will overcome brawn, and although he is a Rickson Gracie-trained blue-belt, Hardonk made a highly questionable move late in the first round when he decided to try and take Barry to the mat.

Barry got the better of the mat exchanges with side control and some very nice ground-and-pound before the the round ended with both men standing—but blood visibly streaming down the face of the Holland fighter.

The second round saw Barry display some of the fastest and most accurate combinations this writer has ever witnessed from a heavyweight cage-fighter.

These were crisp, straight, pinpoint-targeted combos, from exactly the right distance. And, once finding this range, it wasn't long before the Holland kickboxer visited the canvas for the first time during the fight, from a perfect Barry straight right hand.

A flash knockdown, but a knockdown just the same.

Barry then switched to southpaw and began to throw fast right jabs straight to the chin of Hardonk, who by this time was wondering what to do next. He attempted to take Barry to the mat once again but failed.

At the midpoint of round two, Hardonk began to deteriorate from the constant onslaught of Barry's straight and powerfully delivered punches.

And, believe it or not, it's the straight right jab from this highly effective southpaw stance with 230 pounds of Barry's body weight behind it that put Hardonk away for the night.

I'm a longtime fan of kickboxers, going all the way back to "Bad" Brad Hefton during the days on TV's PKA kickboxing events during the mid '70s—and this, my friends, was as good as any kickboxing match I can remember.

A huge win for Barry, who was extremely impressive, and a top-five ranking performance may soon be next for him.

Barry showed the UFC/MMA world that he will soon be a force to be reckoned with, a true contender, and I look forward to seeing him in action again in the near future.

UFC 104: The Cain Valasquez Train Plows Through Ben Rothwell

Stoker — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:02:03 -0400

The Mexican American cage-fighting locomotive named Cain Velasquez could not be derailed at Saturday night's UFC 104 in Los Angeles. He remains hinged on his solid steel track and now seems destined toward a heavyweight title shot.

Coming off the biggest win of his career so far against Cheick Kongo at UFC 99, Velasquez continued his undefeated march toward the UFC title in front of a predominantly hometown crowd at the Staples Center. And with this superbly fought and truly dominating victory performance over a very game Ben Rothwell, the sky should be the limit for this brave young fighter.

The Southern California native Velasquez is a 6'1", 240-pound self-proclaimed chain wrestler who fights out of San Jose at the American Kickboxing Academy and now stands undefeated through seven fights, five by knockout.

After witnessing his last match against Kongo, it was clearly evident to this writer that, being of Mexican heritage, he had also inherited some of that country's notorious God-given resilience, toughness, and natural fighting ability.

And now that he has passed his latest test, it continues to be my opinion that this tremendous cage fighter has the right tools—and also possesses the self-discipline and training regiment necessary—to become the next UFC heavyweight champion.

For those of you who have never had the opportunity to see the current UFC heavyweight champion, the WWE superstar-turned-MMA fighter named Brock Lesnar, he is an amazingly physically gifted specimen.

Lesnar is undoubtedly one of strongest, fastest, and possibly one the biggest of any UFC heavyweight ever in mixed martial arts history.

He is an alpha-male athlete like no other, and he holds a physical advantage over most of the other UFC big guns, yet should he defeat Shane Carwin in his next fight, Lesnar, in this writer's opinion, would be the next logical step and possibly the only true test left for Velasquez.

As for Valasquez's latest fight, it came as no surprise to me that this ultimate warrior would demolish Rothwell in the early rounds, but even if he hadn't, I wouldn't have been too overly concerned.

Mexicans are known throughout the world as the toughest and most durable pugilists in the game—very rarely, if ever, do they give up the fight.

So if he hadn't won it early, he may have won it late, as he demonstrated in his last fight against Kongo.

As the great Bruce Lee once said, "Use whatever works, and take it from wherever you can find it." Velasquez calls himself a chain wrestler, and, whatever that is, it certainly works well for him.

He was dropped early against Kongo, but whatever the grappler lacked in the early stand-up battle, he certainly made up for later in the contest.

Velasquez—with his iron-clad jaw and courageous Mexican-heart—mounted a comeback effort which was amazing to watch.

Velasquez displayed to the world his durability, and he put his never-say-die attitude to work, regained his composure, and trudged onward to victory

Against Kongo—and also last night against Rothwell—Velasquez showed us an outstanding demonstration of hammer-fists, elbows from the top, and superior positioning—not to mention Octagon control. All performed while maintaining relentless pressure and delivering numerous takedowns.

The Mexican American punished Kongo nonstop en route to a unanimous decision from all three judges at cage-side earlier this year; however, last night he wasn't about to leave anything in the judges' hands.

Rothwell, was an IFL standout with a record of 30-6 and was ranked 10th among MMA heavyweights by Sherdog.com; in this fight, he had the proverbial "puncher's chance."

That, however, was the only chance I had given him, as after the Kongo fight it became clearly evident that Rothwell would have his hands full going up against this undefeated and hungry heavyweight who is steadily improving.

Rothwell had been training with the once-reputable Miletich Fighting Systems out of Iowa, yet he had notable losses to subpar fighters such as TUF reality show offal Mike Whitehead and exiled former UFC champions Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski.

Rothwell was continuously hammered on the ground as well as on his feet for the first round, and during the second the same punishment continued until referee Steve Mazzagatti had seen enough; he stopped the fight halfway through the second.

Nothing more than a slight bump in the road for the rocketing Velasquez was all Rothwell proved to be—a road which, barring any of the unusual, unfortunate, or unforeseen pitfalls, will inevitably lead him to the UFC summit.

Whether that future summit meeting will be against Lesnar is anybody's guess, but I, for one, am looking forward to that matchup.

This thrilling new heavyweight contender will undoubtedly make a run for the title soon enough, and if and when he does, there aren't many doubts in this writer's mind that he may also win it.

Dan "Hollywood" Henderson Knocked Out Cold by UFC's Dana White

Stoker — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:32:57 -0400

According to a recent article—posted by John Morgan of the fantastic cage fighting Web site known as MMAjunkie.com—the Ultimate Fighting Championship has dealt a knockout blow in the latest round of negotiations with Dan Henderson.

Except in this case, nobody wins.

"We're at a stalemate right now," UFC president Dana White said, according to Morgan's article. "The money that [Henderson] is asking for would make him by far the highest-paid guy in the UFC."

"You know what's [expletive] hilarious?" White asked. "I went to dinner last night, and [Henderson's] lawyer and (Strikeforce CEO) Scott Coker are sitting at dinner together last night. I said, 'What are the [expletive] odds that out of every restaurant in L.A., the one that I go to, these guys are here?'"

"The negotiations are done," White said. "I made [Henderson] an offer, and I guarantee you the offer that I made him, Strikeforce can't pay."

"I like Dan," White said with a smile. "We're totally cool. You'll never hear me say a bad thing about Dan Henderson, other than he's ugly, and that's just the truth."

In another related article written earlier last month by Loretta Hunt, who is the highly respected combat sportswriter from sherdog.com, Hendo felt he was being ignored and treated unfairly by the UFC.

“Yeah, I’m not real thrilled about that,” Henderson said of the plans, according to Hunt's article. “And I like Vitor (Belfort). He’s a good guy and he’s been around for a long time, but I just don’t understand why he gets to jump to the front of the line, especially when I beat him.”

“I think it’s something that might have slipped their minds, that (that fight) happened. I’m not exactly sure. You’ll have to ask them on that, but to me, that’s what it seemed like.”

"I’m OK with fighting (Marquardt); we just have to come up with a deal. Obviously I feel my value has gone up enough to warrant what I’ve asked for. I don’t think I’m being greedy by any means.”

“There’s a lot of numbers being thrown around out there and I feel I should be paid what I ask for. They feel like, I guess, I’m not worth that though.”

My opinion—for what it's worth—is that Hendo, at 39 years of age, knows he is coming to the end of the line, and likewise, he could possibly be looking for that one last big contract, which, at his relatively young age, would send him into retirement a happy and extremely wealthy man.

He deserves it in my view, and he isn't the first (and won't be the last) to demand it either, except my thoughts are that his methods of attaining what he wants are all wrong.

And here's an example of why.

Back in October of 2007, legendary UFC pioneer Randy Couture gave a press conference and stated adamantly that he was severing all ties with the UFC, leaving two contracted fights, a position as an on-air analyst, and his heavyweight championship behind.

He received $250,000 plus $936,000 of PPV revenue for his comeback against Tim Sylvia, according to the LA Times. He also reportedly received a $250,000 purse for defeating Gabriel Gonzaga, as well as a $35,000 bonus for "Fight of the Night" and $787,000 in PPV revenue.

However, apparently it wasn't enough; he had fought for peanuts during the early days of the UFC, and now that the UFC was-making money, he wanted his much deserved slice of the new, sweet, and lucrative UFC pie.

Eventually, however, Couture had no other option but to reconsider his future plans; the two (White and Couture) reached a new agreement, Couture re-signed for a fair amount, became the new UFC heavyweight champion by upsetting Tim Sylvia, and the rest is history. Things worked out fine.

In one of White's newest YouTube.com blogs—during a recent cage-fight event White was attending to cheer on his cousin's debut match—Couture can be seen laughing it up and carrying on with the UFC president.

Keeping in mind what we now know regarding the past friction between the two, this is a somewhat heartwarming scene, one which may or may not have happened if things didn't turn out for the best a few years ago.

Now I'm not saying that's the case here between White and Henderson, but it very well could be; after all, let's be-honest, money is the root of all evil—it destroys even the best of relationships.

Henderson doesn't strike me as a stupid man, but asking for too much money at this stage of his game and expecting the UFC to fall at its knees and hand it over to him may be an exercise in futility.

Henderson and Couture are both pioneers of the fastest growing sport in the world, and both now have the chance to "cash in" for fights they didn't "cash in" on earlier in their careers, for the simple reason that the money wasn't there.

Yet now, where else can Hendo—or Couture, for that matter—go where they will get the chance to compete at the highest level, for the greatest rewards, other than the biggest promotion?

In all fairness, I feel that somewhere deep inside him, Couture knows that he was wrong to leave the UFC back then, and now, in a very similar way, Henderson is going down that same path.

For the sake of his many fans, let's hope Hendo reneges on these high-priced demands and goes forward with acceptance of the UFC's highest offer before it's too late. Otherwise all this negotiating with the UFC becomes a fruitless effort, and one that he, too, may someday regret.

The Return of "The Iceman": Chuck Liddell Considers His Next Move

Stoker — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:54:14 -0400

“I still love fighting. I don’t know what we’re going to come up with. I’m going to start spending a lot of time training guys or get back in there—one of the two.

“Why would anyone even want to see me fight Kimbo? I have no interest in that fight. Whatever. It is what it is. I guess I’d do it, if that’s who I had to fight to come back.

“I needed some time off; Dancing with the Stars actually gave me something to concentrate on and get in shape on. I just want to get back in shape and stay in shape and start training with people and see what I want to do.

“Dana (White) wants me to look at it, to see how I feel in the gym. I always told him, I want to make that decision in the gym, so I want to get back there and move around with some people and see how I feel. If I feel good, I’m going to keep fighting to come back.”

According to the above quotes from Chuck Liddell in a Sherdog radio interview, "The Iceman" may soon be mounting somewhat of comeback, though, officially, he has yet to retire.

Liddell is the former 205-pound light heavyweight champion of the elite promotion known as the Ultimate Fighting Championship, yet that statement says very little regarding the importance of this once-great, now-legendary kick-boxing-style cage-fighter.

Liddell's name has become synonymous with the UFC and all good things associated with the ever-growing and continuously popular sport of mixed martial arts.

His famous epic fight trilogy with Randy Couture made him a house-hold name, a man's man, and I am extremely proud to admit that—at one point—this writer was one of his biggest fans.

A wide-punching pressure fighter with knockout power in either hand, the Iceman rarely took a backward step and very rarely ever lost.

Still, Father Time catches up with every one of us; he takes no hostages, and even though one may not wish to hear it, there comes a time in every man's life when he must face the music.

It happens to the best of us, and Liddell—even though he was once a great fighter and an extremely well-conditioned athlete—is certainly not exempt from this well-written rule.

This light heavyweight brick-throwing knockout artist, once arguably the best cage-fighter in the sport, started looking, and acting, like a past-prime fighter.

Throwing one punch at a time, without a jab or kick to set it up.

Leaving himself wide open for counter punches, which were signs as real as two flashing amber warning lights.

Worst of all, The Iceman was making amateurish mistakes that led to repetitive and extremely concussive knockouts.

To his high-profile boss, UFC president Dana White, it was worse, a red light of sorts, because as much as he wanted to ignore it...he also knew that his friend's great fighting career needed to come to an abrupt end—and soon.

So for once, most of us agreed with White; Liddell's razor-sharp reflexes had diminished and dulled considerably. Sadly, Father Time had caught up to him.

Yet, he was given one last chance against a former Pride FC star, who, for whatever reason, was also coming off back-to-back dreadful performances in the UFC.

Liddell faced off against a man whom he could have beaten easily five years previous—Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. A fighter who had been choked out by Forrest "Gump" Griffin and who struggled against the virtual cage-fighting antique and MMA pioneer Mark Coleman.

Liddell failed the test in the worst way possible. The Iceman was knocked out cold by a punch he should have easily slipped; it seemed to be highly telegraphed by Rua, yet Liddell's failing reflexes wouldn't allow him to perform the instructions that his brain was sending.

So instead of stepping to the side and slipping it—as he once would have—the punch met his jaw with a sickening thud and Liddell was out of business.

White had seen enough, so the UFC president acted on his own instincts and, almost like a concerned parent, instructed Liddell that his fighting career in the UFC was a done deal.

So now, after being knocked out once again, only this time out of contender-ship for a prize-winning TV dance competition, The Iceman once again comes to the crossroads of his long and successful fighting career.

Let's be honest, no matter what White would have us believe, the final decision will be up to Liddell, but if it were up to his fans, here is one vote for the Iceman's continued retirement.

Liddell has lost four of his last five fights, so who among us would actually pay to see our former UFC fighting hero continue to get embarrassingly knocked out by the UFC's subpar light heavyweight opposition.

Not I.

Unfortunately, I don't have the opportunity to speak to The Icemen, but if I did, I would say chill, enjoy your life, relax, my man—take that much-deserved vacation, go see the world.

You are rich, and at 40 you are most certainly still young enough enjoy your life without being punched in the head by some wannabe champion whose desire is only to make a name for himself by defeating you.

The decision is yours, but please take a good long look at your fight record; you are getting hit far too much and too often. The wins just aren't there anymore, and there are many justifiable reasons for that.

If the choice were mine, I'd toss the four-ounce gloves in the trash, go grab the best looking woman around, and keep on dancin'.

UFC 104: Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida speaks loudy in newest video

Stoker — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:37:21 -0400

If you're a fan of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts—or cage-fighting as I prefer to call it, then you've no doubt heard that the top fight promotion is known as the Ultimate Fighting Championships.

Depending on how closely you have followed it, you may also know that there now exists only a handful of elite-quality fighters competing in UFC nowadays.

Anderson "The Spider" Silva is one, Georges St-Pierre another.

However, another man, who is the current reigning and defending 205-pound light-heavyweight champion, holds trump cards over both these fighters in my opinion.

Of course, the main reason I say this is because, in only his first six fights, he defeated three recognized names in the sport, two of them being former and current champions; Rich "Ace" Franklin and B.J. Penn.

Adding to that unbelievable accomplishment is the fact that, at 15-0, he is one of few UFC fighters who is still undefeated.

Illuminating Live from the LA Staples Center on Oct. 24 at UFC 104, Brazilian cage fighter Mauricio "Shogun" Rua will attempt to slay the undefeated champion and karate master known as the "Dragon," who now holds a vice-like grip on the light heavyweight title.

In this latest video, Machida discusses his future, his upbringing, and best of all, his desire to one day fight the behemoth ex-WWE wrestler known as Brock Lesnar; the current heavyweight champion of the UFC.

In January, and then again in May of this year, Machida showed us masterful displays of punching power; knocking out young up-and-comer and Brazilian brick-thrower Thiago Silva with one well-placed punch. He then moved onward and upward to dethrone champion Rashad Evans in the same jaw-busting fashion.

So now, the once-loud and raucous roar from the Machida critics of last year can no longer be heard; instead, we hear only quiet whispers of respect and awe.

And, if there ever were any doubts concerning his lack of offense, this son of a karate master—Yoshizo Machida—has put those to rest as well.

Maybe we will one day see this master karate cage-fighter Machida move up to the heavyweight division; although whether Lesnar will still be the champion is unknown.

For one thing, Lesnar will undoubtedly have his hands full with his next opponant, Shane Carwin.

To Machida, I say thanks for the thrills so far, and I for one, will always be looking forward to seeing you in any of your future endeavors, no matter what the weight division.

Who's come to slay the dragon?
Come to watch him fall?
Making arrows out of pointed words
Giant killers at the call?
Too much fuss and bother
Too much contradiction and confusion
Peel away the mystery
Here's a clue to some real motivation. - RUSH

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The previous article was rewritten from one which I had written earlier: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/264473-ufc-104-will-mauricio-shogun-rua-slay-lyoto-the-dragon-machida