Bleacher Report - Articles by Derek Bolender

Strikeforce: 'Fedor Vs. Rogers' Live Cageside Blog

Derek Bolender — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:00:05 -0500

6:05 pm ct - The prelims are underway for the Strikeforce: 'Fedor vs. Rogers' event from the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

The fans are filing into the arena and taking their seats and fighters such as Shinya Aoki, Robbie Lawler, and Dan Henderson are just a few feet away from the action, taking it all in.

Continue to tune into my live cageside blog as I give you results and commentary as the action unfolds. The main card is scheduled to go live on CBS at 8:00 pm (ct).

7:08 pm ct - Chicago native Jeff Curran finally gets the crowd stirred as he gets a huge ovation when he enters the cage. His fight ends quickly. His opponent Dustin Neace looks like he may have broken a rib early in the fight. Andrei Arlovski and Clay Guida have entered the building as well.

7:38 pm ct - About a 20 min wait before we go live on CBS network television. The Marloes Coenen/Roxanne Modafferi fight has been the best one so far. Arena is filling up nicely. Just saw Matt Lindland. Clay Guida is literally climbing over my shoulder into the crowd to talk to fans and take pictures. Very cool.

8:02 pm ct - We are live on CBS network television! So many storylines that could unfold in the next two hours. Will Brett Rogers be able to pull off the unthinkable and shock the world? How will grappling specialists Jake Shields and Jason Miller approach one another? Is this a trap fight for Gegard Mousasi? How will Fabricio Werdum deal with the size and power of Antonio Silva? We will find out all the answers very soon. Here we go!

8:23 pm ct - Antonio Silva and Fabricio Werdum start the second round with Silva controlling the entire fight so far. Landed some big shots. Werdum better get this fight on the ground.

8:26 pm ct - The second round ends and both men are gassed. The fight was on the ground on two separate occasions, but Werdum could not secure a submission.

8:32 pm ct - Werdum gets a takedown late in round three and he's trying for full mount but can't quite get it. The horn sounds and this one is going to the judges.

8:48 pm ct - Mousasi and Sokoudjou are trading strikes. This could be a trap fight for Mousasi with nothing really on the line. Mousasi lands some strikes late but loses his balance and gets taken down by Sokoudjou.

Mousasi quickly reverses and gets into side control. One minute left in the round. Mousasi goes for another takedown and ends up on his back but reverses once again.

Very competitive round. Mousasi looks likes he may be having trouble with the strength of Sokoudjou.

8:53 pm ct - More of the same in round two. Mousasi getting the better of the standup, goes for a takedown, ends up on his back, and eventually reverses. Big ground and pound by Mousasi now and the ref stops the fight!

8:57 pm ct - "Mayhem" and Jake Shields are next for the middleweight championship. I cannot wait to see what kind of entrance Mayhem comes up with. I've heard his "dance team" is here.

9:09 pm ct - Mayhem is getting huge love from the crowd and so is referee Big John McCarthy. Round one is underway.

9:12 pm ct - Shields is in full mount after a big takedown. Mayhem is in danger but he is able to get back up. Shields shoots again and takes him down. The crowd doesn't know what to think about this grappling match.

9:15 pm ct - Two huge takedowns by Mayhem as well (never seen anyone throw around Shields like that before) and the first round appears to be dead even. Look for more of the same in the second.

9:18 pm ct - The grappling match continues. Shields gets himself into a dominant position on Mayhem's back. Could this fight be for the right to host season three of MTV's Bully Beatdown? Maybe so.

9:21 pm ct - Crowd is getting extremely restless as round two comes to a close. Shields appears to have a cut on his forehead.

9:24 pm ct - Shields is controlling the grappling match, but it will be hard to finish Mayhem by submission or otherwise. This looks like we could be headed for a long and drawn-out decision.

9:29 pm ct - Wow! Mayhem had Shields' back and was choking him out and the round expired. Shields was in huge trouble and looked like he was ready to tap.

9:31 pm ct - Crowd is booing and then starts a Mayhem! Mayhem! Mayhem! chant. Shields took Mayhem down to begin round four and has been laying on Mayhem the whole time. Big John stands then up. Shields looks extremely tired.

9:36 pm ct - Round five begins and they are clinched up against the fence. Shields looks very small as a middleweight and predictably so. Shields gets Mayhem's back once again. He's been able to do it numerous times in this fight. He works Mayhem to the ground for yet another takedown.

9:30 pm ct - Shields continues his relentless positioning on the ground. Gegard Mousasi walks back into the arena, takes a picture with Clay Guida, and finds a seat. The crowd is more excited about his return than the actual fight going on. Fifth round is up and this is going to the judges. These two simply cancelled each other out on the ground.

10:01 pm ct - The crowd is going crazy for Fedor and everyone is on their feet as round one begins.

10:04 pm ct - Big shots landed by Fedor and he secures a takedown. Rogers is in half guard. We'll see if Rogers has been working on his ground game. Rogers reverses and is on top! He powered himself into that position. Now Rogers is landing huge bombs! Fedor fights back and gets back on top. Awesome action so far.

10:08 pm ct - Fedor has a big cut on his nose. Round two begins. Fedor swinging for the fences with Rogers against the cage but did no significant damage. Fedor isn't exactly conserving any energy.

10:09 pm ct - Fedor lands a huge shot on Rogers and he is down! Fedor finishes him off and Big John calls the fight! The king is still the king. Alistair Overeem or Fabricio Werdum now await the Russian legend.

That's a wrap folks! What a great night of fights!

RESULTS:

Main card:

HW – Fedor Emelianenko (31 – 1, 1 NC) def. Brett Rogers (10 – 1) via TKO (strikes) Rd 2

MW Championship – Jake Shields (23 – 4 – 1) def. Jason Miller (22 – 6, 1 NC) via unanimous decision

LHW – Gegard Mousasi (27 – 2 – 1) def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (7 – 5) via TKO (strikes) - R2

HW – Fabricio Werdum (13 – 4 – 1) def. Antonio Silva (13 – 2) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary card:

Women’s (145 lbs) – Marloes Coenen def. Roxanne Modafferi via submission (armbar) - 1:05 R1

*BW - Jeff Curran def. Dustin Neace via TKO (injury) - 1:39 R1

MW - Shamar Bailey def. John Kolosci via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

MW – Nate Moore def. Louis Taylor via TKO (strikes) - 3:24 R2

WW - Christian Uflacker def. Jonatas Novaes via unanimous decision (29-26, 30-25, 30-25)

*Curran/Nease was fought at 145-pound catchweight after Nease failed to make weight

Note: The Mark Miller vs. Deray Davis undercard fight will not take place.

Gegard Mousasi: Taking on America One Challenge at a Time

Derek Bolender — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:33:52 -0500

When the diffident, unassuming Dutch-Armenian fighter Gegard Mousasi sauntered into the cage in his U.S. debut back in August 2009, it appeared as if he had just wakened from a brief nap in his locker room.

For those who had never seen him fight before, he may have given the impression he was nervous and unprepared.

The reality, however, was the direct antithesis of that judgment. It was and always has been by design.

“The more fights I have the more relaxed I get in cage or ring. It’s all about experience. It’s something that I try to do because I fight better when I am relaxed,” said Mousasi.

After just one minute into the first round his unremarkable entrance had morphed into a dominating and remarkable outcome.

A takedown and some thundering ground and pound prompted referee “Big” John McCarthy to step in and stop the fight.

The reigning, defending Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral was sprawled out on the canvas in a heap of destruction and bewilderment.

The new champion was 24-year-old Gegard Mousasi, who barely even broke a sweat.

“I was expecting a tough fight because Sobral is experienced and a tough opponent. I don’t feel I dominated because the fight was to short, but sometimes fights end quick,” said Mousasi.

The victory over the veteran Sobral was his biggest accomplishment to date.

Mousasi has certainly come a very long way in a short span of time. Fighting all over Europe and Asia he put together a sparkling professional MMA record of 25 – 2 – 1 (currently 26 – 2 – 1 after his victory over Sobral).

Along the way he accumulated both the Cage Warriors middleweight championship and the DREAM middleweight grand prix championship.

He has also defeated some of the top fighters in the world including current Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard, Evangelista Santos, Denis Kang, former Cage Rage light heavyweight champion Melvin Manhoef, and multiple time jiu-jitsu world champion Ronaldo Souza.

The toughest fight of his career, however, is not what you may think.

“Probably my third fight against Gilson Ferreira. I was seventeen and I think he was much older, bigger, and stronger. I didn’t have a lot of experience. I only could box. It was a brawl fight. I did very well but the rules where different. You couldn’t win unless you knocked him out or knock down or a rope escape,” said Mousasi.

Moving forward, he is set to face Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in a non-title bout on Nov. 7 at the Strikeforce/M-1 Global event ‘Fedor vs. Rogers’ that will be broadcasted live on CBS television from the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, IL.

It will be Mousasi’s second consecutive fight in the U.S., where he is trying to ingrain himself in the culture outside the cage as well.

He’s already familiarized himself with American movies, television, and music.

“I really like Robert De Niro. I watch the comedy shows like Married With Children , Friends , Family Guy , and Everybody Loves Raymond . I like all kinds of music artists like Akon. I even listen to Lady Gaga,” said a slightly embarrassed Mousasi.

He is, however, still adapting to a few of the customs.

“Something I don’t understand is the fact you have to tip everybody. In Holland we tip also but there is a big difference between the countries,” said Mousasi.

He may still feel a bit awkward outside the cage, and understandably so, but it is clear he could not be anymore comfortable inside the cage if he tried.

If Mousasi is able to defeat Sokoudjou, he will likely defend his Strikeforce light-heavyweight championship belt in early 2010.

Potential opponents include Muhammed Lawal or Mike Whitehead; however, Strikeforce may also choose to bring in a free agent like Paulo Filho or Ricardo Arona.

What appears to be a clear lack of depth in the Strikeforce light-heavyweight division is an issue that does not seem to bother him.

“With Strikeforce working with DREAM and M-1 Global there will be enough opponents to fight. I feel that Strikeforce has everything to get even bigger. They put up great fight cards, have a good TV deal, and they know how to run their business,” said Mousasi.

He may be content both fighting for Strikeforce and competing in the light-heavyweight division, however, don’t expect either to be long term resting spots.

After all, the majority of the best light-heavyweight fighters in the world reside in the UFC in the form of Lyoto Machida, Mauricio Rua, Rashad Evans, etc...

On the other hand, it’s always been his intention to someday become the heavyweight champion like his good friend and training partner Fedor Emelianenko, the No. 1 ranked heavyweight in the world.

“It’s (competing at heavyweight) something I want to do. It’s a goal of mine,” said Mousasi.

He may also be waiting for Emelianenko to retire before he makes the leap to heavyweight.

Nevertheless, for the time being he’s gaining valuable experience, sculpting his body physically, and continuing to hone his skills against bigger opponents.

He may be having success early, but he does not appear to be making the same mistake that other up-and-coming fighters have fallen victim to in the past, that is, a feeling of invincibility.

Mousasi openly admits his biggest weakness. That is something you will not see a lot of veteran fighters being honest about.

What part of his game does he feel needs the most work?

“Submissions, just because there aren’t a lot of Brazilian jiu-jitsu trainers and fighters to train with that are pure Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I think that’s something I can improve but for that I probably have to train outside Holland so when I get the opportunity I will do that,” said Mousasi.

Self-critical, young, talented, even-keeled, and ambitious; I could not think of any better characteristics for a mixed martial arts fighter to have.

Now let’s all sit back and enjoy his encore performance in America.

Derek Bolender is a regular contributor of fighter interviews and featured articles to CBSSports.com, MMAmania.com, and CNNSI.com, in additional to BleacherReport.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAWriter and at Facebook.com/Derek.Bolender.

Update: Ricardo Almeida Hurt, Jon Fitch Off UFC 106 Card Altogether

Derek Bolender — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:19:54 -0400

The Jon Fitch vs. Ricardo Almeida matchup has been scrapped for the UFC 106 event that was to take place on November 21 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fitch posted details on numerous social networking sites late Wednesday night including this message from his personal Facebook account, "My fight on Nov. 21st is off, Almeida blew out his knee, but I get a bigger better fight instead. Can't say who yet, but lots of you have been waiting for this fight a long time."

I have been in contact with Jon Fitch regarding this matter and he has confirmed the fight is not only off, but that he is off the UFC 106 card altogether.

He would not comment as to who his new opponent would be, but he did reveal that it would not be either of his fellow American Kickboxing Academy teammates Mike Swick or Josh Koscheck.

Matt Hughes would be the logical replacement as he is currently one of the very few welterweight contenders with no upcoming fight scheduled.

Fitch desperately needs a man with the reputation and mainstream appeal of a Hughes on his resume if he wants to be granted another title shot in the foreseeable future.

A win over a prominent name like Hughes would most certainly propel him on the verge of a rematch with current UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, whom he lost via unanimous decision to in his first bid to become champion in a grueling five round battle back at UFC 87 in August 2008.

Thiago Alves is also a secondary option if the UFC decides the want to scrap his tentatively scheduled UFC 107 fight against Paulo Thiago.

An Alves/Fitch matchup would be a rematch of their June 28, 2006 fight at Ultimate Fight Night 5, where Fitch scored a second round TKO.

Who will the UFC decide to pair opposite Fitch? Let the debate begin.

Stay tuned as this story continues to develop.

____________

This story was originally reported by Derek Bolender on MMAmania.com (http://mmamania.com/2009/10/21/ricardo-almeida-injured-fight-against-jon-fitch-canceled-for-nov-21/ )

Derek Bolender is a frequent contributor to CBSSports.com, FoxSports.com, MMAmania.com, InsideFights.com, as well as BleacherReport.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAWriter and at Facebook.com/Derek.Bolender.

Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua: Ready to Shock the World at UFC 104

Derek Bolender — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:01:05 -0400

In 2007, toward the dissolution of PRIDE FC, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was considered (arguably) the top 205-pound fighter in the world.

At the age of 25, he was already one of the crown jewels of the Japanese-based organization highlighted by his 2005 Grand Prix title.

His resume reads like a who’s who list of MMA fighters including victories over former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, current Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (twice), and former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman.

He was the best light heavyweight in the world according to many publications, even during the time Chuck Liddell was executing his reign of terror on the UFC light heavyweight division to the tune of four title defenses, while simultaneously piggybacking the sport of mixed martial arts and dragging it closer to the mainstream.

Once the UFC officially bought out and acquired PRIDE FC Rua was immediately thrown to the wolves stateside.

Rua’s career had been mostly filled with highs up to this point in time, but he would soon be rudely welcomed by numerous challenges that would test his will, not only as fighter, but as a man.

In September 2007, in his UFC debut, he was paired up against Ultimate Fighter Season 1 winner Forrest Griffin.

He entered the bout as a heavy favorite but lost via rear naked choke late in the third round to Griffin. It was a major disappointment for the much-heralded Brazilian.

Rua was noticeably gassed throughout the fight due to poor cardio, most likely due to the fact that he had suffered a knee injury during his training for the fight. Shortly thereafter he had surgery to repair the knee, but his bad luck did not end.

After completing many months of rehabilitation, he once again blew out his knee in training, which forced him to be pulled from a UFC 85 matchup with the aforementioned Chuck Liddell. The recovery and rehab once again would wear on him mentally and physically for many months.

Finally healthy, and some 16 months since he last stepped inside the cage, he took a fight in January 2009 at UFC 93.

An understandably out of shape Rua was able to defeat Mark Coleman via TKO late in the third round, but to most fans and media, it was the epitome of a lackluster performance.

Many now wondered if Rua would ever be even a shadow of his former self.

To be fair, however, any MMA fighter who is removed from training and competition for that span of time would struggle in his return.

After all, being in good physical shape and being in fighting shape are two very different things.

His luck would finally swing in his favor in April 2009 in his next fight at UFC 97 in April 2009, where his performance would be the antithesis of his previous bout.

A vicious left hook by Rua sent Liddell to the canvas in the first round, where he promptly pounded him with hammer fists until the referee stopped the fight.

A healthier, fresher, and better conditioned Rua had now shown glimpses of the kind of fighter he could still be, the kind of fighter he once was.

Subsequently, the UFC management granted him a title match against current UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, which will most certainly be the 27-year-old Rua’s toughest test of his still relatively young career.

“The Dragon,” on the other hand, has become one of the most feared MMA fighters in the world in a relatively short time span.

He has an unorthodox, unique style that has created a matchup problem no man has been able to counteract up to this point. Currently he is 15–0 in his professional MMA career and 7-0 in the UFC.

According to Rua, “I think what makes him so unique is his background, karate, and how he adapted it to his own MMA fighting style.”

He continued discussing his impending challenge stating, “When you fight other fighters, they usually have a background of boxing or kickboxing, striking-wise, so it's something you are used to deal with, as you have been training with those kind of fighters through your whole life so you know their distance, timing, etc…”

Not the case with Machida.

“Lyoto is usually something you never dealt with, or at least not so often, and until you figure his style out, sometimes it's too late. My team and I watched a lot of tapes and did our homework,” said Rua.

It’s true. Machida barely ever gets touched inside the cage, much less defeated.

In other words, Rua is coming into the fight as a heavy underdog.

“During most of my career I was always used to be the underdog. I was the underdog for my last fight with Chuck Liddell. I was the underdog in PRIDE when I fought Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and I was the underdog on the whole PRIDE GP in 2005 so it's nothing new,” said Rua.

It’s familiar ground for Rua, and instead of rejecting the notion, he’s chosen to not only accept, but to relish the position.

“I even like being the underdog. This way I feel I have much less pressure and it's the other guy's obligation to beat me. I feel like I have only the obligation to do my best and I have much more to gain than I have to lose,” said Rua.

UFC 104 on Oct. 24 marks the date that he will try to crack the code that is Lyoto Machida.

It will also mark yet another milestone in the evolution of the much publicized, much talked about UFC light heavyweight division.

It’s a battle between a former world No. 1 trying to work his way back to top of the mountain and the current world No. 1, who is trying to fend off all combatants who have championship aspirations.

“It (championship belt) would mean a lot. It's what we work for, what we train for, and the ultimate goal any fighter can have right now.

"The UFC is the biggest fighting promotion in the world, has the best fighters and I think the 205 lb. weight class is likely the toughest class in the game, so to become the champion in the biggest show and on the toughest weight class means the world, ” said Rua.

Will Rua be able to shock the world and become the first man to ever beat Machida?

“I only want to go in there and do my best. I feel always obligated to put my best effort to give the fans what they want to see, an exciting fight. I want to win and I fight to win.”

In a matter of hours, we will find out if his string of good fortune will continue.

Generation Next: The Top 10 MMA Fighters Under 25

Derek Bolender — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:13:54 -0400

The sport of mixed martial arts is in good hands.

With thousands of new gyms sprouting up all over the world due to the surge in the sport's popularity, and kids honing their skills younger and younger, there should be no shortage of talent in the pipeline for many years to come.

People of all ages are chomping at the bit to participate in the sport. However, a very small percentage of these individuals will eventually make an impact as a professional fighter in a major organization. An even smaller few may even have superstar potential—the ability to challenge for a belt, draw a crowd, and have his name ring out around the world.

Currently, a crop of megastars led by Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, and Georges St. Pierre are carrying the torch, but in time they will leave the sport on top or gradually slide back down the ladder to make room for others.

The revolving façade on the Mount Rushmore of MMA will once again have to be filled.

As the MMA gods look down into their crystal ball and peer into the future, what do they see?

A list of new names and faces trickling out of the proverbial woodwork who, collectively, are a group of young and hungry potential stars-in-the-making.

“Generation Next” is a group of talented fighters who are currently under the age of 25.

Some of the names may be more recognizable than others and they have had varying degrees of success so far in their brief careers.

One thing they all have in common is that they will be instrumental in writing the next chapter in the evolution of MMA.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 fighters under the age of 25:

1) Gegard Mousasi—24 years old—Strikeforce/DREAM —(26-2-1)

At the ripe age of 24 this mild-mannered Dutch-Armenian fighter has already cemented himself as one of the top MMA fighters in the world today.

This teammate and striking coach of Fedor Emelianenko at Red Devil Sport Club is coming off an impressive and dominating performance against Renato “Babalu” Sobral in which he recorded a first round TKO to become the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion.

“The Dreamcatcher” really stormed onto the scene in impressive fashion in 2008 when he captured the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix Championship in Japan.

He defeated Korean judo specialist Dong Sik Yoon, Dutch kickboxer and muay thai wrecking machine Melvin Manhoef, and jiu-jitsu world champion Ronaldo Souza consecutively to capture the title.

To cap off the year he defeated former world heavyweight muay thai champion and K–1 World GP finalist Musashi via first round TKO fighting under K-1 rules.

Cumulatively he was 6–0 in MMA and 1–0 in K-1 in a single calendar year against some of the best competition in the world.

“The Dreamcatcher” is next scheduled to fight Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at DREAM 11 on October 6 in the semifinals of the Super Hulk tournament.

Mousasi continues to make the slow transition from middleweight to his eventual final pit stop at heavyweight, where he eventually would like to follow in Fedor’s footsteps.

Their mutual Red Devil Sport Club teammate Kirill Sidelnikov may already stake his claim to the “Baby Fedor” nickname, however, it may be more appropriate for Mousasi.

2) Jon Jones—22 years old—UFC—(9-0)

Jones burst onto the scene on the undercard of UFC 94 and took it to UFC veteran Stephan Bonnar displaying a wealth of striking and wrestling talent.

He followed that up with another impressive performance against Jake O’Brien at UFC 100, which saw him win via submission in the second round and run his undefeated record to 9 - 0 overall in his relatively brief career.

With a deep 205 pound division sitting in front of him the UFC is slowly feeding him opponents so he continues to master his craft and build up a fan base.

"Bones" may not be a household name yet but someday he could be mentioned in the same breath as the elite fighters in the UFC. It appears to be only a matter of time for a guy who has this much raw talent and natural ability.

3) Jose Aldo—22 years old—WEC—(15-1)

Quick, explosive, powerful, and hungry; these are all adjectives to describe this up-and-coming Brazilian superstar.

This Nova Uniao product is a handful to deal with for any featherweight in the WEC.

His highlight reel flying knee knockout of Cub Swanson just eight seconds into the fight was enough to convince the WEC management to grant him his first title shot.

The win ran his WEC record to 5–0 with all victories coming by way of KO or TKO.

He will now take on current featherweight champion Mike Brown in November in what is the opportunity of a lifetime and the toughest test in his relatively brief MMA career.

4) Jamie Varner—24 years old—WEC—(16-2, 2 no contests)

This Arizona native is the current WEC lightweight champion.

After losing his UFC debut at UFC 62 via submission to Hermes Franca back in 2006 he made the move to the WEC and it has been his best career move to date.

Since joining he has gone 4-0 including impressive victories over quality opponents like Rob McCullough and Donald Cerrone.

The Cerrone fight, which won both men Fight of the Night honors, was stopped by the referee in the fifth round because of an unintentional knee strike from Cerrone.

Varner ended up winning on the scorecards but came away with blurred vision, a broken foot, and a broken hand.

While Varner recovers, the WEC has put together an interim lightweight title match between the aforementioned Cerrone and Ben Henderson, which will take place at WEC 43.

5) Dustin Hazelett—23 years old—UFC—(12-4)

Hazelett, like Varner, has seen his ascension halted by an unfortunate injury he sustained in his preparations for his UFC 96 matchup with Ben Saunders.

This Jorge Gurgel-trained jiu-jitsu black belt had accumulated a 5-2 UFC record up to that point including submission victories over Jonathan Goulet, Josh Burkman, and Tamdan McCrory.

His standup is still very raw, which was evident in his overwhelming loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 82.

His ground game, on the other hand, is world class. Nine of his 12 career victories are via submission.

At just 23 years old he has plenty of time to develop into a more well-rounded fighter.

Make no mistake about it, “McLovin” remains a top tier UFC welterweight and a tough matchup for anyone in the division even at this early stage in his career.

6) Nate Diaz—24 years old—UFC—(10-4)

This Ultimate Fighter season five winner is the younger half of the flying Diaz brothers.

Both have already made a name for themselves in the sport and continue to improve with each passing fight.

They are still honing their skills under the tutelage of Cesar Gracie in California alongside fellow “Scrap Pack” members Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez.

Nate is as dangerous as any UFC lightweight on the ground having registered seven of his 10 victories via submission.

He stormed onto the UFC scene winning five fights in a row. But he certainly has struggled of late losing back-to-back fights against top flight lightweights Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson.

He will look to get back into the win column when he headlines UFC Fight Night 19 on Sep. 16 against Melvin Guillard.

7) Dominick Cruz—24 years old—WEC—(14-1)

Cruz is coming off a dominating performance over previously unbeaten Joseph Benavidez at WEC 42.

At this point Cruz has probably done enough to earn a title shot against newly crowned bantamweight champion Brian Bowles.

The problem, however, is that Bowles is rumored to be out until 2010 due to a broken hand he sustained in his victory over longtime champion Miguel Torres at WEC 42.

He could conceivably wait it out or fight once in the interim.

Nevertheless, his victory over Benavidez went a long way in proving to the world he is a championship-level fighter.

At 135 pounds he is extremely tall and skinny, and uses his long reach to his advantage. He’s a tough matchup for anyone in the division because of his physical attributes and his well-rounded skill set.

8) Joe Soto—22 years old—Bellator FC—(7-0)

Soto has gone from relative unknown to champion over the past few months.

“The Hammer” defeated Ben Greer, former EliteXC bantamweight champion Wilson Reis, and Yahir Reyes consecutively to lay claim to the first ever Bellator FC featherweight tournament championship.

This former Iowa Central Community College teammate of UFC fighters Jon Jones and Cain Velasquez has transformed himself from a pure wrestler to a well-rounded mixed martial artist in a very short period of time.

Look for him to only get better with each passing fight as he progresses in his blossoming career.

9) Jorge Masvidal—24 years old—Bellator FC—(18-4)

This American Top Team product is known for his aggressive and above average striking that is a staple of all ATT fighters including training partners WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown, Thiago Alves, Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago, Thiago Silva, Gesias Calvancante, etc…

“Gamebred” has notable career wins over Joe Lauzon, Yves Edwards, and former IFL lightweight champion Ryan Schultz. However, he has had mixed results so far since signing with Bellator FC.

He was expected to reach the finals and take on Eddie Alvarez in the inaugural lightweight tournament.

He defeated Nick Agallar via TKO in the first round of the tournament but then suffered a disappointing loss to Toby Imada in the semifinals.

He was on the receiving end of a highlight reel inverted triangle choke from Imada that is arguably the best submission of the year in 2009 to date.

He quickly bounced back and submitted Eric Reynolds via rear naked choke at Bellator 12 in June 2009.

Look for him to continue his winning ways some time in early 2010.

10) Rani Yahya—24 years old—WEC—(15-4)

This former Abu Dhabi submission grappling tournament world champion is a menace on the ground where 14 of his 15 career wins are via submission.

Yahya is currently trying to round out his game at The Arena MMA in San Diego, California alongside Diego Sanchez and Xande Ribeiro.

Since losing the WEC bantamweight championship in 2007 to Chase Beebe he has rattled off three consecutive WEC victories and three Submission of the Night awards as well.

He has once again begun knocking on the door for a potential crack at the title against current champion Brian Bowles.

***Note: I did not include anyone that was 25 years old. Only the true "Under 25" crowd (24 years old and under).***

Derek Bolender is a staff writer for MMAmania.com and InsideFights.com. He is also syndicated to FoxSports.com, CBSSports.com, and CNNSI.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAwriter and Facebook.com/Derek.Bolender. Look for future articles from him Bleacher Report.

Kenny Florian on the Verge of UFC 101: Underappreciated but Undeterred

Derek Bolender — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:05:00 -0400

President Barack Obama once said, "Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you persevere."

Kenny Florian is like anyone else in that he’s had his fair share of successes and failures, both personally and professionally.

It just so happens that one of his biggest professional failures was broadcast worldwide on television back in October 2006.

Of course, I’m referring to his bloody five-round unanimous decision loss at the hands of veteran Sean Sherk at the UFC 64 event.

Needless to say, his first time on the big stage with the spotlight shining down on him did not go like he had envisioned it.

According to Florian, "I think I did everything that I could have done for that fight at the time. My heart was there. The issue really was being able to hang on a technical and physical level with a guy like Sherk. Ever since that fight I have been putting in a tremendous amount of hours in my training year round."

Three years and six consecutive victories later and Florian once again finds himself designated the No. 1 contender in the lightweight division.

This time, however, arguably the best lightweight of all-time is standing in his way in the form of current UFC champion B.J. Penn.

These two 155-pound warriors will do battle in the co-main event at UFC 101 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Florian is well aware of the stern test that has been presented to him saying, "It’s going to be an honor to go out there and test myself against someone with the skill of a B.J. Penn. I believe I’ve done all the work. Everything I’ve put in since I was a kid has been for this fight. I’m looking forward to it."

The underdog role is familiar territory for Florian and a position he simply chooses to relish.

"I think I’ve been the underdog once or twice in my career so it’s nothing new. That just puts more pressure on B.J. I think. For me, I just see it as a wonderful opportunity to test my skills. I’m confident I can get the job done," said Florian.

In a matter of days we will find out whether or not the second time is the charm for the 33-year-old Brookline, Massachusetts native.

Will Florian be able to use his evolving Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu skills to execute a flawless game plan and prove all his doubters wrong?

"People don’t believe in me but that’s fine. The main thing is that it starts with me. You have to believe you can do it. Hopefully I can turn some more people around. I know I have in the past," said Florian.

He added, "For me, I’m just focusing on what I need to do to win this fight. I’m sure there will still be doubters even if I beat B.J. Penn. I can’t change everybody’s mind."

Nevertheless, finding a way to beat B.J. would go a long way in convincing a large majority of detractors that he belongs in the same conversation as other upper echelon lightweights including Shinya Aoki, Joachim Hansen, and Eddie Alvarez.

How does Florian ultimately envision the fight with B.J. playing out?

"I don’t know how I’m going to get it done but I’m predicting a win. Obviously I go into every fight expecting to win. I sacrifice too much to let anybody else win. I won’t allow it. I train too hard for it."

Derek Bolender is a contributor to BleacherReport.com, MMAmania.com, and InsideFights.com. He is also syndicated to FoxSports.com, CBSSports.com, and CNNSI.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAwriter and Facebook.com/Derek.Bolender. Questions or comments to dbeastbo@yahoo.com.

Bored With Anderson Silva's Lethargy, UFC Wants Forrest Griffin To Rattle Cage

Derek Bolender — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:57:55 -0400

Anderson Silva needs no formal introduction. He is one of the most recognizable faces in all of MMA, and arguably the best fighter on the planet.

With a record-breaking nine consecutive UFC wins and counting to his credit, he has been as dominant as any fighter in the history of the sport during his reign of terror that began during the summer of 2006.

Recently, however, his lackluster performances against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites (at UFC 90 and UFC 97 respectively) have been the subject of harsh criticism from fans, media, and even UFC President Dana White.

Silva begs to differ, though. He is under the impression that a win is a win, and wants to continue to move forward and not dwell on the past.

“I want to please the fans and Dana White. I feel I did my job right. I want to focus on my next fight, and on training harder for now.”

In both of the aforementioned fights, Silva appeared uncharacteristically content in the cage. He was comfortable letting his opponents dictate the action, and was focused solely on staying mistake free.

As a result, we were treated to two insipid main events by one of the UFC’s biggest stars.

“I followed the game plan that I had trained. It’s not always possible to please all the fans, but I know that I did my job right,” said Silva.

In other words, he was hell-bent on being extra cautious in order to protect his middleweight championship belt, his undefeated record in the UFC, and his legacy.

Has he simply been protecting his status as a champion, or is it possible he has lost his killer instinct and/or his burning desire to be great?

According to Silva, “I haven’t lost my motivation. I am still very motivated to put on great fights and keep my belt.”

Nevertheless, as a result of his recent snooze fests the UFC has decided to pair him up against a guy who likes nothing better than to get in an opponent’s face and force him to engage.

That man is former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, who will oppose Silva in a light heavyweight bout in the main event on August 8, at UFC 101. The fight will take place at the Wachovia Center, in Philadelphia, PA.

Griffin is notorious for his aggressiveness, undeniable spirit, and his “fight to the death” mentality.

Silva remains confident as usual going into this matchup, saying, “Forrest Griffin is a tough fighter with a lot of heart, but, like everyone, he has his weak spots.”

Only Silva knows whether or not he will come out and vigorously attack those points of emphasis.

Thankfully, the odds are that Griffin will be able to bring back the old Anderson Silva out of hibernation—the Anderson Silva that we have all grown accustomed to seeing—simply because of his fighting style.

That would be great news for all stakeholders but Griffin.

The old Anderson Silva was a guy who overwhelmed and physically dismantled the majority of the UFC middleweight division; including Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt, Rich Franklin (twice), Travis Lutter, and Chris Leben.

Dana White and company think that Griffin will be the answer to the Anderson Silva riddle.

They are banking heavily on his ability to put pressure on Silva and force him to fight, and we will find out soon enough if the experiment will work.

Silva is not into forecasting the future though.

“I don’t know [about the outcome]. I can’t predict it. We will have to wait until August 8,” said Silva.

One thing that he is certain about is that it will be a memorable night.

“It’s going to be a great fight,” said Silva.

I never thought I would ever have to say this, but I will believe it when I see it.

Now, go make the bosses look good.

Derek Bolender is a staff writer for InsideFights.com and MMAmania.com. He is also syndicated at FoxSports.com and CNNSI.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAwriter and on Facebook. Look for future articles from him on BleacherReport.com.

Georges St. Pierre: Beat Thiago Alves at UFC 100, Get Anderson Silva?

Derek Bolender — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:03:10 -0400

Georges St. Pierre is the prototype for the modern day mixed martial artist and a guy who has no visible weakness in the cage.

That was clearly evident on the night of UFC 94, which saw him dominate the current UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn on his way to yet another welterweight title defense.

The dangerous Brazilian Thiago Alves is the next challenge that the UFC management has put in front of him as he continues his march towards the top of the MMA pound-for-pound list.

These two are set for war on July 11 at the historic UFC 100 event being held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

This matchup between two well-rounded fighters has the makings to be one of the “Fight of the Year” candidates when it is all said and done.

“The fight is going to be high paced, and I’m ready to go for five five minute rounds of war,” St. Pierre said.

Alves is a formidable test for the champion. He is a powerful and strong fighter who loves to stand with guys and slowly pick them apart using his world class Muay Thai.

“He (Alves) doesn’t have much weaknesses. He’s a very well-rounded guy. I’m going to try to expose his, I wouldn’t say weaknesses, but I’m going to try to take him out of his comfort zone in the fight,” St. Pierre said.

Getting Alves to the ground will be a key in this fight and a way to combat his striking skills.

St. Pierre is arguably the best wrestler in all of MMA and has taken down plenty of accomplished wrestlers including Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck with relative ease in the past.

How does St. Pierre plan to attack the dangerous Alves?

“I think I beat him standing up," he said. "I think I can beat him on the mat too. I’m going to fight him in a way that nobody has fought him before. As far as my strategy it’s like when you play cards. You don’t want to show your hand.”

Everyone will have to tune in the night of July 11 to find out his game plan and whether or not he will be successful in implementing it over the course of the fight.

If St. Pierre is fortunate enough to come away with a victory it sets up a potential super-fight with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, assuming he is also victorious against Forrest Griffin at UFC 101.

If everything falls into place, it would be a dream matchup that fans have been waiting to see for years and one that has also been teased by UFC President Dana White in the past as a realistic possibility.

It would certainly be great for all stakeholders including the fans, media, and the UFC and their bottom line.

It would also be an opportunity for St. Pierre to win a belt in another weight class in order to cement his legacy as one of the best mixed martial artists in the history of the sport.

Only legends B.J. Penn and Randy Couture have accomplished this rare feat in the history of the UFC.

Can we go ahead and tentatively schedule the mega matchup with Silva for late 2009 or early 2010?

“I don’t know about it. For me right now my main focus is Thiago Alves," St. Pierre said. "It would be foolish to think that it would be me next (to fight Anderson). I don’t want to look past Thiago Alves right now.”

It may be a bit premature to discuss this potential blockbuster but it is certainly hard to ignore.

“My position is at welterweight but for a challenge I’m always accepting to new things,” St. Pierre said.

If all goes well, it might be the “biggest fight ever” rhetoric begin on July 12.

Derek Bolender is a writer for InsideFights.com and MMAmania.com. He is also syndicated at FoxSports.com and CNNSI.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAwriter and on Facebook. Look for future articles from him on BleacherReport.com.

UFC 100: Home Field Disadvantage for Frank Mir?

Derek Bolender — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:25:01 -0400

In sports, home-field advantage is seen as exactly that; it is an added advantage over the opposition. It’s a key factor that could potentially tip the scales in one athlete’s favor and unlevel the playing field.

Mixed martial arts is no different. Home “cage” or “ring” advantage also comes into play. However, the degree to which it is relevant is certainly up for debate.

There are those rare occasions when fighters get the chance to fight at or near their place of birth, current residence, or in close proximity to the gym they are affiliated with.

This unique circumstance makes for good fodder for fans, various media pundits, and helps promote and market the events to the masses.

Many organizations like the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) go out of their way to make sure a high profile fighter is able to fight near familiar territory.

In theory, the hometown support for a fighter could very well be the added motivation or emotional push needed to gain a victory.

On the other hand, it has also presented unwanted distractions for the fighters as the sport has gotten bigger and more mainstream oriented.

There are appearances and interviews from local media on top of the traditional media that needs to be managed. There is also the added burden from friends, family, and training partners for tickets and accommodations.

After a while, it is logical to assume that cumulatively it becomes an emotional and psychological burden, which if sustained over a period of time, could lead to a negative physical toll.

In other words, there is a loss of time, energy, and focus. These are three characteristics no fighter should ever be in short supply of before getting into a cage or ring with another world class fighter.

In recent months, there has been a trend of elite fighters in high profile matchups getting beat on their home turf.

While the effects of home field advantage are difficult to measure because of the psychological nature involved, the recent rash tends to point to it being more of a curse, a home field disadvantage if you will, as opposed to an added bonus.

Earlier this month, Robbie Lawler lost a disappointing main-event matchup in St. Louis, MO, by first round submission at the hands of Jake Shields in their well-publicized Strikeforce catch-weight bout.

Lawler lives and co-owns The H.I.T. Squad gym in Granite City, IL, which is less than 10 miles from the Scottrade Center where the event was held.

Prior to the event, Lawler weighed in on the topic of geography.

“I don’t think home field really means anything in sports in general," Lawler said. "I just think if you’re the better athlete or you have the better team, you’re going to win and it doesn’t matter where.”

He might have a point; Shields could have been the better athlete coming into the fight and simply imposed his will on Lawler.

Current WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown added his two cents just prior to his WEC 41 fight against “The California Kid” Urijah Faber in Sacramento, which is where Faber lives and where his training camp is based.

“To me it doesn’t matter where I fight. It’s all the same once you shut the cage," Brown said. "The only time it matters is if you have a real close decision. The judges might be swayed by the crowd cheering or booing. As long as it’s not tight like that then it doesn’t matter. A five round fight is plenty of time to pull away.”

It was enough time indeed as Brown pulled off a five-round unanimous decision victory in impressive fashion to retain his belt.

So ask yourself, is this a sign of things to come as the sport of MMA continues to evolve or a coincidental pattern of unfortunate luck and circumstance in recent months?

Is there any connection or merit between success (or lack thereof) in MMA with regards to home field advantage?

The much anticipated UFC 100 event scheduled for July 11 will be another case in point.

The event is being held in Las Vegas, Nevada, which is where headliner and current UFC interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir was born and raised. It is also where he trains.

Will the home field advantage be a bad omen for Mir as he takes on current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar?

Let’s use a wait-and-see approach.

Exclusive Rich Franklin UFC 99 Interview: Ace in the Hole

Derek Bolender — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:11:21 -0400

Rich Franklin is one of the most recognizable faces in the history of mixed martial arts, and remains one of the UFC’s most beloved former champions.

One day he will be seriously considered for inductioninto the UFC Hall-of-Fame, mainly due to his sixteen month reign as middleweight champion over the course of 2005 and 2006, but for now that can wait.

At the age of 35, he has yet to show any visible signs of slowing down as he continues to be one of the top contenders in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.

Although Franklin remains a legitimate force, there is officially light at the end of the tunnel. He has now gone past the nine year mark in his storied professional career.

The ultimate goal is still to get back his titleholder status that was taken away from him by Anderson Silva in UFC 64, before he is forced to someday hang up his gloves for good.

The next step in his trek back to the pinnacle is a matchup with former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva.

The two will tussle in the main event at UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany on June 13.

The fight will take place at a catch-weight of 195 pounds, due to Franklin’s desire to stay at 205 pounds for good, and Wanderlei’s desire to drop to 185 pounds after this fight.

This is a matchup that many fans have been dying to see for some time now, and one that is likely to produce fireworks in the form of a good old fashioned slugfest.

“Ace” took some time out of his busy schedule to talk Lyoto Machida, why he believes he beat Dan Henderson, his preparations for Wanderlei including training with Anderson Silva, and when he anticipates his career coming to a close.

Check it out:

Derek Bolender: I want to start with UFC 98. Lyoto Machida dominated Rashad Evans to take home the light heavyweight belt. Did you get a chance to watch the fight? What did you think of Machida’s performance?

Rich Franklin: I didn’t watch the fight. I rarely watch fights when I am preparing for a fight myself, unless I am watching video of my opponent. I will watch that UFC after my fight.

Derek Bolender: Machida is a guy you fought back in 2003 in Japan. What do you remember about that fight?

Rich Franklin: I remember Machida being very elusive and much better than we had anticipated. At the time I fought him he only had three fights. I knew he would eventually find himself in the kind of situation he is in today.

Derek Bolender: Would you like the opportunity for a rematch against him at some point?

Rich Franklin: I would like to make a run for the 205 pound title. If he is in my path to achieving my goal I would be interested. Otherwise, I need to stay focused on what’s important.

Derek Bolender: In your last fight at UFC 93 you lost a split decision to Dan Henderson. Before the judges scorecards were announced did you think
you had done enough to win that fight?

Rich Franklin: I believe I won that fight. I dominated the stand-up war, and Henderson was unable to mount any damage while he had me down, let alone even keep me down most of the time. The only damage he did to me in that fight was an accidental eye poke and head butt.

Derek Bolender: Did the accidental head butt or the eye poke you sustained from Henderson in any way hinder your ability to be successful in that fight?

Rich Franklin: No, the head butt was more blood and the judges saw that, and the eye poke was the last 30-45 seconds. I should have not been in that situation.

Derek Bolender: So how big of an impact did they actually have?

Rich Franklin: None really.

To continue reading the interview click on the following link click here.

This interview was originally posted on MMAmania.com where Derek Bolender is a contributor.

A UFC 99 Interview: Mike "Quick" Swick

Derek Bolender — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:50:07 -0400

It’s fair to say Mike Swick is on the brink of something big.

After losing a hard fought decision to a physically superior Yushin Okami at UFC 69 as a middleweight, he made the trek down to the welterweight level and has found a wealth of success in the process.

So far it is the best career decision he has made to date.

The American Kickboxing Academy product has rattled off three consecutive victories at the 170 pound limit over formidable contenders Josh Burkman, Marcus Davis, and Jonathan Goulet.

As a result, he is knocking on the door for a potential title shot.

An impressive win over the young and hungry Ben “Killa B” Saunders at the upcoming UFC 99 event would go a long way in convincing UFC President Dana White and matchmaker extraordinaire Joe Silva that he deserves the opportunity to fight for the strap in the near future.

First thing is first though. Take care of business on June 13 in Cologne, Germany, and let the chips fall where they may.

“Quick” took some time out of his hectic schedule to share his thoughts on life inside and outside fighting including his poker game, Maury Povich, and last but not least, Ben Saunders.

Check it out.

Derek Bolender: I understand that outside of fighting you’re quite the poker player. What I don’t get is how a guy nicknamed “Quick” Swick could ever sit at a poker table for hours upon hours. Explain this dynamic to me.

Mike Swick: I think what draws me to poker is the strategy and the thinking and reading people. It’s more of like a rehab. It’s real relaxing. It keeps you thinking but you’re not getting punched in the face. It’s kind of a cool little game to play and I’ve been playing a long time.

I’m with (sponsored by) Full Tilt. I play online more than anything so it’s not as boring because I can multitask with doing other things at the same time. The dealer goes a lot faster online than it does if you’re sitting at a table. If you play live for high stakes it’s not too boring. It’s pretty interesting.

Derek Bolender: I want to ask you about your AKA teammates Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck. How much of an advantage is it to have two top ten welterweights in your gym with you on a daily basis?

Mike Swick: It’s amazing to have those guys. Not only do we have Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch but Jake Shields as well. He’s another top ten guy that spars with us. Getting ready for this fight, just like all my fights, it’s amazing to having guys like Fitch and Kos and Shields because they’re better than anyone I’m fighting at this point. We use each other to help. We’re all good at different things. We go round after round with each other.

I’ll go one round with Fitch, my second round with a fresh Kos, and a third round with a fresh Shields. It’s like, you can’t win, none of us can win because we’re always going in fresh on each other and it’s just great training. Everyone brings so many good attributes to the table and we’re constantly learning and helping each other out, so I couldn’t have a better training team, especially in my division.

To read the rest of this interview with Mike Swick, click here.

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This interview was originally posted on MMAmania.com where Derek Bolender is a contributor.

Strikeforce Aftermath: Storylines and Consequences

Derek Bolender — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:44:58 -0400

The Strikeforce: "Lawler vs. Shields" event went off without a hitch this past Saturday from the Scottrade Center in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

The fight card, a cross-promotional effort between Strikeforce and Affliction, was stacked with both notable names and upcoming stars from top to bottom.

The near-sellout crowd bore witness to not only an exciting night of action, but also to the element of surprise, as a few favorites tumbled as the evening transpired.

In the aftermath of the event, many different storylines have emerged, and questions have started to be asked.

Let’s carefully sort through the uncertainty, starting with the two main event combatants in former EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields and former EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler.

The end result was a first round submission via guillotine choke for Shields over the hometown favorite Lawler, who co-owns the H.I.T. Squad Gym just seven miles from the arena with former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes.

For Lawler, it was a disappointing loss and a setback in his march to once again be a champion, but make no mistake about it, he will be seen and heard from again sooner rather than later.

As Lawler told me in an interview just prior to Saturday night, “I’m hoping to fight maybe two or three times before the end of the year. I had a long layoff, and I want to make up for lost time.”

While Scott Smith, who was also defeated earlier in the evening by Nick Diaz, would be a logical choice for his next opponent, it is unlikely because of the long history between the two.

“Ruthless” and “Hands of Steel” fought twice already in EliteXC, resulting in a no contest in May 2008 and a TKO victory by Lawler in July.

Lawler clearly demonstrated throughout the course of the two fights that he is the superior fighter, and a third fight is one that will likely be a hard sell to fans.

More likely opponents for him in the future include Kazuo Misaki or the loser of the Jorge Santiago and Vitor Belfort fight that is scheduled for the Affliction: "Trilogy" event on Aug. 1.

On the other hand, Jake Shields is in a bit of a quandary due to the fact that current Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le has been holding the division hostage to pursue his blossoming acting career. Le has not fought since defeating Frank Shamrock back in March of last year.

Shields has done enough to earn a title shot, but so has his teammate, the aforementioned Nick Diaz. These two will likely never fight each other, so that would rule out an interim championship bout where the winner would eventually take on Le to unify the belts.

When Diaz was asked at Saturday’s post-fight press conference whether he would be willing to fight Shields, he said, “That’s not funny. I’ll fight anybody who’s not on my team. I just want to fight someone important.”

A more likely scenario is Shields dropping back to his natural weight class at 170 pounds and fighting for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight crown against a guy like Jay Hieron, assuming he is able to defeat Paul Daley on Aug. 1.

Shields would be favored over Hieron due to his superior ground skills. He is a black belt in jiu-jitsu under Cesar Gracie and one of the best submission fighters in the world.

Hieron may have the slight standup advantage. However, Shields has proven time and time against the likes of Lawler, Yushin Okami, and Paul Daley that he can handle dangerous strikers by taking them to the ground.

By using a combination of leg kicks to keep those with great standup at a distance and mixing in punches to keep them honest, it allows him to buy time to pursue takedowns so he can take the fight to the mat and play to his biggest strength.

Consequently, Nick Diaz would be left to wait out Cung Le, with the two likely doing battle sometime during fourth quarter 2009.

Diaz is a well-rounded fighter that would present a matchup nightmare for the champion. He is a former professional boxer and is also phenomenal on the ground, where he has a black belt in jiu-jitsu.

While Diaz would likely prefer to stand with Le and put on a show for the fans, his best bet would be to take the fight to the ground, where he would have a significant advantage against the kickboxing-based Le, and look to end the fight via submission.

Besides rising superstars Shields and Diaz, the third crown jewel from Saturday night was up-and-coming heavyweight prospect Brett Rogers, who stunned former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski with a flurry of punches that resulted in a knockout victory just 22 seconds into the first round.

It was certainly a big surprise that not many people saw coming.

Rogers reflected on his big night at the post-fight press conference, saying, “It was short and to the point. Basically, I wanted to go in and keep the heat on him. I didn’t want to give him a chance.

"I had a lot of respect for Arlovski going into this fight. I went in there with heavy shots and landed four or five. He wasn’t really moving much. I am not really sure what was going on with him.”

“The Pitbull” is currently still scheduled for a professional boxing match on June 27 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California against an unnamed opponent. He may or may not be medically cleared or healthy enough to compete.

If and when he returns to mixed martial arts, he could take on any number of the mid-tier Strikeforce and Affliction heavyweights.

On the other hand, Rogers’ coming-out party has all but officially earned him a title shot against current Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.

Strikeforce publically confirmed during the Saturday night broadcast that Overeem will be fighting on Aug. 15 at the next event against an opponent to be named later, which will almost certainly be Rogers...

After the post-fight press conference, Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz said, “I know Brett (Rogers) said he is ready (to fight for the title). We will see how he is feeling next week and go from there.”

A matchup between Rogers and Overeem would favor the veteran Overeem, who is the more experienced of the two and the better overall fighter.

There is not one aspect of mixed martial arts where Rogers has the superior skill over Overeem, who is above average across the board and hard to deal with for any heavyweight in the world.

Rogers would simply have a puncher’s chance in this fight, which has been his specialty lately, but it is not likely to continue against a fighter who is the caliber of Overeem.

Furthermore, the winner of Rogers and Overeem would likely square off with the winner of the much-anticipated matchup between WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and No. 1 contender Josh Barnett, but that may be getting a little too far ahead.

While the immediate future of the fighters and the various scenarios are currently in limbo, one thing that is for certain is that the newly improved Strikeforce organization is here to stay. They seem poised to continue to put on the shows that the fans will want to come back to see.

With Affliction now working in tandem to create the best possible fights by pooling the talent, the result will be both increased Pay-Per-View buys for Affliction and Showtime subscriptions to view Strikeforce events.

If you build it, they will come, and as long as these two organizations remain committed to putting forth a good product, the sky’s the limit for these brands.

Someone please send a memo to UFC President Dana White: The double-headed monster has officially been unleashed into the marketplace.

Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields: Strikeforce Aftermath and Analysis

Derek Bolender — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:08:06 -0400

Downtown St. Louis played host to the Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields event last night at the Scottrade Center and put on a great show in front of the near-capacity crowd.

With Strikeforce’s newfound willingness to work together with Affliction to move fighters back and forth between the two promotions to make the best fights possible, the end result was a mixed fight card stacked full of talent from top to bottom.

Even the cage-side observers got a boost in star power with the new cross-promotional alliance. Seated in the first couple of rows were the likes of Fedor Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Gegard Mousasi, and Tim Sylvia.

The night was kicked off by a series of undercard fights that featured a lot of local flavor and one big exclamation point courtesy of journeyman and virtual unknown Mike Kyle, who came into the evening with a career record of 11–6.

His opponent was the heavily favored Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, who trains alongside UFC stars Anderson Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Kyle was able to land a flurry of powerful and devastating punches to the chin of Cavalcante and then pounced on him and finished him off. The destruction left him briefly unconscious as the crowd looked on in stunned silence.

Cavalcante was originally scheduled to fight on this card for the Strikeforce light heavyweight title against Renato “Babalu” Sobral, but it was scrapped when Sobral’s wife recently gave birth to their new child.

Needless to say, the young Brazilian was never going to be ready for his primetime close up and may have underestimated Kyle coming into this fight.

The next two bouts saw veteran Mike Whitehead and Joe Riggs both record unanimous decision victories over Kevin Randleman and Phil Baroni, respectively.

Nick Diaz, the pride of Stockton, Calif., also made his way to the cage to take on the very dangerous Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith.

It was evident from the get-go that Diaz was the more technical striker, having had professional boxing experience in the past.

Diaz got the best of the majority of the exchanges for the first two rounds by continuing to pepper Smith with a flurry of combinations.

In the third round, Diaz looked as if he was fed up with trying to put forth so much effort to finish off Smith, who was hanging tough for as long as he possibly could.

To expedite the situation, Diaz was able to take Smith down, where the Cesar Gracie-trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt sunk in a rear naked choke that quickly ended the fight.

Diaz shared his thoughts on Smith at the post fight press conference stating,“I know what he (Smith) does. I know who he trains with. I work a lot harder than him…It’s pretty much how I saw it going.”

Consequently, Diaz has done enough to be able to fight for either the interim middleweight championship or directly against current champion Cung Le, who has been dormant since March 2008 due to his blossoming movie career.

The two biggest men in the arena also did battle. Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski locked horns with up-and-coming prospect Brett Rogers. These men are imposing figures at 244 and 262 pounds, respectively, and both stand well over 6 feet tall.

On the line was a title shot against current Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem on Aug. 15.

Arlovski, arguably the biggest star on the entire fight card, was caught off guard while Rogers pressed forward early in the first round.

At the 22-second mark into the opening frame, “The Grim” scored the knockout over Arlovski in what instantly became the crown jewel of his relatively young MMA career.

Rogers reflected on his night saying, “It was short and to the point. Basically, I wanted to go in and keep the heat on him. I didn’t want to give him a chance.

"I had a lot of respect for Arlovski going into this fight. I went in there with heavy shots and landed four or five. He (Arlovski) wasn’t really moving much. I am not really sure what was going on with him.”

The win moved Rogers’ career record to 10–0 and a possible shot at the Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett winner that will be determined on Aug. 1, but only if he can get past Overeem.

For Arlovski, it has now been two fights in a row he has been caught and knocked out early in the first round. The aforementioned Fedor was also able to knock him out in January 2009 at the Affliction: Day of Reckoning event.

“The Pitbull” is currently slated to fight a professional boxing match on June 27 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. He was not available at the post fight press conference so he may or may not be medically cleared or healthy enough to fulfill his commitment.

The main event of the evening featured a pair of former EliteXC champions in Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler going head-to-head.

This was the proverbial striker vs. grappler matchup pitting the jiu-jitsu black belt Shields versus the heavy handed and excellent standup skills of Lawler.

It was also home field advantage for Lawler, who co-owns the H.I.T. Squad gym in nearby Granite City, Ill., with former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes.

It was evident from the get-go that Shields had a fantastic game plan and he was not going to deviate from it.

He used a series of kicks to keep Lawler at a distance and avoid his hands. He also sprinkled in some punches to keep him honest.

Shields was able to get Lawler to the ground after the two had clinched against the cage and he immediately sunk in a deep guillotine choke that forced Lawler to tap.

As Lawler put it, “I overcommitted with my right underhook when I had him up against the cage.”

He later went on to tip his cap to Shields, saying simply that he, “is the best at what he does.”

It was a disappointing finish for Lawler in front of his hometown fans. For Shields, it was yet another impressive feather in his cap that likely earns him a shot against middleweight champion Cung Le.

Since fellow middleweight contender Nick Diaz is a teammate of Shields, they will likely never do battle.

Therefore, Strikeforce could choose to have Shields fight for the vacant welterweight title against a guy like Jay Hieron, who is currently on the Affliction roster.

One thing is for certain. The Strikeforce organization is here to stay and will continue to put on the matchups the fans want to see.

With Affliction now working hand-in-hand ,this double-headed monster is now poised to take direct aim at the UFC.

Strikeforce: 'Lawler Vs. Shields' Live Blog Color Commentary

Derek Bolender — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:05:09 -0400

The Scottrade Center in downtown St. Louis, Missouri is playing host tonight to the much anticipated Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields event. The crowd has begun to file in and the undercard fights are currently underway.

Will the man in the picture (Robbie Lawler) be raising his hand in victory or will jiu-jitsu ace Jake Shields be able to submit the hard hitting former champion?

As the night wears on I will post results in real time as they happen, along with my immediate thoughts and impressions on how the night is unfolding.

Check back periodically to see live event updates.

7:55 pm: The featured undercard fight between Mike "MAK" Kyle and Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante just concluded in dramatic fashion. Kyle may have secured upset of the night by knocking the Brazillian phenom unconscious. He put Cavalcante on the mat with some vicious strikes, followed him to the ground, and secured the win via TKO stoppage.

UFC superstars Anderson Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira came into the cage to console their wounded teammate who laid motionless for over a minute. For those that recall, Cavalcante was supposed to fight current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Renato Sobral, but Sobral had to pull out of the fight after his wife gave birth to their new child. Perhaps the 7-1 Brazilian was not ready for primetime after all.

8:01pm: Fedor has enterered the building. He is sitting in between Affliction VP Tom Atencio and former UFC Heavyweight champion Josh Barnett. Fedor and Barnett will finally fight at Affliction: Trilogy scheduled for August 1. In an interview with Tom Atencio at the NYC press conference, Atencio said that Affliction and Strikeforce will be working more closely together, which should lead to some interesting cross-promotional fights.

8:09 pm: Local MMA hero Jesse Finney submits his opponent at 1:55 of the first round and the St. Louis crowd goes crazy. The undercard is over and the stadium staff is setting up for the main card. I am going to roam around the arena with my camera and see what celebrities or other fighters in attendance I can spot. This should be fun.

8:15 pm: I am still looking for Gina Carano. If you don't hear back from me in the next 30 minutes it's because her and I have developed a deep friendship.

8:19 pm: I spotted Mike Kyle talking his beautifal girlfriend sitting in the stands. She was very proud. I cautiously approached Mike Kyle and said I should interview him, coming off his huge upset win. He graciously agreed and I handed my business card to his girlfriend.

8:22 pm: I just spotted former UFC Heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia hugging it out with Fedor. For those who recall, Fedor submitted Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds back at Affliction's first show. There are obviously no hard feelings between the two which is great to see. Sylvia will be back in action when he takes on Pual Buentello at Affliction: Trilogy. Still looking for Gina Carano...I have a feeling she won't show up until the main card starts.

8:50 pm: I just shook hands with Affliction VP Tom Atencio. He seems like a pretty approachable and decent guy. Affliction's young light heavyweight stud Gegard Mousasi is now sitting in between Fedor and Josh Barnett. He will take on the aforementioned Sobral on August 1.

8:53 pm: Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle" blares over the speakers on the arena as the main card is officially announced to the anxious crowd who appears to have filled in the entire arena. This has to be close to a sellout if it isn't one.

8:58 pm: The ring announcer acknowledges all the celebrities in the crowd including those previously mentioned along with former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Frank Shamrock and former UFC welterweight champion Pat Miletich.

Miletich was once Robbie Lawler's head trainer at Miletich Fighting Systems in Davenport, Iowa before Lawler and Matt Hughes opened their gym in Granite City, IL. Granite City is just 7 miles from the Scottrade Center so it is virtually home turf for Lawler.

9:03 pm: Big John McCarthy enters the octagon to handle referee duties and the first fighter Mike Whitehead is announced. His opponent will be former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman.

9:28 pm: For virtually two rounds the crowd grew wrestless with the activity inside the cage. Even Fedor had to be wondering if Randleman was the same man that dumped him on his head back in PRIDE.

It is quickly evident that both men have very poor cardio and a decision seems likely. That was until Randleman landed a huge overhand right on Whitehead's chin that dropped him early in the third round. The only problem was that Randleman couldn't finish him on the ground. He seemed to have backed off a little for no apparent reason. The third round ends and it will go to the judges. Whitehead wins a unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28, and 29-28.

For Whitehead this means another shot at a decent opponent in the future. Randleman, on the other hand, now has an uncertain future. At the age of 37 he may not have much more to give to the sport.

9:40 pm: Riggs and Baroni enter the octagon. Baroni is predictable wearing sunglasses and posing for the crowd on his way in. He then refuses to look Riggs in the eye during the staredown. This fight has no chance of going to a decision.

9:59 pm: Riggs landed some nice punches and flying knees basically at will against Baroni. "New York Bad Ass" is extremely tired throughout this fight. He is constantly leaving his hands down and walking away from exchanges. Late into the third round it looks like one clean punch from Riggs will end it. The horn sounds. Riggs wins a unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.

During the post fight interview with Gus Johnson, Riggs reveals he feels he broke both of his hands during the fight. He also expresses interest in fighting Jake Shields in the future, which was a matchup that was originally planned by Strikeforce. If he indeed broke both of his hands, what a gutsy and phenomenal performance from Riggs.

Riggs has now run his Strikeforce record to 3 - 2, which isn't likely to result in a fight with Shields assuming he is also victorious tonight.

10:08 pm: Showtime has officially announced that an August 15th event will feature Gina Carano vs. Cyborg Santos, Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson, and Alistair Overeem against an opponent to be named later. His likely opponent will be the winner of Andrei Arlovski and Brett Rogers later in the evening.

10:25 pm: The crowd is chanting ... Diaz! Diaz! Diaz! Nick is landing a flurry of punches to the head of Smith in the second round. "Hands of Steel" is taking a lot of punishment but showing great toughness while continuing to stand in the pocket.

10:30 pm: Smith literally crawls to his stool after the second round. He looks like he might have a broken rib courtesy of a Diaz body shot from early. The third round is more of the same. Smith is showing incredible heart and still swinging wildly but Diaz is too much to handle. Diaz appears to have had played around enough. The fight goes to the ground and Smith is quickly submitted via rear naked choke. Diaz wins via submission in the third round.

It is almost inevitable now that Diaz will face the Shields/Lawler main event winner. This will crown an Interim Strikeforce Middleweight Champion. Once current Middleweight Champion Cung Le steps off a movie set and back into the cage he will defend against whoever winds up being the interim champ.

10:47 pm: Before Brett Rogers and Andrei Arlovski can settle in Rogers lands a flurry of punches on the chin of Arlovski and Big John McCarthy has to pull him off "The Pitbull." This is the crown jewel of Rogers' young career so far and it likely earns him a title shot against Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem on August 15.

For Arlovski, he has now been on the receiving end of two vicious knockouts in a row at the hands of Rogers and Fedor Emelianenko. It will interesting to see if he will be cleared for his boxing match that was slated for June 27 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA.

11:02 pm: The main event is upon us. It's former EliteXC welterweight champ Jake Shields vs. former EliteXC middleweight champ Robbie Lawler. It is a classic striker vs. grappler matchup. The key to this fight will be whether or not Shields can get this fight on the ground. If he can he is likely to get a submission victory. If the fight is standing for a significant amount of time expect Lawler to end it via TKO or KO.

11:14 pm: The first round starts and Shields has a great game plan. He is using kicks to keep Lawler away and his standup looks much improved as he is able to avoid any real damage from Lawler's powerful hands. Shields is able to wrap his legs around Lawler's body and sink in a guillotine choke. Lawler is forced to tap. It is a disappointing loss for Lawler in front of his hometown fans.

As Lawler says in the post fight interview it will be back to the drawing board for him. Shields, on the other hand, is much deserving of a title shot against Cung Le. The problem is that his teammate Nick Diaz also deserves one. I highly doubt those two would ever agree to fight each other, however, it wouldn't be the first time it has ever happened.

The night is now complete. It was a successful trip to St. Louis for Strikeforce for a company, along with its growing partnership with Affliction, that is here to stay. They are not only here to stay, but this double headed monster is now poised to take direct aim at the UFC.

Exclusive Andrei Arlovski Interview: Stronger than Before

Derek Bolender — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:42:47 -0400

The Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri is ready and waiting for the stacked Strikeforce soiree to commence this Saturday.

The main event may pit Robbie Lawler against Jake Shields; however, arguably the biggest star that will walk into the arena on June 6 is former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.

“The Pitbull” is coming off a devastating and disappointing loss to WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko at the Affliction: “Day of Reckoning” event that was held earlier this year in January 2009.

As a result, he now sits at 15–6 in his professional MMA career and will attempt to get win number sweet 16 when he squares off with undefeated up-and-comer Brett Rogers. Arlovski would like nothing more than to defeat “The Grim” and get back to his winning ways.

With the event now just one day away, he graciously took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions regarding Emelianenko, his desire to pursue professional boxing, Brett Rogers, and more.

Check it out.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): You’re coming off a loss against Fedor Emelianenko at the last Affliction event. Were you feeling confident that you were executing your game plan up to the point where Fedor caught you, and what did you learn from the fight as a result?

Andrei Arlovski: I didn’t fight to my game plan. It’s that simple. All my trainers were right about it. I have to be more disciplined. After this I was meeting with all my trainers and we found out what was working for me, and I have to follow next time my game plan. I have to trust my trainers 100 percent.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): After the fight, your boxing coach Freddie Roach said that Fedor simply “got lucky” with his punch. Do you feel the same way?

Andrei Arlovski: For me that doesn’t make sense now whether he was lucky or not. He caught me. He knocked me out. This is fact. He got the best of me. Of course I still hurt after this. I am going to chase him everywhere and hope I can one day face him again. Next time I’ll be much smarter than I was before.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Of course, you’re a former UFC champion, and the aforementioned Fedor has always been a guy that fans have wanted to see come to the UFC. Do you expect Fedor to ever join the UFC?

Andrei Arlovski: I don’t know. It would be up to his management team. I don’t know if he wants to fight in the UFC or not. I don’t know.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Who do you expect to win between Fedor and Josh Barnett in August?

Andrei Arlovski: I think that Fedor is going to beat Josh Barnett. It’s not disrespect to Josh Barnett, but for me I think Fedor is going to keep winning all his fights and I am going to face him again.

(Phone briefly cuts out)

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Hello again, sorry about that.

Andrei Arlovski: Yes, I am sorry. It is a bad connection because I am in the trunk. I am driving to workout with all my trainers, and I am in the trunk, you know? (laughs)

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Okay (laughs). Well, hopefully you have enough oxygen in there to finish the interview! Back to business. Now everyone knows you’re one of the biggest stars on the Affliction roster. How come you decided to fight at the Strikeforce event and not the Affliction event on August 1?

Andrei Arlovski: Both Affliction and Strikeforce gave me the option to fight on Showtime for Strikeforce, and I took the fight. Why not?

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): If you are fortunate enough to come away with a victory over Brett Rogers, will it be your intention to pursue the Strikeforce heavyweight belt that currently belongs to Alistair Overeem?

Andrei Arlovski: I don’t know much. I will talk to the organization and see what is the toughest fight.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Will your next fight be under the Strikeforce banner or Affliction?

Andrei Arlovski: I am sorry. I can’t give you much about my contract. I can give you more information after this fight. It is up to Strikeforce and my manager, so they have to find out.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Do you still intend to pursue your pro boxing career as well?

Andrei Arlovski: Yes, after June 6 I will have a match on June 27 at the Staples Center.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): If you had to make a choice, would you rather be an MMA world champion again or a boxing world champion?

Andrei Arlovski: Both. That is one reason why I started to throw myself into boxing. You never know if you are going to sit on the couch what you can be. If I can be heavyweight champion of boxing, I have to try. That is why I want to train myself in professional boxing.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Going back to Brett Rogers. He has never faced a fighter of your caliber. Do you feel like he is ready to take that leap up in competition, and what have you learned about him in your preparations?

Andrei Arlovski: I know he’s a tough fighter. He’s 9-0. He’s dangerous. He’s bigger and heavier than me. We got a game plan with all my trainers. It’s actually a great fight for me. I wanted a big fight, and Strikeforce gave me a great opportunity for me to fight and fight a tough fighter like Rogers. I am really excited to fight him on June 6.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): You mentioned the weight difference, which is roughly 25 pounds. Do you anticipate that being a factor in the fight?

Andrei Arlovski: You know I am not going to be 237 like I was in January. I put on some weight, and I am a little stronger than I was before. I don’t know; we’ll see. He’s a good striker and likes to box, and we’ll see what happens.

Also, I train a lot in wrestling and jiu-jitsu. If he wants to stand up, we’ll stand up. If I think I can take him down, I’ll take him down. If I have to do a leg lock or choke him, of course that’s something I’ll do. If I feel like the opportunity for my hands, then I’ll take him out. It just depends on what kind of fight it will be.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): What do you expect to weigh in at on Friday?

Andrei Arlovski: I expect it will be about 245.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): What is your official prediction for the fight?

Andrei Arlovski: I don’t want to be in this position. I just train hard and I’m ready to go. I know Rogers said he was going to knock me out, but I don’t want to joke with him. I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to step in the cage and do my job. I want to do all my talking in the cage.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): That’s all I had for you Andrei. Is there anything you would like to say to your fans out there or any sponsors you would like to thank before we go?

Andrei Arlovski: Yes, thank you so much to all my fans for the support. Of course thank you to my sponsors. Thank you Affliction and Strikeforce. My dentist who makes a great mouthpiece for me. Looking forward. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): All right, thanks for the time. Best of luck on Saturday.

Andrei Arlovski: Thanks. Also, you can check out more information at AndreiArlovski.com. Okay, thank you.

Derek Bolender is staff writer for InsideFights.com. He has also been feature on CBSSports.com, FoxSports.com, MMAmania.com, etc.... You can also follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAWriter and on Facebook. Look for future articles from him on BleacherReport.com.

Exclusive Ben Saunders Interview: Killer Instinct

Derek Bolender — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:52:38 -0400

Ben Saunders is known for two things so far in his young MMA career.

One is being a cast member under coach Matt Serra during The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season Six.

The other is the dominating performance he put on against Brandon Wolff at UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops,” where he brutalized the Hawaiian with an onslaught of devastating knees in the clinch that led to a gruesome first round knockout victory.

Needless to say, the 7-0-2 American Top Team product would like to make it a hat trick at this juncture in his career and put another lasting memory inside the cage while continuing to work his way up the UFC welterweight ladder.

On the immediate horizon for “Killa B” is a UFC 99 matchup with a very dangerous 170-pound contender in Mike Swick, set to take place in Cologne, Germany on June 13.

A win over “Quick” would likely expedite his hopes of one day becoming a champion and put him right in the mix with the other top contenders.

On the other hand, a disappointing loss would send him back into the middle of the welterweight heap.

Something has to give.

“Killa B” graciously took some time out of his busy training schedule to discuss the Orlando Magic (his favorite team), fighting overseas, his teammate Thiago Alves, and of course, the aforementioned Mike Swick.

Have a look.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): I understand you consider yourself an Orlando Magic fan being that you were born and raised in Florida and also train in Pembroke Pines at American Top Team. What is your prediction for the NBA finals?

Ben Saunders: I hope they destroy LA (laughs).

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): What’s going to be the difference in the series? Break it down for me.

Ben Saunders: Honestly, I know LA is going to put up a fight. I’m hoping it doesn’t go to Game Seven. Hopefully we can get them before that. I’m thinking four games to two.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Your upcoming fight against Mike Swick at UFC 99 will take place in Germany. This is your first professional fight overseas. Are you okay with all the travel and being able to adjust to the time zone and everything that comes with it?

Ben Saunders: I guess we’ll find out. I’ve never fought international. I’ve never even traveled international. I just got my passport. I’m looking forward to it. A lot of people talk about the time zone difference and everything, but I don’t work a regular nine to five, so I’m not used to being on a strict schedule at all times.

I don’t think it will really affect me too much. I’m pretty sure I arrive at like 7:30 in the morning. I’m just supposed to be drinking lots of water, walking around in the sun, and getting my body adjusted. Hopefully it does its job.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Swick is a bit of a jump in competition for you. Are you ready to take your career to the next level?

Ben Saunders: (laughs) It’s about time! Damn!

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Swick has fought 10 times in the UFC, so you have a wealth of tape on him to try to figure him out. What have you learned about him in your preparations?

Ben Saunders: I know he’s quick, but once again this is welterweight. I don’t think he’s going to be as quick as he was against the middleweights at welterweight. I think it kind of showed in his past couple of fights in the sense of Josh Burkman and Marcus Davis. The hand speed really didn’t come too much into play there.

Granted, he did end up getting Jonathan Goulet, but I’m not Jonathan Goulet. I think I’ll be the bigger, stronger, more powerful guy that night. He isn’t going to have the reach advantage. As far as strong points, his strong point is my strong point, and that’s striking, so we’re going to go to war.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): On the other side of the coin, you have fought just four times in the UFC. Do you think that could play into your favor a little bit since he can only familiarize himself with you to a certain degree and there is still a bit of a mystery there?

Ben Saunders: Definitely man. By no means do I believe I have shown anything of what I know I’m capable of in any of my fights. Look at my last fight. I injured my opponent within the first 20 to 30 seconds, and then it was just more of a killer instinct. I jumped on him and didn’t let go.

I don’t really think he has too much tape he can really look at to prepare for someone like me. I think I have a very unorthodox style. I believe I’m tough competition for anyone.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Would you like to make an official prediction on the fight?

Ben Saunders: Someone is going to get knocked out. I’ll predict that it’s going to be Mike Swick. As for how, when, or what point in time, I can’t tell you. I just kind of go with the flow. Wherever the fight goes, I feel comfortable and confident to win by any means.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): If you are lucky to come away with a victory over Swick, where does that put you in reference to the other welterweight contenders?

Ben Saunders: I don’t know. If I beat Swick impressively, I’ll be begging Dana White and Joe Silva to try my luck at a top 10 welterweight.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): I think you actually have to beg to them on the actual telecast after your fight. That seems to work out pretty well for a lot of guys, right?

Ben Saunders: That’s the plan.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): I think I might already know the answer to this, but who do you like to come out on top at UFC 100 between Georges St-Pierre and your teammate Thiago Alves?

Ben Saunders: Thiago is going to knock him out.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Are you okay with fighting your teammate Thiago Alves if that happened to fall into place for both of you?

Ben Saunders: Man, if it ever came to that where I become the No. 1 contender and Thiago has the belt. I mean, that’s probably the best fight in American Top Team history. And if anything, UFC history.

I think it would be a very exciting fight. We’re both in it to test ourselves against the best in the world. It would be nothing personal. At the same time, I don’t even want to think about that until it actually happens.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): That’s all I had for you Ben. Is there anything you would like to pass along to your fans out there or any sponsors you would like to thank?

Ben Saunders: Thank you for all the support. I keep looking to go in there and do what I do best, which is fight my ass off and put on a show. Come June 13 you’re going to see a show.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): All right, thanks again Ben. Best of luck in a couple weeks. I look forward to speaking with you again in the future.

Ben Saunders: Thank you very much.

Derek Bolender is a staff writer for InsideFights.com and has also been featured on CBSSports.com, FoxSports.com, MMAmania.com, BloodyElbow.com, etc.... Look for future articles from him on BleacherReport.com.

"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler: Blue Collar Brawler

Derek Bolender — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:41:48 -0400

Granite City, IL is a hard working, blue collar, industrial town that has been hit hard over the years by de-industrialization and weak economic conditions, both foreign and domestic.

In 2006, author Dave Gilmartin choose various cities and towns across the United States to feature in his book Absolutely Worst Places to Live in America. Granite City was prominently featured starting on page 113.

Nevertheless, there is one business operation that continues to thrive since opening its doors in a nondescript warehouse on the western end of this unspectacular and ghostly town.

Suite D at 400 A Street is headquarters for the H.I.T. (Hughes Intensive Training) Squad, one of the premier mixed-martial-arts gyms in the country.

The facility is co-owned by former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes and former EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler.

Walk around the gym a while and you will quickly come to the conclusion that the management, training staff, and employees have all adapted the same hard working, gritty values embodied by the surrounding town.

This is exactly the spot where Robbie Lawler (18-4, 1 no contest) is putting the finishing touches on his training camp in preparation for his much anticipated Strikeforce fight on Saturday, June 6against former EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields (22-4-1).

Lawler typically fights at the 185 pound limit and Shields at 170 pounds, so as a result, this fight will take place at 182 pounds.

The catch-weight itself has been a source of minor controversy after it was revealed to be agreed upon after-the-fact.

It is still a bit of a sore subject for Lawler who recently stated in an interview, “I wasn’t too happy about the way it went down.”

He continued to clarify the situation when he stated, “The catch-weight is not really good for me. It’s better for him. I’m coming down. He does not have to cut any weight. I have to cut more than I’m normally used to.”

With the number of days to fight night creeping closer and closer he has chosen to simply ignore it and get down to business.

“We’re all past that and we’re going to fight,” said Lawler.

For this fight, a classic striker vs. grappler matchup, the game plan for Lawler is likely to keep the fight off the mat using his strength advantage and take-down defense, and slowly dissect Shields using combinations and kicks to keep him honest, and at a distance.

Tipping his hand prior to his fights is something Lawler doesn’t want to do. He’d rather keep his intentions a secret.

As he put it, “I just need to be able to go three rounds and go hard the whole time.”

Nevertheless, the underlying message is simple: play to your strengths, dictate the fight, and do it in a merciless manner.

It was precisely that aggressive and unforgiving fighting spirit which prompted UFC President Dana White to anoint him “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler early in his MMA career and the nickname has stuck ever since.

Overall, those ruthless tendencies have led to 15 of his 18 wins (83 percent) coming by way of knockout, including vicious beatings of Murilo “Ninja” Rua and Frank Trigg along the way.

It has been a long time since Lawler saw the inside of a cage because of the dissolution of EliteXC and the subsequent purchase of his contract (along with most of the other remaining ProElite assets) by Scott Coker and the Strikeforce organization.

Lawler last fought on July 26, 2008 when he scored a second round TKO victory over Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith. It has been a big layoff not only for Lawler, but for Shields as well.

Surprisingly, the time away does not seem to bother Lawler one bit.

“It hasn’t been that bad. I’ve had long layoffs before. The whole time I was off I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to fight anywhere else. I could fight in a week, but I just didn’t know, so I kept myself in pretty good shape.”

The Scottrade Center in downtown St. Louis, MO will play host on June 6 to what will most certainly be a bit of a home-field advantage for Lawler. The stadium is almost a stones throw away from the aforementioned Granite City.

If Lawler stood on the roof of the H.I.T. Squad building he could look across the Mississippi River and see downtown St. Louis. It is a mere seven miles for him to travel for the toughest fight of his career.

“I just think if you’re the better athlete, or you have the better team, you’re going to win, and it doesn’t matter where (it takes place),” said Lawler trying to downplay its potential significance.

Will Lawler be able to impose his will on his home turf against the accomplished jiu-jitsu ace Shields?

Will a win propel him to a potential title shot with Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le?

There are only questions at this junction. The answers will be delivered in due time.

_____________

Derek Bolender is a staff writer for www.InsideFights.com. His articles/interviews have been featured on InsideFights.com, CBSSports.com, MMAmania.com, BloodyElbow.com, etc... in addition to BleacherReport.com. Send Derek a question or comment to dbeastbo@yahoo.com.

Heart and Soul: An Exclusive Interview with MMA Lightweight Eddie Alvarez

Derek Bolender — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:16:52 -0400

Twenty-five-year-old Philadelphia native Eddie Alvarez may just be the best American-born lightweight fighter currently not employed by the UFC.

He is quietly considered to be as high as the No. 3 lightweight in the world by some publications, trailing only UFC champion B.J. Penn and WAMMA champion Shinya Aoki.

In other words, he’s firmly placed ahead of a group of well publicized UFC lightweights that includes Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez, Frankie Edgar, Sean Sherk, and Gray Maynard.

Alvarez, now 17–2 in his professional MMA career, burst onto the scene in 2008 at the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix that was held in Japan.

Before the tournament was over, he had gone from virtual unknown to bonafide superstar in the “Land of the Rising Sun.”

Now Alvarez has his sights set squarely on the United Stateswhere he finds himself as the centerpiece of the newly formed Bellator Fighting Championships.

He is currently in the midst of the first ever Bellator Lightweight Tournament. With consecutive victories over Greg Loughran and Eric Reynolds he has earned a spot in the championship fight which will take place on June 19 in Hollywood, Fla.

His opponent will be Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Toby Imade, who pulled off what many are calling the submission of the year in the semifinals when he used an inverted triangle choke to defeat the heavily favored Jorge Masvidal.

Eddie graciously took time out of his busy training schedule to discuss his meteoric rise in Japan, a potential rematch with Shinya Aoki, his love for tournament formats, and what his future holds after the completion of the Bellator FC tournament.

Check it out.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): I want to start by going way back to your last fight at welterweight. Nick Thompson handed you your first career loss in 2007. Was he simply too big, and did that fight make you realize you needed to be at 155 for good? What did you learn from that experience?

Eddie Alvarez: When I fought Nick Thompson, I wasn’t experienced enough. That was the first person that put me in a real fight. Before Nick nobody had put me in a fight where I had to struggle. He made me deal with adversity and helped me become the fighter I am today. I needed to know what it was like to be in a fight, to be in a battle, a win or lose battle. He put me in a fight and I lost. I learned from it. I’ve come a long way since.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): You really burst onto the scene in 2008 in the DREAM lightweight grand prix. You knocked off Andre Amade, Joachim Hansen, and Tatsuya Kawajiri in succession but then the officials would not let you continue into the finals against Shinya Aoki because of a cut you sustained in the Kawajiri fight. How bad was the actual cut?

Eddie Alvarez: They didn’t stop it because of the cut. They would’ve let it go on if it was just a cut. My actual eyeball was swelling and it was starting to protrude out of my eye socket. They didn’t let me go on because of my eyeball, not actually the cut.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Did you agree with their decision to not let you continue fighting?

Eddie Alvarez: That night I didn’t. It cost me $100,000. There was a lot of money on the line and I could’ve used that money for my family. Looking back in retrospect, that’s why they have officials there because as fighters we don’t always make the right decisions for ourselves.

I’m very emotional and I worked real hard for that tournament. If they would have let me I could have went on and went blind. You need people who are actually thinking with their heads and not their emotions. Looking back I think their decision was a good decision.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): You’re sitting there watching Hansen take the crown after you had already beaten him and were the only undefeated fighter at the end of the tournament? What’s going through your head watching it all unfold? Do you still feel like that title belongs to you?

Eddie Alvarez: I think everything happened for a reason. I don’t try to dwell on it too much. It’s in the past. I was sincerely happy for Joachim Hansen. He dealt with more adversity and wins and losses than all of us. He worked harder than anybody in the tournament and he put his time in so he got what he deserved.

The longer I’m in this sport the more I realize that it’s not about the wins and losses that makes you a good fighter. It’s about putting the time in and fighting the best guys possible and going after them. The outcome will take care of itself.

It’s about going in there and fighting with good spirit. Joachim deserved it that night. He dealt with his wins and losses and put his time in. He got the check. That was only I was mad about was that I didn’t end up with the money. Other than that I was happy with my performance and there was nothing I could have done anymore to change the outcome of that night.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): You took on Shinya Aoki next under the K-1 banner and he was able to catch you with a heel hook in the first round. Do you feel like you made a mistake in that fight or did he simply catch you and you have to tip your cap to the guy?

Eddie Alvarez: I think I have to tip my cap to the guy. I was in the best shape of my life. I felt very ready and very prepared. I think I underestimated the whole leg lock submission. I didn’t respect it. I think the way to win that fight was to put him in my world and capitalize as soon as possible and end the fight.

And vice versa for him, he had to put me in his world and end the fight as soon as possible. He was the better man that night. He got me. That’s over with. Like I said I moved on and I’m anxious to continue.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Would you hesitate for a rematch with him?

Eddie Alvarez: I would love to. I actually have one more fight left in Japan and if it could be a rematch with Aoki that would be cool.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): I understand Aoki tweaked your knee a bit. How bad did he hurt your knee with the submission? Did you tear anything? How long were you out?

Eddie Alvarez: He tore up my MCL and my LCL. He didn’t tear them completely. I just had to be out and rest and everything. I’m 100 percent now, but after that fight it was pretty bad. It was hard to walk.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): After that you entered the Bellator lightweight tournament. Your second tournament in as many years. You must like the tournament format. Are there benefits to fighting in tournaments and why have you made them a big part of your career so far?

Eddie Alvarez: You get good very fast. You get back there in the gym and you’re constantly improving upon the things that you’ve learned. You’re able to compile a lot of money in a short amount of time, as long as you keep winning, and you always get to face top competition.

As you move on in the tournament and work your way up the competition only gets better. There’s no beating around the bush, no picking opponents, no bullshit. The two best guys get to fight each other and you rarely get to see that in regular fights. With the tournament structure it’s the best two guys. No bullshit.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): You’re known for your standup first and foremost, but you have submitted both of your opponents in the tournament so far. Is your ground game evolving and what do you attribute that to?

Eddie Alvarez:My ground game has always been good I’ve just never really used it. People say I’m good at standup. I don’t even think I’m that great at standup. I just hit hard. I don’t think I’m super technical or anything like that. I got a couple knockouts. I think I just hit hard more than anything.

I have a very good ground game and very good wrestling. People just underestimate it. That’s it. I want to keep it like that. It’s been working for me the last couple fights so I’ve been fighting there. People are surprised I’ve taken them to the ground and finished them out. I’ll just keep them guessing.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): You’re now facing Toby Imade in the finals. He’s won eight fights in a row and is coming off a pretty sick submission of Jorge Masvidal in the semifinals. First of all, what did you think of his inverted triangle? Have you ever seen anything like that?

Eddie Alvarez: No, I haven’t, it was cool as hell.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Have you been scouting Imade and what do you know about him? What are his weaknesses?

Eddie Alvarez: Yeah, I’ve been scouting him. Any fight I get I scout. I’m doing my homework and come June 19 I’ll be able to exploit his weaknesses. I’m not going to say what they are and what I know and what I’ve been studying because that would just be stupid of me. Come June 19, everyone will see.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): You obviously have one more fight left under Bellator and you said one more over in Japan. What is going to be your mentality after you complete those two fights? Are you going to explore all your options at that point?

Eddie Alvarez: No, I’m very happy with Bellator. The thing with K-1 is that I signed with them a while ago and I just so happened to still have one fight left for a rainy day or if something happens.

Right now, my main concern is Bellator. I’m out here with Bellator and they’re treating me good. I want to continue to have success with Bellator and to have myself grow as a fighter along with the promotion.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): The UFC houses a large group of some of the best lightweights in the world. To your knowledge, has Dana White or anyone from the UFC ever inquired about your services?

Eddie Alvarez: My services? (laughs) No one ever worded it like that before. I’ve never heard that.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): (laughs) Well whatever you want to call it.

Eddie Alvarez: I believe my manager Monte Cox spoke with the UFC but the money wasn’t right. I don’t believe they could agree upon how much they were willing to pay. Not to say it’s never an option, that I’m never going to go to the UFC, but right now it wouldn’t make sense for me to do that. I’m happy with the people I work with at Bellator. I just assume stay here as long as me and Bellator keep each other happy.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): If they were to contact you is the fact that they have no tournaments and have exclusive contracts two strikes against them already?

Eddie Alvarez: No, I’m cool with that. But me, it’s about fighting and doing what I do. I’m the type of person that puts my heart and soul into something and I want to be compensated correctly for it. I don’t want to dump my heart, my soul, my life into my occupation and then have my boss tell me “fuck you, we’re gonna tell you what we’re gonna do.”

I’d rather have some sort of say in what I do as well as be compensated correctly for my hard work. Right now that’s happening and I’m comfortable. I don’t worry about money and money problems and when my next fight is. That’s not a concern of mine.

As long as I’m not worrying about that I have to concentrate better on my fights and become a better fighter. The whole UFC thing is about security for me. I want to have that security that the money is going to be there and the money is going to be right for the hard work I put in.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com):You mentioned your desire to fight Aoki again earlier, are there any other guys out there in the UFC or Strikeforce or anywhere else that you’d like to test your skills up against?

Eddie Alvarez: No, not really. I told Monte (Cox) when I first got with him I wanted him to be my manager and I wanted him to give me a lot of fights and I want him to give me some of the toughest guys in the world and he’s done that.

Hopefully he continues to do that and gives me the amount of fights I want to use to gain experience and get up against some of the best guys in the world. That’s really my main concern. I’m not picking anyone out of the crowd and saying this and that.

Whoever anyone considers the best in the world, I want to fight them. That’s my mentality right now.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Is it safe to say that your goal is to now fight the best in the US and become a star here since you’ve already done so overseas in Japan?

Eddie Alvarez: I don’t care about being a star. If I can get paid and beat some of the best in the world I’m good with that. Not being able to leave my hotel room without getting mobbed isn’t a cool way of life for me. I’d like to keep that in Japan.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Well Eddie that’s all I had for you. Is there anything you’d like to pass along to your fans out there or any sponsors you would like to mention?

Eddie Alvarez: I just want to thank everyone for their support. Like I said I dump my heart and soul into this sport and I love it. I want to thank every one of those loyal fans that stick by me in my wins and losses. Believe me I’ll continue to train hard and try to improve as a fighter everyday as well as a person. Thank you to everyone out there who allows me to do this for a living and do what I do.

Derek Bolender (BleacherReport.com): Thanks again Eddie. We’ll do it again in the future. Best of luck to you.

Eddie Alvarez: Thanks man.

This article was originally featured on InsideFights.com, where Derek Bolender is a writer. He also has had his work featured on MMAmania.com, BloodyElbow.com, CBSSports.com, etc., in addition to Bleacher Report.

Exclusive Mike Brown Interview: Working Class Hero

Derek Bolender — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:32:02 -0400

Luck is the result of hard work and sacrifice. It’s the time when preparation and opportunity meet.

So when doubters branded WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown a one hit wonder after his first round destruction of then division kingpin—and promotional Golden Boy—Urijah Faber in late 2008, he followed that performance by smashing number one contender, Leonard Garcia, nearly four months later and choking him out to retain his 145-pound belt.

It marked the ninth straight win for the American Top Team product and his twelfth in his 13 most recent performances. Brown hasn’t tasted defeat since 2005 and has just four blemishes in 25 appearances throughout his sparkling eight-year mixed martial arts career.

If that’s luck, then Mike Brown is perhaps the luckiest man in the sport.

Brown is not physically imposing at 5′6″ and 145 pounds. He’s quiet, unassuming, and simply goes about his business with a workmanlike attitude and approach.

There is no flash to his game. No verbal banter between him and his opponents prior to fights. No jumping on the cage in celebration after a victory. There is none of that.

And maybe that is the reason he is still relatively underrated and under appreciated by most mainstream fans and media…even though he now rightfully shows up in the Top 10 on various pound-for-pound lists.

He is the quintessential quiet superstar who currently sports a 21-4 record in his professional MMA career.

The next step for Brown in his quest to remain a dominant champion, and to continue to win over the fans and media alike, is a rematch with “The California Kid.” Brown graciously took time away from his hectic training schedule to answer a few questions about American Top Team, his critics, Faber and whether or not he’s open to a superfight with Miguel Torres.

Check it out:

Derek Bolender: How long have you been at American Top Team (ATT) and how did you end up there originally?

Mike Brown: I came in 2005. I was fighting down here in a local show called Absolute Fighting Championships in Florida. They brought me down to fight in that show. I met all the people there. I came down to visit once to train…and, man…I was sold. I made the move.

DB: There is always a constant debate going as to who runs the best training facility in MMA, whether it’s ATT or Xtreme Couture or Greg Jackson’s Camp. Why is ATT the best gym in the world?

MB: We have so many talented coaches and so many talented fighters. The depth we have is amazing. We have so many good guys in each weight. Especially is you’re a lighter guy. At 155 we have like ten to twelve world class fighters that have been ranked in the top ten in the world at one time in their career, if not top two or three.

DB: Now set the record straight for me, there’s a rumor going around that you’re the receptionist at the gym when you’re not training? Is that true?

MB: Yeah man. I answer the phones and I call people up and do all that jazz. I’ve been doing it for years. I’m still doing it. My schedule has gotten a little busy with the WEC and all but I still work on Saturdays. I cut myself back to one day a week.

DB: What’s the motivation behind that? You just like doing it?

MB: I like it man. I go in and I surf the internet. I answer the phones and talk about fighting all day. I could sit at home and do that and not get paid or I could go into the gym and do it and get paid.

DB: Has anybody ever figured out it’s you on the phone? What do they say to you?

MB: Oh yeah they laugh. They’ll be like, “Mike? It’s really Mike Brown?” Then you know, some people if they’re a fan they’ll get excited. It’s funny man.

DB: Now, moving forward. You fought Leonard Garcia in his home state of Texas and the rematch with Urijah Faber for your upcoming fight at WEC 41 will be on his home turf in Sacramento, California. Do you like being the guy to stroll in and get booed and try to spoil the party?

MB: To me it doesn’t matter where I fight. It’s all the same once you shut the cage. The only time it matters is if you have a real close decision. The judges might be swayed by the crowd cheering or booing. As long as it’s not tight like that then it doesn’t matter. A five round fight is plenty of time to pull away.

DB: We talked about your camp earlier. How’s your current training camp going and who are some of those trainers and fighters you referred to that are helping you get prepared for your upcoming fight?

MB: I got a boatload of guys I train with. As far as training partners go I train with Yves Edwards a lot. He just had to leave to go to Philadelphia. He’s filming a movie up there.

JZ (Gesias) Calvancante is getting ready right now for (Tatsuya) Kawajiri in K-1 so me and him have been sparring a lot. I just got one of my good friends Brad Pickett from England. He just flew in this weekend. He’s going to be here for six weeks. I got him right up until my fight.

My coaches, man I got a ton of coaches. I got Marcos Da Matta. He’s been helping me a lot with my jiu-jitsu. Of course (Ricardo) Liborio, Coach Howard Davis, Wally Muhammad…we got a staff man. It’s not really hard. You just show up and they tell you want to do. You can’t help but get better.

DB: Are you 100 percent healthy and how is your weight right now?

MB: I’m like in the high 60s and I’m 100 percent healthy.

DB: What do you have to say to your critics out there who think your first victory over Urijah was some sort of fluke?

MB: I mean, what do you say to that? I knocked him out in the first round. It wasn’t like I squeaked out a split decision that I shouldn’t have won.

DB: I know Urijah gave you props after the fight and he was all class but sometimes when guys get beat they like to say that they “got caught.” That phrase is used fairly often. Is there such a thing as “getting caught” or is that just nice way to save face?

MB: You can say that. I think you can say that if you were winning two of the rounds and you got caught in the third round. Maybe this is a five round fight and you won the first three or four rounds and then you got caught late in the fight. But if you just get beat up in the first round I don’t know how you say “I got caught.”

DB: Will you enter the octagon with a specific game plan to dissect Urijah or are you prepared to take what he gives you and go from there?

MB: I just go in there. He’s a good, well-rounded fighter so you can’t try to take him out of his strengths. He’s well-rounded. He doesn’t have a big hole in his game anywhere. You just got to go out and try to fight a smart fight and try to not make mistakes. He’s a world class guy.

DB: If you’re fortunate enough to beat Urijah again who’s left for you to fight in the featherweight division? Any names come to mind that you would potential like to fight in the future?

MB: I got a big one with Urijah. I don’t look past him. He’s one of the best in the world and it’s going to be a battle. Other big names up there…Jose Aldo. He’s probably next in line. I’d say probably the winner of Urijah and I, whoever wins, will probably fight Aldo.

DB: Miguel Torres has expressed some desire to possibly move up in weight. Is a potential super fight with him something that interests you?

MB: That’s a great fight. A lot of people would be interested in it. I would love that fight.

DB: What about moving back up to 155? Obviously you’d have to go to the UFC or another organization. Is that realistic to you to go back up for a new challenge?

MB: Yeah I could do that but I don’t want to shortcut anybody and say there are no 145’s worthy of a fight, because there are many world class guys. I just want to fight big fights. Whatever the fans would like to see is what I want to do. If it’s one of the monsters at 145 or one of the monsters at 155. I just want big fights.

DB: One of the benefits of going to the UFC would be the increase in compensation. With that being said, do you feel like fighters in the WEC, especially the top fighters, are underpaid?

MB: I would say yes, but it’s getting better all the time. Four or five years ago if you were 145 pounds you couldn’t even make a living but now you can. Every year it’s improving. It’s just taking time.

DB: I get the impression you’re the hard working, blue collar guy punching the time clock everyday and going about his business. Is that the mentality you have? If so, do you take pride in that?

MB: Yeah nothing came easy to me. I didn’t take any shortcuts. I’ve worked hard. I’m not young. I took the long road. I didn’t get a title shot after five or six fights. I’ve fought everywhere and I’ve had a lot of injuries.

I’ve worked hard for what I got and for years I had nothing. I’m proud. It’s worth it. The reward is much greater when you have to work as hard as I did to get there.

DB: Well Mike that’s all I had for you. Is there anything you would like to pass along to your fans out there or any sponsors you would like to thank?

MB: Yes. Thanks to Tapout, Champion Nutrition, Bushmasters Firearms, and American Top Team.

DB: Okay great. Thanks again. I appreciate the time. Hopefully we can run you down again before your next fight.

MB: Thank you very much.

Derek Bolender is a staff writer for InsideFights.com, as well as a syndicated writer to CBSSports. Look for future articles from him on InsideFights.com.

Exclusive Jake Shields Interview: Ready for Action

Derek Bolender — Thu, 14 May 2009 09:44:40 -0400

Eight months is a long time to wait. Especially for a fighter who is more than anxious to prove he belongs alongside the elite welterweights in the world.

Yet that’s exactly how long it has been between Jake Shields’ successfully defended his title against Paul “Semtex” Daley at EliteXC: Heat way back in October 2008.

Needless to say, a lot of events have transpired in between.

EliteXC announced shortly thereafter they would cease operations. Then in February 2009, Strikeforce stepped up to purchase the remaining Pro Elite assets, including the contract of Shields and many others.

For his first Strikeforce fight Shields was scheduled to do battle against Joe Riggs at the “Shamrock vs. Diaz” April event, but opted instead for a step up in competition (and in weight), much to the dismay of “Diesel.”

Shields’ new and improved adversary?

Another former EliteXC champion in “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler, who once laid claim to the 185-pound crown.

The result is a headlining fight at a catchweight of 182 pounds and a classic striker vs. grappler matchup that is sure to produce fireworks.

We tracked Shields down in between training sessions to share his thoughts on EliteXC, how close he came to the UFC, Robbie Lawler, and his uncertain future in the fight game.

Derek Bolender: I understand you started your MMA career at Chuck Liddell’s SLO Kickboxing Academy in 1999. Did you know Chuck prior to going there or did you meet him at the gym?

Jake Shields: I knew who he was. He wasn’t really known to the world back then but he was known around town. I didn’t actually personally know him. I’d see him around town and he had a rep as the town tough guy, but I didn’t actually get a chance to meet him until I went to the gym.

Derek Bolender: What were those first few weeks and months of MMA training like for you and what comes to mind when you look back at your experience there?

Jake Shields: It was awesome for me. I was just a young kid. I was like 20 or 21 and just went in there. I was watching old UFC’s and then getting to go in there with Chuck. I mean Chuck wasn’t news back then but he still just knew a ton.

It was just the wealth of knowledge between the standup and the submission fighting. It was an awesome experience.

Derek Bolender: I want to jump forward to the end of your EliteXC tenure. The news comes out that they were ceasing operations. At that point everything was in limbo. What was that uncertainly like for you, not knowing what organization you were going to fight for or when your next fight would be?

Jake Shields: It sucked definitely not really knowing what was going on. It’s never fun. There’s nothing you can do about it. I just tried to look at the positive side. I could open my gym.

I concentrated my energy into that. I just took time to get my gym running good. I kept training, kept working on new skills, and now I’m just happy it finally got resolved with Strikeforce and I’m excited to be back in the cage.

Derek Bolender: It took a good three to four months between that point and the announced purchase of the remaining assets by Strikeforce. In those three to four months, I’m assuming you and your management explored all avenues. Was joining the UFC one of the things you looked into?

Jake Shields: That was definitely my No. 1 option. We were just trying to get the contract cleared. We were very ready to go to the UFC. At my weight that is where the top competition is. I was pushing really hard to go to the UFC. I already hired a lawyer. We had a lawsuit all ready to file.

Scott Coker bought it and I have a good relationship with Scott Coker. I sat down and had a good meeting with him and decided I would honor my contract with Strikeforce.

Derek Bolender: Is it safe to say you would be in the UFC today if Strikeforce didn’t come in and purchase your contract?

Jake Shields: Oh yeah, definitely. That was definitely my plan. If someone would have bought the contract I didn’t like we probably would have gone ahead with the lawsuit. Since I get along quite well with Scott Coker and he’s doing a great job I figured I’d fight for him.

Derek Bolender: Now it will be roughly eight months between your last fight against Paul Daley and your upcoming Strikeforce fight with Robbie Lawler. How bad have you been chomping at the bit to get back to competing on that stage?

Jake Shields: Bad. I just feel like I’m right in my prime right now. I want to be out doing big fights. I feel like in your prime you only have a certain amount of time, so I don’t want to be taking too much time off.

I want to get to the top and I’m trying to get back in there. I’m really excited they gave me Robbie because I think he’s a guy that really lets me test myself.

Derek Bolender: How has training camp been going? What is a typical day like for you?

Jake Shields: It’s going really good right now. I mix it up a little bit, but pretty busy. For example, I just got done sparring a bunch of rounds and hit mitts.

Now I’m going in for my lifting training. I’m trying to put on a little weight for this fight so I’ve been doing a little more lifting than usual.

After that I’ll head to jiu-jitsu practice. It’s going to be a good workout today between sparring, grappling, pad work, lifting, and running. It’s quite a bit of training.

Derek Bolender: With regards to Robbie, we know he has great hands and likes to go toe-to-toe with guys and turn his fights into standup battles. How do you plan on attacking him and what are some of his weaknesses you want to hone in on?

Jake Shields: I don’t put big game plans together, but obviously I’m more the grappler and he’s more the striker, so at some point I would like to get this to the mat. I don’t want to go out there too fast, but get out there, speed things up a little bit, and see where it goes. Hopefully put him on his back.

His biggest weakness is fighting off his back. His strength is the standup and I think he’s got a solid top game as well. Obviously, if I want to work at his weakness I can put him on his back and try to submit him.

Derek Bolender: If you could pass along a message to Robbie about what he needs to be prepared for on June 6 what would that be?

Jake Shields: I think Robbie is going to be prepared so there’s nothing really to know. He knows what he’s up against. He’s going to do everything in his power to get ready for me and I’m going to do everything in mine. I think we’re both going to show up ready and I’ll be really surprised if Robbie doesn’t show up ready to fight.

Derek Bolender: What I really want to know is do you think Robbie is going to have the same fate as the kid you fought on MTV’s Bully Beatdown?

Jake Shields: (laughs) Certainly not. Robbie’s a top-five middleweight. It’s not going to be an easy fight like that. I think I’ll go out there and be able to stand my turf. I wouldn’t take the fight if I didn’t think I could win. I don’t think it’ll be that easy of a fight though.

Derek Bolender: Looking further into the future, is it safe to say you could be at the 185-pound limit for a while because there are more quality opponents there?

Jake Shields: It’s definitely a possibility. At this point I’m just worried about getting through Robbie and see how I feel...if I feel strong enough at this weight or not. If I do get through Robbie and do feel strong then maybe I’ll stay here for a few fights.

I think, overall, 170 is my best weight, though. That’s where I want to spend most of my career. If it’s a good move to get the big fights, I’m willing to stay up.

Derek Bolender: It’s a fact that the majority of the best welterweights in the world are in the UFC. Who out of that group would you like to challenge yourself against?

Jake Shields: There are a lot of guys I’d liked to fight. They have a really stacked division. If I could pick one it would have to be GSP (Georges St. Pierre). He’s been the standout in the UFC right now and I think it would be awesome to get a chance to get in there and fight him.

Derek Bolender: Is there any doubt in your mind you could step into the UFC and be a title contender from day one?

Jake Shields: There’s no doubt in my mind I’d be in there with the top.

You never know what’s going to happen when you get there and fight but I know for sure I could go in there and compete with the best.

Derek Bolender: If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your current contract status? When does that expire? Is it by year or by fight?

Jake Shields: There is time and fights on it. I don’t deal with that. Any contract coming in my manager deals with that. Things were shifted around a bit with the buying out and renegotiation so I don’t know exactly what’s on there, but I think it’s somewhere around a year.

Derek Bolender: Is coming to the UFC still realistic sometime in the future or is it completely out of the realm of possibility?

Jake Shields: At this point I just want to fight for Strikeforce and get these fights done and see how things go. I’m really happy with Strikeforce, so I don’t want to be like, “oh, I’m going to run to the UFC.”

I’ve been a huge fan of the UFC for years and I really do want to go out there and fight the best at my weight, so it puts me in a tough situation. For now, I think I’m just going to worry about getting through my contract and then reevaluating the situation and take it from there.

Derek Bolender: Is it safe to say you are going to try to fight again before the end of the year? It won’t be another eight month gap will it?

Jake Shields: Man I sure hope not. I would really like to get a few fights in. I’d really like to fight right now. As long as the Lawler fight goes good and I’m not hurt at all I’d like to fight again in the show in August. I would love to jump right back on that one.

Derek Bolender: Well Jake that’s all I had for you. Is there anything you would like to pass along to your fans out there or any sponsors you would like to thank?

Jake Shields: Just thanks for the support. Be sure to watch June 6. I’m sure it’s going to be a good fight. Be sure to tune into Showtime.

Derek Bolender: Thanks again. I appreciate the time. We’ll do it again in the future. Best of luck to you in a few weeks.

Jake Shields: Awesome man. Thank you.

Derek Bolender is a staff writer for InsideFights.com. His articles have also been featured on MMAmania.com, FoxSports.com, CBSSports.com, and TopGunMMA.com.

The MMA Top 10 Pound-for-Pound List

Derek Bolender — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:53:27 -0400

The very definition of the phrase “pound-for-pound” in combat sports typically attracts more debate than the actual lists themselves.

The phrase can take on any number of meanings depending on your interpretation or point of view.

Originally, the term was used to describe former welterweight and middleweight boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

It meant that Robinson was a better quality fighter than those fighting at lower and higher weight classes.

The most important factor to keep in mind is that the essence of pound-for-pound is relative, not absolute.

Absolute is comparing the fighters against one another if they fought in the same weight class. This is a common mistake.

Relative, on the other hand, appropriately cuts across the various weight classes.

The first step is to compare the fighter to the rest of his division. You must consider a number of factors including his overall skill set, recent fights, notable wins, notable losses, the quality of his opponents, the quality of his MMA organization, and his level of dominance within his division.

Only after the evaluation process is completed can you attempt to slot one pound-for-pound candidate in one weight class in reference to another candidate in another weight class.

It is quite a complex train of thought and it is no wonder that the phrase leads to so many different meanings and subsequent debates.

Without further ado, here is a list of the current ten best pound-for-pound mixed martial arts fighters in the world.

1. Fedor Emelianenko (Affliction)

Overall Record: 30 – 1, 1 no contest

The man. The myth. The legend. Nobody has dominated a weight class for this long against this level of competition.

His latest formidable challenger Andrei Arlovski turned into yet another name on his long list of victims. Arlovski ended up face first on the canvas after a vicious overhand right that knocked him temporarily unconscious.

In a sport where a split second lapse in judgment or failure of technique can lead to a quick defeat, Fedor’s lone blemish was due to a cut he sustained in a 2000 match against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.

Due to the fact that it was a tournament style format and one fighter had to advance, it was ruled a TKO victory for Kohsaka. Fedor has not lost ever since.

2. Anderson Silva (UFC)

Overall Record: 24 – 4

A recent victory over Thales Leites ran his UFC record winning streak to nine, however, it was seen as a lackluster performance by most fans and media outlets. There were similar sentiments about his previous fight with Patrick Cote as well.

At this point Silva appears to be unchallenged and unmotivated. His trademark killer instinct, feared by many in the past, appears to have been temporarily put on hold.

As a result, the UFC management dug into their bag of tricks and pulled out former champion Forrest Griffin as his next opponent for UFC 101, which will take place at light heavyweight. Silva can quickly erase any memory of his previous two fights with an impressive victory over Griffin.

3. Georges St. Pierre (UFC)

Overall Record: 18 – 2

St. Pierre is knocking on the door of the No. 2 position coming off an impressive and thorough destruction of B.J. Penn at UFC 94.

“GSP” is the prototype for the modern day fighter; strong, athletic, and well-rounded in all areas of MMA.

A win over Thiago Alves at UFC 100 could potentially set up a “super fight” with Anderson Silva, which has been at the top of a lot of wish lists for some time now.

4. Miguel Angel Torres (WEC)

Overall Record: 37 – 1

The current WEC champion has rattled off 17 consecutive victories against some of the toughest 135 pound fighters in the world.

Torres attacks his opponents with a unique blend of world class Muay Thai striking and black belt level Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Stand up with him and he’ll use a flurry of punches, knees, and kicks to slowly pick you apart or take him down and he’ll try to submit you any number of ways.

A move up to 145 pounds to face Mike Thomas Brown or Urijah Faber could be a possibility if he continues to stream roll through the bantamweight division going forward.

5. Rashad Evans (UFC)

Overall Record: 13 – 0 – 1

Evans, who was once known simply as a wrestler with raw skills, has developed into a well-rounded and dangerous fighter under the tutelage of Greg Jackson and company in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

He won his first championship belt with a TKO victory over Forrest Griffin in December 2008, but as the saying goes, you’re not a true champion until you defend your belt.

He’s now faced with the unenviable task of figuring out the puzzle that is Lyoto Machida on May 23.

6. B. J. Penn (UFC)

Overall Record: 13 – 5 – 1

Penn is coming off a humbling loss at 170 pounds to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94 in one of the most publicized fights in MMA history.

With retirement now on hold he’s back to defend his UFC lightweight belt, which is his bread and butter weight class. He’s arguably the greatest lightweight fighter of all time.

His opponent at UFC 101 will be a very talented fighter in Kenny Florian who, ironically, has done some training with St. Pierre’s camp in Canada for the upcoming fight.

7. Gegard Mousasi (DREAM)

Overall Record: 27 – 2 – 1

Still relatively unknown to most mainstream MMA fans in North America, Mousasi is a superstar quietly in the making.

2008 was his coming out party winning the DREAM middleweight grand prix with victories over Denis Kang, Dong Sik Yoon, Melvin Manhoef, and Ronaldo Souza in consecutive matches to take the crown.

“The Young Vagabond” is as well-rounded of a fighter as there is in MMA today and he’s only 23 years old. Keep an eye on him from this point forward. The sky’s the limit.

8. Thiago Alves (UFC)

Overall Record: 16 – 3

“The Pitbull” is currently on a seven fight winning streak and has not lost since 2006.

His 2008 resume was arguably the best in all of MMA. He posted consecutive knockouts of Karo Parisyan and former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes. He then capped it off with a unanimous decision victory over Josh Koscheck to lay claim to the No. 1 contender spot.

He’ll face his toughest opponent yet when he takes on current UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100 with the 170 pound belt on the line.

Alves’ combination of devastating Muay Thai striking, strength, and takedown defense could pose major problems for St. Pierre stylistically. Don’t be shocked if he is able to pull off the upset.

9. Lyoto Machida (UFC)

Overall Record: 14 – 0

Machida may very well have the most difficult style to try to dissect in all of MMA. He is a precision counter striker who is incredibly elusive. He is rarely out of position and he simply does not make mistakes.

Fourteen different fighters have not been able to figure him out so far. That includes the likes of B.J. Penn, Rich Franklin, Thiago Silva, and Tito Ortiz.

On deck is the opportunity to reach the light heavyweight pinnacle with a title fight scheduled against current champion Rashad Evans at UFC 98.

10. Mike Thomas Brown (WEC)

Overall Record: 21 – 4

Brown has officially burst onto the scene. With nine consecutive victories since 2005, including wins over Jeff Curran, Urijah Faber, and Leonard Garcia he has gone from virtual unknown to the best featherweight fighter in the world in a short span of time.

Brown, who is big and powerful at the 145 pound limit, is now peaking under the tutelage of Howard Davis and Ricardo Liborio at the famed American Top Team camp in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Still underrated and underappreciated by fans and media alike, Brown will look to once again silence a few critics in his upcoming rematch with Urijah Faber at WEC 41.

Honorable Mentions

Forrest Griffin (UFC), Quinton Jackson (UFC), Shinya Aoki (DREAM), Frank Mir (UFC), Eddie Alvarez (Bellator), Urijah Faber (WEC), Josh Barnett (Affliction), Jake Shields (Strikeforce), Jon Fitch (UFC), and Dan Henderson (UFC).

Exclusive Shane Carwin Interview: One Rung At A Time

Derek Bolender — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:27:37 -0400

The biggest man inside the UFC octagon not named Brock Lesnar is fellow heavyweight star-in-the-making Shane Carwin.

Like Lesnar, he is blessed with a rare combination of size, strength, and athleticism that is unparalleled in MMA today.

Both men stand well over six feet tall (Carwin 6’4,” Lesnar 6’3”) and have to cut weight to reach the heavyweight limit of 265 pounds before their fights.

Prior to UFC 96 the fans and media could not quite figure out Shane Carwin. Everyone knew he was physically gifted and had potential, but that was the extent of their assessments.

Carwin was just 2–0 in the UFC and 10–0 overall in his young career at that juncture. His two UFC wins were first round knockouts against Christian Wellisch and Neil Wain, neither of which is considered a top level contender. He had never fought a top flight contender prior to joining the UFC either.

The combination of the small sample size of fights and lack of quality opponents was puzzling when trying to determine how he would perform against a world class heavyweight like his UFC 96 adversary Gabriel Gonzaga.

Needless to say Carwin set the record straight very quickly and was able to answer a lot of critics that night. It was another victory on the resume and yet another first round knockout. To this day he has yet to see the second round as a professional fighter.

The win over the former No. 1 heavyweight contender Gonzaga was essentially a fair warning to the rest of the division that he’s a legitimate contender and he is going to be a tough matchup for anyone.

Fresh off another day of training, Carwin took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions regarding his past, present, and uncertain future.

Continue reading to find out how he is progressing from injury, how important Nate Marquardt has been to his success, and who he’d be happy fighting if he doesn’t get the opportunity to face the Frank Mir/Brock Lesnar UFC 100 winner.

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Derek Bolender: I’d like to travel back to the night of UFC 96 for a second. Gabriel Gonzaga lands a couple good shots on you and then takes you down. You find yourself on your back with a jiu-jitsu black belt on top of you. What was going through your head at that moment?

Shane Carwin: At that moment I was pretty calm and composed by then. My only thoughts were to get up and get out and get back on the feet again. Stuff that has worked a thousand times in training.

I’ve got black belts on top of me like Eliot Marshall and Nate Marquardt all the time. It wasn’t like anything that was unfamiliar to me. My major goal was just to get up and get back to the feet with Gabe.

Derek Bolender: I understand that you broke your nose during that fight. When did you have the surgery, how long were you out of commission, and have you started training again?

Shane Carwin: I don’t remember the exact date but it was at least a couple weeks after (UFC 96) before I got in to do surgery. I still haven’t been cleared to spar, which is hopefully going to happen within the next couple weeks. I guess that’s about it with the nose.

Derek Bolender: Have you been able to focus on other aspects of your game like your cardio in the mean time?

Shane Carwin: Yeah, I’ve been working on my strength and explosion. Mostly focusing on getting my strength back up and working on my explosion through my hips. Right now I’m weighing almost 280 (pounds).

Derek Bolender: Was the layoff hard for you? Have you been chomping at the bit to get back into sparring?

Shane Carwin: Yeah you know, you always miss the guys and being part of the team and being in there with them. I’ve been able to do a little technique here and there and working on that so I still get to see them.

Derek Bolender: You mentioned Nate Marquardt. What a lot of people out there probably don’t know is how much of an impact he’s had on your career. Talk a little bit about how you originally crossed paths with Nate and what he’s meant to your development as a mixed martial artist?

Shane Carwin: We can put it like this…. I wouldn’t be where I’m at without Nate Marquardt. I was fortunate enough to meet him after my second fight in Hawaii (in March 2006). I think he was cornering a guy named Danny Higgins who was actually, I believe, a bodyguard for Steve Irwin (the late “Crocodile Hunter”).

I happened to catch up with Nate in the airport and we got to talking. I realized he was from Colorado and down in Aurora and just how much more he could bring to my game.

For me to be able to take it serious. To be able to go down there and train and stuff. He really invested. We just hit it off after that.

Derek Bolender: Is it true that you have a purple belt in jiu-jitsu under Nate as well?

Shane Carwin: Yeah it is. I do have a purple belt under Nate. Nate’s also responsible for introducing me to Trevor Whittman (current boxing coach) and Christian Allen (current jiu-jitsu coach).

Derek Bolender: I think a lot of people would be surprised to know that 5 of your 11 victories are by way of submission. Just how good is your ground game and when can we expect to see your first gogoplata?

Shane Carwin: (laughs) Well, I don’t know if you’ll ever see a gogoplata out of me. It’s something I continually work on (ground game). I continue to take technique classes in both jiu-jitsu and boxing and MMA wrestling as well.

I continue to train technique in all that stuff just to make sure that I continue to improve in all that stuff. I’m nowhere near the potential that I see myself as an evolved fighter.

Derek Bolender: You’re still the only top level fighter I know that has a full time job outside of MMA. You obviously love being an engineer and it’s something you take seriously. Out of curiosity, what are some of the projects you’re currently involved in at the North Weld County Water District?

Shane Carwin: At the North Weld County Water District … (repeats and laughs). Boy, you really make me sound country there.

Well I’m in charge of the hydraulic model. It’s a computer replica basically of our water distribution system. Off of that I can do any type of subdivision review, fire flow demands, any other requirements that our distribution system might need. I set up the chlorine model in it as well.

I’m also in charge of setting up and working on new projects and designs like pump stations. Anything from new infrastructure, to new water lines going in, to getting easements from land owners. My projects vary there.

It makes it interesting day to day, you know, inside and outside (the office). I went to school for a reason, so I can have a job like this. I love my job.

Derek Bolender: Even with your busy schedule you seem to have found time recently to dive into the Twitter craze. Last time I checked you 213 followers now. What can we expect to see Shane Carwin tweeting about going forward and why is it important for you to have that one-on-one interface with your fans?

Shane Carwin: I know fans like to keep up on that stuff and be a part of an MMA fighter’s life or anybody’s life, just know what’s going on day-to-day.

I think it’s important for them to see that and to see what’s going on and just continually try to give them new information here and there on what’s going on.

Derek Bolender: Moving forward, I’ve seen video of you online recently expressing desire to fight Brock Lesnar. I’m assuming you think he’ll beat Frank Mir at UFC 100 and you want the first crack him? Correct me where I’m wrong here.

Shane Carwin: No you’re right. I want whoever holds that belt. That’s my end goal. Right now Brock has it. Until Frank proves otherwise Brock still has it. We’ll see at 100.

I’m not saying that Brock’s the winner or loser. I think Frank’s a great opponent and very talented and that fight can go either way. If Frank takes that away then I want Frank Mir. I just continually try to climb that ladder as they call it, to the next rung.

Derek Bolender: There is a lot of buzz out there about a possible matchup with you and Brock Lesnar simply because of your similar backgrounds. Say he’s lucky enough to come away with a victory against Frank Mir and you guys get the opportunity to knock each other’s heads around a little bit. How would you envision a fight going with Brock Lesnar? What would you be able to do to him in the cage?

Shane Carwin: I think it’s going to be interesting stylistically because we’re both wrestlers. Probably pretty similar as far as where we’re at in our games. I might have a little more experience than him but obviously he’s been in bigger fights, a couple bigger fights of championship caliber under him.

I would envision that fight taking place on the feet and throwing some big haymakers at each other, some bombs. That sounds like a good time to me.

Derek Bolender: I would expect the winner of the Lesnar/Mir fight to defend the belt likely in fourth quarter 2009. Can you wait that long for a title shot or will you realistically have to have one more fight between now and then?

Shane Carwin: If the UFC thinks that another fight is in store and they want to go off the top of the list up there I’m fine with that too. I’ll take a fight before that.

Derek Bolender: Has the UFC contacted you about a potential next opponent up to this point?

Shane Carwin: I haven’t been contacted at all.

Derek Bolender: Have you let them know when you would like to fight again?

Shane Carwin: No that hasn’t even...not until I’m medically cleared are they worried about that.

Derek Bolender: If for some reason you don’t get the title shot against the Lesnar/Mir winner are there any other heavyweights out there that you would like to fight?

Shane Carwin: Whoever they throw at me. I know (Cheick) Kongo’s up there right now. If they throw that matchup at me to take place I’d be happy with that matchup. Like I said, one rung at a time. Whatever they deem necessary for me to do that then I’ll take care of that.

As far as naming opponents and stuff I’m not too concerned. I can sit here and name all the names I want but they’re the ones that get to chose in the end. For me to sit here and waste any energy on naming names wouldn’t make any sense for me to get worried about that.

Derek Bolender: Well Shane that’s all I had for you. Thank you for your time. Is there anything you would like to pass along to your fans out there or any sponsors you want to thank?

Shane Carwin: I just want to say a big thanks to all my fans out there following and all the supporters. Especially all the supporters of MMA in general. It’s a growing sport and it’s only going to continue to get better.

Derek Bolender: Thanks again Shane. Best of luck in the future.

Shane Carwin: Thanks.

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Derek Bolender is a freelance MMA columnist. His articles have been featured on InsideFights.com, FoxSports.com, CBSSports.com, BleacherReport.com, and TopGunMMA.com. Send Derek a question or comment to dbeastbo@yahoo.com.

Exclusive Sean Sherk Interview: Father Time Can Wait

Derek Bolender — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:52:58 -0400

A vicious flying knee at the end of third round of his title fight against B.J. Penn at UFC 84 caught Sean Sherk flush and as a result he was unable to answer the call for the fourth round.

It was a heartbreaking and disappointing loss for Sherk.

It would also be his first loss at 155 pounds in his career.

In the aftermath, he was immediately thrown back into the muddled UFC lightweight heap.

It took roughly five months for Sherk to regroup, refocus, and to prove to his critics he was still going to be a huge threat even at the age of 35.

In October 2008, he responded in the face of adversity with an impressive victory over up-and-coming Xtreme Couture product Tyson Griffin at UFC 90.

It was a giant leap forward for Sherk in his quest to once again wear the UFC lightweight belt before he hangs up his gloves, which will likely happen sooner rather than later.

Enter step number two in his quest to once again find the apex in the form of highly regarded lightweight Frankie Edgar.

On the verge of their much anticipated battle at UFC 98 on May 23, Sherk took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions.

Continue reading the transcript to find out how training camp is going, which young UFC lightweight he thinks will be champion one day, the WAMMA champion who’s overrated, preferences on future fights, and what he thinks about having a figurine bearing his likeness.

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Derek Bolender:

It’s great to run you down and I appreciate the time. I want to start off by asking you about the Sean Sherk figurine.

After all, it’s not everyday someone gets to have a miniature replica of themselves made.

You partnered with a company called Round Five (Round5MMA.com) to make this happen. How did that come to fruition and what do you think of the final product?

Sean Sherk:

That came about, basically I met Damon Lau (President and co-founder of Round Five) out in Canada. He was doing an appearance out there.

He brought the idea to me, which of course, I was pretty excited about the opportunity. I jumped on board with those guys. It was a real long process. I believe it took anywhere from nine months to a year before the finished product came out.

I was able to give a lot of my input throughout the whole process, which is pretty cool too, because it makes it more personal for me because of that reason. Yeah, it’s been great. I see those action figures everywhere I go.

I mean I do a lot of appearances throughout the year and there’s always people coming up to me wanting me to sign them, stuff like that, so I know people are out there buying them which is great.

It’s an honor for me to be apart of this company and to have this action figure made of myself.

Derek Bolender:

I thought the attention to deal was pretty incredible. I mean it’s got even your tattoos and your web site on your shorts and everything.

Sean Sherk:

Yeah, we tried to make it as personal as possible. Obviously, we want it to be as realistic as possible, so people kind of identify with you.

I put my web site on there, put my sponsors on there, my quotes, the box. Even all the way down to the pose. I got to pick the pose that I wanted my action figure to have.

Like I said before, it’s been an honor.

Derek Bolender:

I’d like to get some of your thoughts on this past weekend’s action in Montreal (UFC 97).

As you’ve probably heard, Chuck Liddell had another disappointment.

He’s now lost four of his last five fights and is debating retirement at the age of 39.

How are you, at the age of 35, able to keep your skills at such a high level and what do you attribute that to?

Sean Sherk:

I guess the big thing for me is that I’m still a student of the sport. I spend a lot of time working technique. I’ve got jiu-jitsu coaches, wrestling coaches, boxing coaches.

I’ve got some of the best training partners in the world. I fly guys out to train with me before I fight. Even during my down time, I’m always working on footwork, speed bag, heavy bag, double leg bag, drilling, technique, keeping my body mobile and agile.

I do a lot of plyometric stuff to keep my quick twitch.

I’m doing everything I possibly can to fight that age thing and so far I’ve been successful.

Not only that, but my diet's really good and I take really good care of myself. Obviously, the older you get, the smarter you gotta get, and I’ve been able to do that. I’m not ready to walk away from this sport anytime soon.

As long as I’m performing at a top level I’ll keep fighting, but as soon as I’m not able to perform at that top level, then I’ll have to walk away from the sport, which I don’t want to do. I’m doing everything I can to fight that.

I’m putting a lot of time in the gym and constantly trying to learn and get better and grow.

Derek Bolender:

To the naked eye you even appear to be evolving as a fighter, especially your standup. You were comfortable standing with B.J. Penn.

You won Fight of the Night honors going toe-to-toe with Tyson Griffin. Your hands appear to be much better.

Is the perception reality, or has your standup been there all along, and you’ve simply chosen to go to other facets of your game to attain success in the past?

Sean Sherk:

I’ve spent a lot of time working a lot of things with Nat (McIntyre). Boxing is something that I’ve really spent a lot of time on evolving and tweaking it.

I have good boxing. A lot of people don’t know I started boxing 14 years ago. Boxing and Muay Thai. I’ve been training this stuff a long time.

I always said I’ll pull it out when I need it and now with the sport evolving as it is there are so many great fighters out there you can’t be one dimensional anymore.

You gotta get out there and you gotta box. You gotta wrestle. You gotta be a submission threat. You gotta be a three-dimensional fighter now.

Basically, I mean, look at the Griffin fight. We were both having problems getting takedowns. I got a couple takedowns but I was having a hard time holding him down.

He came to play. I needed it and I pulled it out and there it was.

Derek Bolender:

Speaking of Tyson Griffin, to me it looked like you guys were very similar to one another. Very similar styles. Both great wrestlers, have good boxing, good cardio.

Does Tyson remind you of yourself a little bit or are there any other fighters out there that maybe you see a little bit of yourself in?

Sean Sherk:

Yeah, definitely. Tyson is young. He’s a crisp fighter. He trains with a great camp. You’re going to see big things out of that guy.

I think he’s only like 23 or 24 years old I believe. He’s still young and has a lot of room to grow still. I think he’ll be a champion someday definitely.

His style reminds me a lot of mine right now. Not when I was younger obviously. He’s evolved farther than I was at 24.

My style now, yeah, I mean he’s a great wrestler, a great boxer, and he has some submission skills too. Like I said, you’ll probably see some great things from him in the future.

He just had a tough fight I saw (against Rafael dos Anjos). I think it was on SPIKE. He’s definitely going to be one to watch.

Derek Bolender:

Of course, you’re set to face Frankie Edgar at UFC 98 in about a month. How is training camp going and what is a typical week of training like for you?

Sean Sherk:

Training camp is going real good. I’ve got some of the best of the best right here in Minnesota training with me. My coaches are helping me out a lot. Spending a lot of time working hard.

A typical day is … I train all day man. That’s all I do. This is my full time job. I’m at the gym 6–8 hours a day. I put a lot of time in.

I want to make sure that every avenue is covered. I know this fight is going to be a barnburner. It’s going to be a real fast faced real aggressive fight.

Two guys that are great wrestlers. Two guys that can box. I think this fight has Fight of the Night and potentially one of the best fights of the year written all over it.

Derek Bolender:

Your teammate Brock Larson is also fighting at UFC 98 (against Chris Wilson). Have you guys been working in the gym together and helping get each other prepared and how is he looking?

Sean Sherk:

Yeah we’re training together a couple times a week. Brock Larson is very underestimated I think.

He’s a brown belt in jiu-jitsu. A phenomenal wrestler. He hits like a brick shithouse. You don’t want to let that guy punch you.

He’s definitely underestimated right now, which is good, because he’ll be able to catch guys off guard and he’ll definitely make some waves in the UFC.

Derek Bolender:

Switching back to your upcoming opponent Frankie Edgar. I know he’s a purple belt in jiu-jitsu now under Ricardo Almeida.

Does his jiu-jitsu game or any other of his strengths concern you at all?

Sean Sherk:

Not really. I know he’s a great wrestler but so am I. I train with some phenomenal wrestlers right here in Minnesota. I got guys that wrestled on the world teams, guys that were ranked on the Olympic ladder.

I’ve got guys that were All-Americans. Some (Minnesota) Gophers. I’ve got the best wrestlers in the country right here I’m training with every single day, so I’m not worried about my wrestling ability.

Same thing with boxing. I’ve got some phenomenal boxers and phenomenal jiu-jitsu guys. For me you gotta respect everybody’s ability. I got a ton of respect for Frankie’s ability.

I watched the video and this guy’s tough as nails. I respect his ability but I don’t fear his ability. I’ve just got confidence in what I know I can do.

Derek Bolender:

Is the mentality to shore up all areas of your game and be ready for anything he presents on fight night, or do you go in with a specific game plan geared towards him?

Sean Sherk:

Obviously, you got a game plan going in there. You know what you want to do.

You know that you want to use that to try to exploit, but I walk into the cage ready for whatever happens, because game plans go out the window real fast.

Derek Bolender:

How do you visualize the fight playing out?

Sean Sherk:

I think it’s going to be like I said before. Potentially one of the best fights of the year. You got two guys who are real fast, explosive, with great cardio. We both wanna prove that we’re one of the best lightweights in the world.

I think you have two guys who are gonna come after each other and try to establish their game plan and try to prove their confidence. I really don’t know what’s gonna happen until we grab onto one another.

Derek Bolender:

If you’re fortunate to come away with a victory over Edgar, can I go ahead and pencil you in against the Clay Guida and Diego Sanchez winner?

Sean Sherk:

Well, potentially. It’s always up to the UFC. I think that, obviously, it’s a big if.

If I do beat Frankie the winner of the Guida and Sanchez fight could be a great matchup for me.

That or a potential title fight but again I don’t know when B.J. is going to plan on defending the belt after he fights Kenny.

He doesn’t seem like, it’s not really a big concern …. on his things to do list.We’ll see what happens.

First things first. We’ll concentrate on Frankie and worry what’s next after that.

Derek Bolender:

You mentioned Kenny Florian. He’s going to have the opportunity to fight for the belt again at UFC 101. You were the guy that dominated Florian for five rounds at UFC 64.

Do you feel like Florian deserved the title shot against Penn without having to go through you first? Does that bother you on any level at all?

Sean Sherk:

I would have liked to been able to have a shot at the “No. 1 contender.” I hold a win over Kenny and I’ve fought some pretty damn tough guys over the years.

I got beaten by B.J. which means I get thrown back into the contender mix, which means I have to work my way back up. Kenny, I believe he won five or six fights in a row.

We’ll give him his title shot and then we’ll see what happens and maybe I’ll get my shot after that.

Derek Bolender:

Who do you like in that fight?

Sean Sherk:

Obviously, I gotta go with B.J. in that one. B.J.’s a big 155 pounder being that he’s fought as high as heavyweight before. This guy is the hardest guy I’ve fought.

He has great takedown defense and he’s a world champion black belt in jiu-jitsu. I don’t think that’s a very good style for Kenny.

Derek Bolender:

Finally, are there any other fighters who are not on the UFC roster that you would love to fight someday if it was possible?

Maybe an Eddie Alvarez or a Shinya Aoki or somebody like that?

Sean Sherk:

Yeah, definitely. There were guys over in Japan that I would have liked to have a shot at. Aoki’s always been one of them.

No disrespect to Aoki. I think his ground game is phenomenal but I just thought he was overrated. He’s got no striking. He’s got no wrestling.

He’s got no striking and he wears pants and he butt scoots. That’s not going to last very long in the UFC.

I was hoping to get a crack at him at some point in time but he lost in about 39 seconds a couple weeks ago so I guess we’ll scrap that matchup (laughs).

Derek Bolender:

Well Sean that’s all I had for you. Any final words you would like to pass along to your fans out there?

Sean Sherk:

Got to thank the loyal fans for the support over the years. Check out the action figure Round Five at FYE stores, among others.

My sponsors …. Warrior Wear and Island Supplements and Minnesota Martial Arts Academy and API.

Derek Bolender:

Thanks again Sean. We’ll do it again soon. Best of luck to you in a few weeks.

Sean Sherk:

Cool, alright thanks.

____________________

Derek Bolender is a freelance MMA columnist.

His articles are featured on InsideFights.com, TopGunMMA.com, CBSSportsline.com, and BleacherReport.com Send a question or comment to:

dbeastbo@yahoo.com

Sean Sherk: Over the Hill, Much Maligned, and As Good As Ever

Derek Bolender — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:15:58 -0400

Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk is a lot of things to a lot of different people. To some, he’s a potential UFC hall of famer, a former UFC lightweight champion, and grinding, blue-collar animal inside the octagon.

To others, he is past his prime, has a boring fighting style, and is a proven cheater for testing positive for a banned substance in July 2007.

There is no doubt he is one of the most polarizing figures in all of MMA.

Regardless of which side of the fence you fall on Sherk, at the not-so-ripe age of 35, is not going anywhere anytime soon.

His career resume is impressive to say the least. His notable wins include the likes of Karo Parisyan (twice), Nick Diaz, Kenny Florian, Hermes Franca, and most recently Tyson Griffin.

Since June 19, 1999, the date of Sherk’s first professional MMA fight roughly ten years ago, he has accumulated an impressive 33–3–1 overall record.

Keep in mind two of his losses were to welterweights who physically overwhelmed him, including former welterweight champion Matt Hughes at UFC 42 and current welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 56.

His third career loss was his only career blemish at the lightweight level coming at the hands of current lightweight champion B.J. Penn at UFC 84.

While other veteran fighters like Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva have had their skills diminish with age, and appear unwilling to reinvent themselves, Sherk remains steadfast in evolving and staying a dangerous title contender.

Sherk, known most notably for his incredible wrestling base, continues to hone his standup skills with each passing fight.

His last two fights against B.J. Penn and Tyson Griffin, a combined 30 minutes of total fight time, has seen Sherk comfortable enough to stand in the pocket for the entire duration of both bouts. That is unparalleled in comparison to his previous 35 fights.

It is his cardio that remains the most important factor in his success this late in his career. His workout regimen, overseen by Greg Nelson and company at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, to this day remains second to none.

At this point Sherk still has the skills necessary to be able to compete for another title. Other than B.J. Penn, who is nearing the end of his storied career, there are no lightweights on the current UFC roster that Sherk could not potentially defeat.

What the UFC will not tell you is that this puts them in a quandary, and as a result, has created unnecessary obstacles that Sherk must somehow overcome.

The problem is that the UFC would rather fast track, promote, and crown golden boys Kenny Florian or Diego Sanchez their lightweight champion. They would be more than thrilled if these two ruled the division for the next few years.

After all, Florian and Sanchez are two of the most popular fighters in all of MMA. Both gained huge popularity on The Ultimate Fighter program and are now treasured UFC assets.

Both are much younger than Sherk, more marketable, and have much bigger fan bases.

As a result of his popularity Florian was allowed to leapfrog Sherk and get the next crack at the lightweight belt against Penn, rumored to be at UFC 101.

Should Florian, who was dominated and bloodied by Sherk for five rounds already at UFC 64, have to beat Sherk to get the title shot?

Ideally he should, but there is a great chance Sherk would once again be able to defeat Florian. It was a risk the UFC was simply not willing to take.

Sanchez, on the other hand, will continue down the path blazed by Florian going forward and likely receive the same pardon when the time comes for him to be in title contention.

If Sanchez and Sherk both keep winning expect this matchup to never take place for the same reasons that Florian was ushered to the front of the line.

Sherk has essentially become the kryptonite of the lightweight division and a guy the UFC has no clue what to do with going forward other than pushing him off to the side for the foreseeable future.

With that being said, there is an extremely fine line between making a profit as a private business entity and holding up the integrity of the sport as a whole. It is a tightrope that the UFC is constantly walking and an extremely difficult challenge.

However, as a general rule, if you are consciously protecting fighters like Florian during the scheduling process you have fallen off the wrong side of the tightrope.

Not requiring Florian to fight Sherk for the number one contender spot was a great example of a decision made solely based with the bottom line of the company in mind.

Furthermore, not requiring Sanchez to fight Sherk when the time is right would also be a clear breach and yet another decision that would be frowned upon by the MMA gods.

The good news is that the UFC management still has plenty of time to decide exactly how close Sanchez will come to being exposed to the kryptonite but do not hold your breath.

It will likely be déjà vu all over again.

Sherk simply has to go about taking care of his business and hope when the time comes he once again gets the opportunity to shine.

He cannot control the external circumstances swirling around the lightweight division. He can only control what goes on inside the octagon and that starts with his next opponent Frankie Edgar at UFC 98 in Las Vegas on May 23, 2009.

When the music is queued that evening and Earshot’s “Wait” blares over the speakers inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena, out will walk a man on a persistent mission attempting to claw his way back to the pinnacle.

A man simultaneously waging war not just on lightweight division, but also his critics, father time, and the brazen politics of the UFC.

Keith Jardine: The Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

Derek Bolender — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:00:21 -0500

At first glance Keith Jardine may appear to be the big bad wolf, but in reality he’s the proverbial sheep, the UFC’s quintessential sacrificial lamb.

Jardine will once again drag his wolf-like persona back into the octagon for a main event matchup at UFC 96 against former light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson on Mar. 7.

A victory by Jackson is rumored to earn him a title shot against current champion Rashad Evans at UFC 100. On the other hand, if Jardine comes out on top, he simply gets another formidable feather in his cap and steps up another rung on the ladder.

Is Jardine aware he is in the stepping stone position more times than not and chooses to use it as motivation? Or is he relatively oblivious and simply goes about his business one fight at a time regardless of the opponent?

Either way, I certainly do not intend to be the one to explain this quandary to him.

After all, he is the “Dean of Mean.” A guy I would not want to run into in a dark alley even if his profession was not a mixed martial arts fighter.

He’s 6’2”, 205 pounds of Greg Jackson-trained bar room brawler. A guy nobody in their right mind would mess with.

He has the intimidating blank stare. The piercing blue eyes. The shaved head. The cauliflower ears and the long, flowing goatee.

He looks like a combination of Mr. Clean and Colin Farrell’s character Bullseye from the movie Daredevil.

His fighting style is equally as chaotic as his appearance. He will stand and trade looping haymakers. He’ll bust out his kickboxing skills and try to take away the base of his opponents, but only if he feels the urge.

He will purposely approach his striking at odd angles to throw guys off their game plan. His goal is to be unpredictable and frustrating and most of the time it works.

The impending matchup with Jackson should come as a surprise to no one. It seems like every time the UFC light heavyweight division needs a guy to step up to give credibility to an opponent, whether it be a guy making a run to title contention or one who needs a big rebound, Jardine gets an incoming phone call from matchmaker Joe Silva.

This is certainly not a new concept Jardine. He has also found himself the sacrificial lamb in past fights with Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, and Brandon Vera.

UFC 66 was the scene of his fight with Griffin. Griffin walked into the fight being The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 winner and overwhelming fan favorite. Jardine subsequently crashed the party with a brutal first round technical knockout.

When former champion Chuck Liddell needed a rebound fight and a sure victory coming off a championship fight loss to Quinton Jackson, Jardine once again got the call to be the first step in the road back to a rematch against Jackson for Liddell.

Once again, it did not go as scripted. Jardine picked apart Liddell for three rounds, mainly because of his repeated vicious leg kicks, and recorded a split decision victory in the main event at UFC 76.

Brandon Vera succumbed to a similar fate. Just prior to the fight with Jardine, Vera was seen as the future of the light-heavyweight division after coming down from heavyweight to his natural weight class.

Vera was first given a mulligan for his unimpressive decision victory over Reese Andy in his first cut to 205 pounds in which he looked severely sluggish and dehydrated. UFC 89 was then pegged to be his light heavyweight coming out party.

Who would Vera fight to start his path of destruction all the way to the championship belt? None other than Keith Jardine, who would go on to earn a three round decision victory that evening and once again prove doubters wrong.

Enter Quinton Jackson, who as previously mentioned, is the next opponent looming on the horizon. Once again Jardine finds himself the designated sacrificial lamb who is simply buying time for Jackson before he can take on Evans.

Will Jardine once again play spoiler and prevent Jackson from getting his title shot?

That remains to be seen, but I certainly will not be counting him out. This would not be the first time the lamb has been thrown in the deep end of the pond and paddled out.

________________

Derek Bolender is an MMA columnist for TopGunMMA.com. Send Derek a comment, suggestion, or article idea to dbeastbo@yahoo.com.

Robert Drysdale: Only a Matter of Time

Derek Bolender — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:27:52 -0500

Traditionally, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight division has been the premier division in the organization thanks in large part to the huge success of fan favorites like Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Tito Ortiz over the past few years.

To this day, the light heavyweight division (with a 205 pound limit) is arguably the deepest division in the world in any mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, headlined currently by the likes of current champion Rashad Evans, former champion Quinton Jackson, and Lyoto Machida.

The strength of the division has continued to remain firmly intact with a steady stream of talented young fighters constantly being filtered into and through the UFC pipeline.

Enter light heavyweight and mixed martial arts rookie Robert Drysdale, who will likely be seeking out the proverbial pipeline sooner rather than later.

The UFC figures to have the inside track on Drysdale’s services when the time comes. He was recently an assistant coach for Team Mir on The Ultimate Fighter 8 season.

He also trains alongside many UFC fighters at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Nevada, which is also where the UFC is headquartered. It would be a seamless transition for him assuming all other factors were ideal.

If the name Robert Drysdale does not ring a bell you are certainly not alone. He is far from the radar of most MMA fans and even farther away from being a legitimate contender.

After all, he only has one MMA fight under his belt to date, scoring a submission victory last October over Josh Musick at the TUFF-N-UFF event in Las Vegas in his amateur debut. He has yet to even make his professional debut.

For now, he is largely in over his head as a mixed martial artist, having only trained MMA since 2008.

What Drysdale is best known for is his world class submission grappling that was highlighted by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) open division world championship he earned in 2007.

Drysdale, who was born in the United States but grew up in Brazil, has dominated some of the best Jiu-Jitsu fighters locally, nationally, and worldwide for nearly 10 years prior to his transition to MMA.

To give you some perspective, to win the 2007 ADCC world championship Drysdale had to submit the Brazilian Marcelo Garcia to take home the crown jewel.

Garcia is a three-time ADCC champion himself and has defeated the likes of Renzo Gracie, Alexandre Ribeiro, Thales Leites, Diego Sanchez, Jake Shields, Shinya Aoki, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Renato Sobral over the past few years in various grappling tournaments around the world.

That is quite an impressive grappling resume for Garcia, but the more important point is that it clearly illustrates the kind of level Drysdale is on when it comes to his Jiu-Jitsu. He is arguably the best submission grappler on the planet today.

For now, Drysdale is diligently training each day alongside guys like Randy Couture and Wanderlei Silva to improve his overall skill set and mold himself into a well-rounded fighter.

Taking his incredible Jiu-Jitsu skill and turning it into an MMA career is certainly a leap, but it is not unprecedented.

Look no further than Demian Maia, a former ADCC world champion and former Drysdale training partner in Brazil, who has made the move look relatively easy.

Maia has only been training in MMA for roughly three years and has already established himself as a force in the UFC middleweight division earning four consecutive victories inside the Octagon to move close to No. 1 contender status.

If Maia can make a successful transition, a motivated and determined Drysdale can certainly do the same.

It is only a matter of time before Drysdale finds MMA success and becomes a guy that nobody will look forward to facing.

The light heavyweights have officially been warned in advance.

___________________

Derek Bolender writes exclusively for TopGunMMA.com. Send Derek a comment, suggestion, or article idea to dbeastbo@yahoo.com.

Five Mental Hurdles Anderson Silva Must Manage To Remain Champ

Derek Bolender — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:17:20 -0500

On Oct. 25, 2008 the world saw a different side of Anderson Silva, one nobody could have anticipated or ever predicted.

That marked the date of UFC 90 where Silva successfully defended his middleweight championship belt against Patrick Cote after Cote could not continue in the third round due to a serious knee injury.

The fact that Cote made it into the third round was news in itself. It was the first time in the UFC an opponent had done so and the only time since 2004 (under the PRIDE banner) that this minor, but respectable, achievement had been fulfilled against Silva.

Throughout the fight Silva seemed not like himself. He did not want to engage. He was content dancing around the octagon and feeling out Cote for extended lengths of time.

Typically the feeling out process lasts only about a minute into the first round for Silva. From that point on, he usually begins his patented Muay Thai “eight points of contact” assault consisting of knees, punches, kicks, and elbows that traditionally overwhelm his opponents. This was not the case against Cote.

Was it simply a bad night for Silva or was it something more?

What was missing on the surface appeared to be his burning desire to be the best, to dismantle and thoroughly dominate his opponent like he has done so many times before, and to continue to cement his legacy.

He certainly was not having any physical issues. On the other hand, there did seem to be some sort of a mental battle being waged behind the façade that was tangibly taking shape before our very eyes.

He gave the impression he was preoccupied, complacent, and unfocused. These are characteristics that no professional fighter should ever acquire.

Looking ahead, there is a fight against Thales Leites looming on the horizon at UFC 97 in April. While Leites may not be a big name like Silva’s previous challengers, I would argue he poses the biggest stylistic threat that Silva has ever faced in the UFC, due to his superior submission game.

Other possible future opponents include Yushin Okami, Demian Maia, Nate Marquardt, Dan Henderson, Michael Bisping, and Rich Franklin.

I am fully convinced that Silva has been dealing with a few formidable mental hurdles, five of them which are listed below, for many months now.

He will need to minimize the effect that each has had on him going forward. He simply cannot continue down the current path he has drifted down mentally if he wishes to continue to be the champion throughout the remainder of his career.

1) Feeling Unchallenged in the UFC.

Silva has had a relatively easy run through the upper tier of the UFC middleweight division. He knocked out Chris Leben in his UFC debut and completely dismantled Rich Franklin at UFC 64 to earn the middleweight championship belt.

He then rattled off four straight dominating victories over No. 1 contenders Travis Lutter, Nate Marquardt, Rich Franklin (again), and Dan Henderson.

Next, he accepted a challenge at 205 pounds against James Irvin to try his luck at light heavyweight. He subsequently knocked out Irvin in the first round. The Patrick Cote fight, as previously mentioned, followed Irvin.

None of these fights got past the second round (other than Cote) and he was able to finish each of the fights either by KO, TKO, or submission.

He was never in any serious danger at any point. He made it look too easy and these were thought to be some of the best middleweight fighters in the world that he was dismantling.

Who can blame him for being unchallenged? After all, it is Joe Silva of the UFC who fabricates the matchups.

There is a big difference between simply giving Silva a big name and actually stylistically challenging him with a Demian Maia, a Rousimar Palhares, or a Thales Leites. Thankfully, with the Leites fight now booked, this trend is starting to turn.

2) Imminent Retirement

Currently, Silva has five remaining fights on his UFC contract. The previously mentioned bout with Thales Leites will knock the total down to just four fights. Within 12–18 months, we could very well see the end of Silva’s career in mixed martial arts.

According to an MMA.tv interview in 2008 prior to Silva’s fight with Patrick Cote, Silva’s manager Ed Soares stated, “Anderson’s goal is to retire when he is 35. He still has six fights on his contract and he doesn’t turn 35 for another 18 months. I know he will finish his six fights before he considers hanging up his gloves.”

Silva may no longer have anything to prove in the sport once his contract is fulfilled. He is already looked upon by many fans and media outlets as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and he will most certainly go down as one of the all-time greats.

The end of his contract could mean the beginning of a new chapter in his life. He might not be able to help himself looking forward to the possibility of new challenges with the light at the end of the tunnel getting brighter with each passing day.

3) Desire To Return To Boxing

After Silva’s victory over Dan Henderson at UFC 82, he immediately expressed interest in trying his hand at boxing again. Prior to his MMA career Silva was a professional boxer. He also named Roy Jones Jr. as an ideal opponent.

UFC President Dana White countered by essentially saying it would never happen under his watch. Not while he was under contract with the UFC.

Silva still has not been deterred. He remains steadfast in his desire to get back to the sport of boxing, which would present an entirely new challenge for Silva at this point in his athletic career.

Exactly two weeks after his fight with Patrick Cote at UFC 90 Silva flew to New York to see Roy Jones Jr. fight Joe Calzaghe at Madison Square Garden.

Since then, Silva has also been to the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, CA to train under legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach. He has even sparred with former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski at the gym, who is another Roach trainee.

As recent as November 2008 in an interview with Guilherme Cruz of Tatame.com Silva continued to express interest in boxing after his MMA career was complete, stating, “It’s in my plans (boxing), it’s one of my personal projects.”

It is no longer a question of if with boxing, but when it will actually take shape, and it is certainly not the only extra curricular activity Silva is currently pursuing.

4) Desire To Act In Movies

Being a recognizable athlete and a celebrity certainly comes with its perks. One of the benefits is it allows other opportunities to come that may never have presented themselves otherwise.

In Silva’s case, it is the movie industry that has presented a unique and new challenge. Trying his hand at acting has certainly caught his attention. It’s also a way to generate income without putting himself in harms way, which is what he is normally accustomed to doing inside the octagon.

It has not been an experimentation in movie making, either. Silva continues to pursue movie roles. He has been involved with three movies to date including Death Warrior, Never Surrender, and Hell’s Chain, which are all in various stages of production.

Cung Le seems to have put his mixed martial arts career on hold to pursue movies. Roger Huerta also recently turned down a contract extension with the UFC to pursue his own Hollywood dream. Could Silva be bitten by the acting bug for good? That remains to be seen.

While filming movies may seem like a minor distraction for Silva at this point it is a distraction nonetheless. It takes time, energy, and focus away from his real craft.

5) The Passing of His “Mother”

The passing of a loved one can have a profound impact on any family. This was unfortunately the case for Silva and his family in 2008.

The woman who raised him in his youth passed away in Curitiba, Brazil on May 19, 2008. The woman was actually his aunt but Silva called her his “mother.” She was an incredibly important figure in molding Silva into the man he is today.

Roughly two weeks after her passing Silva accepted the “Most Dangerous Man in the World” award at Spike’s Guy’s Choice Awards and dedicated the honor to his mother during a heartfelt speech.

The grieving process alone could be the toughest opponent Silva has ever faced. There is no question it has likely been weighing on his mind for some time now.

_____________________

Derek Bolender writes exclusively for TOPGUNMMA.com. Send Derek a question, comment, or suggestion to dbeastbo@yahoo.com.

My 2009 MMA Top-10 Wish List

Derek Bolender — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:29:26 -0500

Each year, it is good to take a step back and look at the sport of mixed martial arts as a whole. 2008 has been another exciting and unpredictable year and 2009 will likely be no different.

As a fan of the sport first and foremost, I see there are always things that can be changed, tweaked, or removed altogether.

The following, in no particular order, are 10 wishes I hope will be granted sometime during the upcoming year.

1) The UFC continues to acquire top-level talent.

If you examined the top 25 heavyweights and lightweights in the world, you would find that the majority are non-UFC fighters. Not only could those two divisions be bolstered but the UFC should continue to pursue fighters from all weight classes.

This means going after the likes of Fedor Emelianenko, Shinya Aoki, Jake Shields, Eddie Alvarez, Joachim Hansen, Robbie Lawler, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Kaz Misaki, and Gesias Calvancante (when they are no longer contractually obligated elsewhere).

It is a crime that UFC fans do not get to see these world class fighters up close and personal on a regular basis. Squaring off the best fighters in the world against one another not only is great for fans but it is also good for the sport in general.

2) Anderson Silva is challenged before he retires.

By challenging Silva, I do not mean throwing him the biggest names in the sport just to accumulate pay-per-view buys or pitting him against a fighter who does not pose more than a puncher’s chance at pulling off a victory. Give him a contender who actually poses a legitimate threat.

A rematch with Dan Henderson is intriguing. After all, he is the last man to win a round against Silva when he did so at UFC 82. A rematch with Nate Marquardt is also a possibility, but both matchups will likely end in similar fashion.

The ideal opponent in my eyes is arguably the best jiu-jitsu fighter in the UFC in Demian Maia. I’d even be mildly happy with Thales Leites. Just don’t give him Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin, Patrick Cote, or Michael Bisping.

3) Kimbo Slice fades into the abyss.

I have not heard a peep from Slice or his representatives since his embarrassing TKO loss to Seth Petruzzeli in October on national television.

Now that EliteXC has essentially gone under, will another organization take a shot on him? I certainly hope not. I would be completely happy if we never see him inside an octagon ever again.

He has been nothing short of a lightning rod for controversy and a sideshow circus that left a stain on the sport of MMA. His 15 minutes of unwarranted fame are up and he should stick to unsanctioned backyard barbecue brawls.

4) Technical stand-up skills improve across the board.

Technical strikers are few and far between in the sport of MMA. This is one reason why hardcore boxing fans do not appreciate the sport, and to a certain degree, they have a point.

For every precision striker like B.J. Penn, there are 10 other guys who continually demonstrate wild striking, minor head movement, poor footwork, bad angles, etc…

Too many times I see fighters swinging for the fences trying to make a highlight reel. Then they’ll catch a shot on the chin because their hands were down or they simply could not pull off a minor slip to avoid damage. It gets old to watch at times.

Rashad Evans is a prime example of a guy who has put in the time in the gym and improved his stand-up tremendously. When it gets to the point where it is evident to the naked eye that a fighter’s stand-up has improved you know he has come a long way.

It takes years to perfect good stand-up skills but when it all comes together it is beautiful to watch.

5) A 195-pound “super middleweight” class is added in the UFC.

The UFC middleweight and light heavyweight divisions are stacked with plenty of quality fighters, especially the light heavyweights. They are also chalk full of established, marketable names like Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson, Rich Franklin, and Michael Bisping.

Adding another weight class with a 195-pound limit would allow for the possibility of one of the other big names to be champion and create an endless amount of intriguing matchups.

There are also some guys who get caught in between the 185- and 205-pound gap like Dan Henderson. He continues to go back and forth between the two weight classes not truly knowing where he belongs. There are many others who fall into the same boat.

While adding too many weight classes is one of the reasons for the decline of boxing, I would be open to adding one weight class and then stopping altogether.

6) The UFC receives sanctioning in the state of New York.

New York is a potential gold mine that has yet to be tapped into. The UFC has tried numerous times and has been unsuccessful so far in its attempt to gain sanctioning in the state.

New York City, after all, is the most populous city in the United States and holds many existing and potential mixed-martial arts fans.

An event held in New York City would not only be great for the bottom line of the UFC but it would also be beneficial for the state of New York

In the article, “UFC Pushes for New York Approval” written by Tom Hamlin of mmaweekly.com, he cites a study put together for the UFC by HR&A Advisors that states, “an event in New York City, presumably at MSG (Madison Square Garden), could generate $11.3 million in economic activity and $917,000 in tax revenues for the state.”

It seems as if there is really no downfall on either side of this issue, however, there still seems to be some opposition within the state legislature.

Bill 1-11485-A, which is a proposal to sanction MMA in the state, will once again be up for a vote in January 2009. Keep your fingers crossed.

7) The 2009 Abu DhabiCombat Club (ADCC) Submission Wrestling World Championship tournament is broadcast on television.

The ADCC tournament is the premier submission grappling spectacle in the world and takes place every two years in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Athletes from across the world converge on Abu Dhabi to find out who the best grapplers on the planet are.

The problem is that the tournament results are traditionally heard but never seen. This means that the crown jewel of grappling is never exposed to martial arts fans anywhere across the world.

Traditionally this tournament has been dominated by jiu-jitsu-based competitors, however, there have been past exceptions like Mark Kerr (Wrestling) and Sanae Kikuta (Judo).

Other notable past winners include Robert Drysdale (2007 Absolute division), Fabricio Werdum (2007 over 99kg), Demian Maia (2007 under 88 kg), Jeff Monson (2005 over 99 kg), Ronaldo Souza (2005 under 88kg), Dean Lister (2003 absolute), and Ricardo Arona (2001 absolute and under 99kg).

The 2009 ADCC championship will again be a star-studded affair with the addition of Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi to the tournament roster.

Can the Sambo-based Fedor impose his will? Will the boxing and kickboxing-based Mousasi be able to hold his own against a field of jiu-jitsu aces? Could they meet each other in the absolute division or run into others like Ronaldo Souza or Robert Drysdale along the way?

I would certainly ante up the pay-per-view fee to see how this tournament plays out.

8) DREAM and Affliction remain alive and well.

Competition is a great thing to have in MMA. It brings out the best in each organization and the ultimate beneficiary is the fans.

DREAM’s niche is their grand prix tournaments. The 2008 lightweight and middleweight grand prix tournaments were two of the best events in all of MMA over the past year. The tournament format coupled with an incredible crop of fighters seemed to a perfect storm that produced some of the best fights of 2008.

The middleweight grand prix featured one of the best knockouts of the year in the finals when Gegard Mousasi knocked out Ronaldo Souza with an upkick in the first round off his back.

The lightweight grand prix was home to the 2008 fight of the year so far when Eddie Alvarez and Tatsuya Kawajiri went back and forth in a knock-down, drag-out fight in the semifinals that could have easily been won by either man (Alvarez eventually won via TKO).

Affliction’s first event did not disappoint either. Although the actual production of the event needed some work, the fights that were put on were impressive. The fight card included many big names including Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Josh Barnett, Vitor Belfort, Andrei Arlovski, and Matt Lindland.

Affliction’s second event, scheduled for early 2009, looks like it will be another impressive night of fights and should be another can’t miss MMA event outside the realm of the UFC.

9) Female fighters join the WEC.

UFC President Dana White has argued in the past that he would not be able to sustain a women’s division due to the lack of quality fighters.

Frankly, I do not agree with that sentiment whatsoever. The world is stocked full of quality female fighters. If the UFC does not think they can find enough of them, they are not putting forth enough effort scouting talent.

Simply scour the top gyms around the country, martial arts tournaments, and events both domestically and abroad like they do with male fighters.

The WEC would be a perfect fit to implement a women’s division. They have nothing to lose by experimenting either. They also have an established star in Gina Carano and could have an instant must watch superfight between her and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos right off the bat. What’s not to love?

10) The UFC does a better job of marketing up-and-coming fighters.

The UFC does a fantastic job at making stars into superstars. On the other hand, it does a poor job of marketing fighters on the brink of success who are quickly climbing up the ladder.

The result is a negative one. It typically leads to a bigger name, who may not have the best resume, getting a title shot instead of a more deserving fighter whom mainstream fans cannot identify with.

Exhibit A is Jon Fitch. He had to tie Royce Gracie’s all-time record of eight consecutive UFC wins, including victories over top contenders Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez, before getting a title shot.

He was barely on the radar of mainstream fans even when he was granted the opportunity to face Georges St. Pierre for the title.

The UFC simply did a poor job of marketing Fitch, which handcuffed them to a certain degree. They essentially had to wait for him to make himself marketable, which is certainly not part of his job description.

Going forward there are a slew of fighters who need to be on the radar of mainstream fans as soon as possible including Goran Reljic, Shane Carwin, Luis Cane, Junior Dos Santos, Cain Velasquez, etc…

In reality, mainstream fans have no clue who these guys are, where they came from, whom they’ve fought in the past, or what their potential could be. That is a problem.

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Derek Bolender covers mixed martial arts exclusively for TopGunMMA. Send Derek a question, comment, or suggestion to dbeastbo@yahoo.com.

Thiago Alves: Your Next UFC Welterweight Champ

Derek Bolender — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 13:43:34 -0500

The UFC will kickoff their 2009 campaign during Super Bowl weekend with a Super Bowl-esque matchup of their own. A mixed martial arts (MMA) anomaly will headline the main card at UFC 94 on January 31 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

It will feature a main event between two of the top five pound-for-pound fighters in the world, both in their prime, in current lightweight and former welterweight champion B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn (13-4-1) and current welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre (17 – 2).

This fight will be a rare treat for MMA fans between two legendary fighters. It will also be a rematch of their 2006 UFC 58 showdown that ended in a controversial split decision victory by St. Pierre. A rematch has been in demand ever since, and now, it has finally materialized.

Personally, I can think of no better way to ring in the new year than to prominently feature the UFC’s welterweight division, which is one of the deepest divisions in all of MMA.

One who is likely less enthused is current welterweight No. 1 contender Thiago “The Pitbull” Alves (16-3), winner of seven consecutive fights inside the octagon.

As a result of the high-profile rematch, Alves has found himself standing squarely in the shadow of this primetime prize fight patiently waiting for his opportunity.

For now, however, he will have to wait for his shot at a championship belt. For the next five to seven months, he will have to pass time by train hard at his home away from home at the American Top Team (ATT) gym in Florida.

The ATT gym is one of the premier MMA training facilities in the world. During the UFC 85 broadcast, commentator Joe Rogan went as far as to say, “In my opinion, American Top Team is the best MMA camp in the country.”

Spearheading the ATT camp is head instructor and former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Ricardo Liborio. The other two main teachers are boxing coach Howard Davis Jr., who is a former Olympic gold medalist, and Darrell Gholar, who is a former Olympic wrestler and World Vale Tudo middleweight champion.

Not only does Alves train under the tutelage of some of the best, but he also trains side-by-side with some of the best fighters in the sport who push him on a daily basis.

Notable fighters at ATT include Gesias Calvancante, Denis Kang, WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown, and Thiago Silva to name a few.

The correct play for Alves is to take time off from fighting and wait for his title shot, which has likely been discussed at length between Alves, his manager Dan Lambert, and the UFC’s management. Choosing a fight to simply pass the time could potentially be career suicide and is simply not worth the risk.

In an interview with John Morgan for MMAjunkie.com, Alves stated, “If I have to wait a couple of months, six to seven months, to get a title shot. I don’t mind waiting. I’ll wait. It’s just going to get me better and stronger.”

Alves eventually becoming the next welterweight champion also implies that Georges St. Pierre will defend his title against B.J. Penn, which I fully expect him to accomplish.

If so, it would set up the potentially explosive fight between St. Pierre and the underdog challenger Alves that would likely take place sometime during the summer of 2009, which I believe favors the young Brazilian striker.

There is an old adage in combat sports that “styles make fights”, and this matchup is no different. Alves’ unique skill set, firmly based in Muay Thai, will prove trouble for St. Pierre and his tendencies inside the octagon.

This fight will likely come down to one specific battle that will continually be taking place throughout the war. It will come down to takedowns.

Will St. Pierre be able to get Alves on the mat or will Alves keep it standing? That is the million dollar question.

In the past, St. Pierre has been phenomenal at getting his opponents to the ground. His brute strength and ever improving wrestling skills, including his patented double leg takedown, have allowed him to out-maneuver some of the most skilled wrestlers in MMA.

Typically, once his opponent is on the ground he loves to use his elbows to ground and pound. His submission skills are a legitimate threat as well and still relatively underrated, even though he recently achieved black belt Jiu-Jitsu status under Bruno Fernandes.

Alves is no slouch on the ground, but he is inferior to St. Pierre. He is a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu, however, so his best chance to end a fight is standing. He only has one career victory via submission. There is no reason to believe he will try to get St. Pierre on the mat. Expect him to play to his strength.

I believe St. Pierre has to get Alves to the ground, inflict damage there, and wear him out in the process in order to come away with a successful title defense. I simply do not see it happening.

To keep the fight standing, which is the key to Alves coming away with a victory, he will use three basic weapons to neutralize St. Pierre. These include his leg kicks, knees, and sprawl.

Arguably Alves’ best weapon is his textbook Muay Thai leg kicks, which in my opinion, are the best in the UFC. A quick pivot of his foot, a thrust of the hips, and his shin connects with a thud that can be heard all the way into the upper bowl.

Alves likes to snap them off early and often in the majority of his fights. They are instantaneous, accurate, and hard to react to. The sheer speed also makes it difficult for opponents to grab his leg in order to pursue a takedown.

Alves’ performance against Chris Lytle at UFC 78 was a great display of exactly what his kicks can do. By the second round of Lytle’s left leg was completely raw and he was limping around the Octagon. John Alessio and Josh Koscheck can vouch for their viciousness as well.

Each kick successfully landed takes away the base of the opponent and makes them flat footed. It slowly chips away their ability to shoot in for a takedown, to sprawl, and to get the proper torque on their punches.

St. Pierre’s stance also makes him susceptible to leg kicks. He predominantly has his weight on his front foot until he loads up for a kick. It makes his front leg a target and makes it impossible to check the kicks as well.

Knees are another deterrent to the takedowns that Alves will employ. He is one of the best at punishing guys who shoot in for takedowns with a quick knee to the head.

A great example of this was during round two of a UFC 66 matchup against Tony DeSouza. DeSouza attempted five takedowns during the first round and all were stuffed by Alves. His sixth takedown attempt came during the second round but this time he was greeted with a huge knee from Alves that dropped him immediately. Alves then landed a couple clean shots and John McCarthy stopped the fight.

If Alves happens to get caught off guard and does not have time to throw a knee he can go to deterrent number three which is to sprawl. This is the most common type of takedown defense in mixed martial arts.

Once in the sprawling position, Alves traditionally relies on his great strength to finish off by using under hooks to get leverage and control the movement of his opponent and transition to a clinch position.

Alves may be the only man at 170 pounds on the UFC roster who can match the overall strength of St. Pierre. Both guys typically walk around near 200 pounds and cut to make the welterweight limit.

From the clinch position, Alves typically looks to throw a few knees to the mid-section or the chin of his opponent if he can reach it. He knocked out Karo Parisyan with a knee in the clinch during the second round at UFC Fight Night 13. Then, he typically pushes away back to a normal striking position.

Regardless of how the fight between Alves and St. Pierre plays out, it has the makings to be a knock down, drag out battle for supremacy that is sure to produce plenty of fireworks.

I believe Alves ultimately keeps the fight off the mat using the techniques previously discussed and stands with St. Pierre where he has the advantage. St. Pierre has never faced a striker who is as dangerous as Alves and he is destined for a rude awakening.

St. Pierre and Penn may be overwhelming the consciousness of MMA fans and media at the moment, but in time it is Alves who will be the talk of the town.

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Derek Bolender covers mixed martial arts exclusively for TopGunMMA.com. Send Derek a question or comment to dbeastbo@yahoo.com.

Anatomy of a Trilogy

Derek Bolender — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:42:53 -0500

In society a trilogy is typically synonymous with a landmark series of movies or books such as Lord of the Rings or The Godfather. In the sports arena trilogies also appear from time to time.

In mixed martial arts (MMA), specifically, it’s the rematch that is fairly commonplace. An MMA trilogy, on the other hand, is extremely rare.

December 27, 2008 will mark the date the next trilogy will be fulfilled when former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva and former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson do battle on the main card at UFC 92.

This particular trilogy is over five years in the making. November 9, 2003 marked the first matchup between these two fighters under the PRIDE FC banner at the Final Conflict 2003 event. The second matchup was just under a year later on October 31 at PRIDE 28 High Octane. Both fights resulted in highlight reel knockout victories by Silva over Jackson.

The third installment will be the first between these two warriors inside the octagon in the UFC. Regardless of who is victorious, both fans and media alike will be treated to yet another epic showdown between two of the best the sport has to offer.

There are a number of factors and circumstances required for a trilogy to evolve from it’s infancy to a final chapter.

The most important element is whether or not there is demand in the marketplace for the fights to continue to take place. Can it be successfully marketed time and time again? Also, is a third fight required to prove which fighter is truly superior?

Odds are that both fighters have already established themselves within the sport. They are likely seasoned veterans with instant name recognition, who either have a comparable talent level or contrasting styles that will continually lead to exciting fights.

There are other factors involved including timing and contractual stipulations. Many fighters today are moving to various weight classes and even from one MMA organization to the next so there is a bit of luck involved as well.

If everything falls into place and the perfect storm comes to fruition then a trilogy can be completed.

Over the past few years there have been a few prominent trilogies, some I’d like to eventually see completed if possible, and some that there is frankly no need to finish.

Greatest Trilogies of All-Time

1) Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture

This is arguably the greatest trilogy ever that pitted two of the most popular MMA fighters on the planet against one another.

It was certainly the most talked about, most hyped, and the most profitable trilogy ever.

Couture won the first meeting at UFC 43 with a third round knockout to win the interim UFC light heavyweight championship and become the first man ever to earn a belt in two separate weight classes. It was also the first time in Liddell’s career he had been stopped via knockout.

A rematch was a must and the second meeting resulted in a first round TKO victory by Liddell to capture his first ever UFC light heavyweight championship. With the score now one to one a third matchup was needed. The rubber match at UFC 57 went almost exactly like the second matchup. Liddell recorded a TKO victory to defend his belt subsequently sending Couture limping back to the heavyweight division where he has fought ever since.

2) Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes

3) Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski

Trilogies That Need Completion:

1) Shinya Aoki vs. Joachim Hansen

This trilogy between two of the best lightweight fighters on the planet must be completed above all others. These two have extremely contrasting styles and you never know how their fights are going to play out. Hansen has some of the best striking in the world in the lightweight division and is a monster on his feet while Aoki is one of the best submission grapplers in the world.

During the first matchup at PRIDE Shockwave 2006 Hansen slipped early going for a kick, wound up on his back, got back up as quick as possible, and then was immediately taken down by Aoki and controlled on the ground for the remainder of the fight.

Hansen avoided both an arm bar attempt and a triangle choke, however, Aoki was able to transition to a gogoplata that he locked in and subsequently forced Hansen to tap out.

The rematch was during the finals of the recent 2008 DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix tournament in Japan. This matchup was supposed to be Eddie Alvarez vs. Shinya Aoki, however, Alvarez was forced by officials to stop fighting in the tournament. He had sustained a deep cut earlier during his fight with Tatsuya Kawajiri, which is likely the fight of the year so far in all of MMA. Hansen, who was defeated by Alvarez earlier in the tournament, filled in and took full advantage of the opportunity while Alvarez watched from the sidelines.

The championship fight began as Aoki pulled rubber guard immediately, however, this time around Hansen was able to posture up on numerous occasions and eventually got back to his feet. From there the southpaw was able to repeatedly land huge shots to the face of Aoki until he was no longer able to defend himself. Hansen won the championship, hoisted the trophy, and evened the series at one a piece.

2) Wanderlei Silva vs. Dan Henderson

3) Josh Barnett vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Trilogies That Should Never Happen:

1) Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin

Two championship fights have taken place between these two and two brutal knockout victories have ensued at the hands of the great Brazilian striker Anderson Silva.

The first came at UFC 64. Franklin was the longtime UFC middleweight champion and Silva was the relative unknown with only one UFC victory under his belt. What Silva did that night was put on a Muay Thai clinic by punishing Franklin’s mid-section and face with knees from the plumb clinch until the referee was forced to stop the fight. It was Franklin’s first loss in his career at 185 pounds and a sign of great things to come for Silva.

It was much of the same at UFC 77 in Franklin’s hometown of Cincinnati, OH. Silva again showed his dynamic skill set by using a combination of punches, knees, and kicks that eventually dropped Franklin to his knees late in the first round before he was saved by the bell. Silva pounced on the still dazed and confused Franklin early in the second round with knee after knee in the clinch and the referee is forced to call off the fight once again. It is clear to everyone which of these two fighters is superior. There is no debate and no need for a third matchup.

2) Quinton Jackson vs. Chuck Liddell

3) Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra

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Derek Bolender covers mixed martial arts exclusively for TopGunMMA.com. Send a question, comment, or suggestion to dbeastbo@yahoo.com.