Bleacher Report - UFC

From Couture to Fedor:10 Things I Love About MMA

Der Mac — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:18:23 -0500

The Knockout: Probably the most exciting thing to happen in a fight is for someone to get knocked the F**K out. Obviously knockouts happen in other sports also, such as boxing, but what makes MMA knockouts so exciting is the range of different KO's. From Gonzaga knocking out Cro Cop with a head kick, to Wanderlei Silva destroying Rampage with knees, to Fedor coming from behind to knock Rogers unconscious. Nothing gets the crowd more excited than a knockout and its usually discussed for days after. Sometimes the ground game is sacrificed in favour of a stand up battle due to crowds getting on the backs of fighters who take it to the ground. But can you blame them for wanting to see a Bispingesque KO.
The Upset: One of the greatest things about any sport is that you can never underestimate the underdog. MMA is no different. Upsets keep fighters on their toes. They know if they take a fighter lightly they could end up suffering a humiliating defeat. Just ask GSP. Matt Serra's upset over Georges St. Pierre sent shockwaves through the MMA universe. Serra had only earned a title shot by winning a T.V show, but about three minutes into the fight Serra was crowned the new UFC welterweight champion. Afterwards GSP got grief from the media and fans until he avenged that loss at UFC 83. Other upsets include Gonzaga beating Cro Cop, Couture beating Liddell and Pulver beating B.J Penn.
Jiu-Jitsu: If you like the ground game than you probably like jiu-jitsu. Its a very skilled and very techinacal form of martial art. When you get two BJJ black belts in the octagon together, and it hits the ground the fight will become a chess match, to see who makes the first mistake. Most submissions come from jiu-jitsu, with a great amount of successful fighters having their base in jiu-jitsu. While most fans look to see a knockout in an MMA match, there is nothing better, in my opinion, than a well executed triangle-choke, armbar or gogoplata. Some of the best submission wins include B.J Penn rear-naked choking Joe Stevenson, Fedor making Randleman submit to a kimura after being dropped on his head and Antonio 'Minotauro' Nogueria armbarring Cro Cop.
The Fedor Debate: Weather your pro-Fedor or anti-Fedor, everyone has an opinion on the controversial Russian. Is he a hero for doing what so many other fighters fail to do and turn down Dana White and the UFC, or is he a coward for not joining the best and most popular MMA organisation in the world. All I can say is that he is great fighter, the best in the heavyweight division (although I would personally place him third behind Anderson Silva and GSP on pound-for-pound rankings) but I really hope, in the not too distant future that he finally joins the UFC.
The Ultimate Fighter: The show that brought MMA into the mainstream(although its not all the way there yet). It brought a whole new audience to the UFC and turned it into a million dollar company. It also had the added bonus of producing some of the best fighters in the sport today such as Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans and Diego Sanchez. Although the talent level seems to have dropped in recent series, its popularity is as high as ever with the current series enjoying high ratings (at least until Kimbo Slice got beaten). Although some people have called for the show to be axed, I see no reason for the show to disappear so long as there is still a handful of quality fighters still coming through the show.
Randy Couture: The fighter that has provided me with more memorable moments than any other fighter in Mixed Martial Arts. The guy is 46 years old and still going strong, beating fighters half his age. From Couture upsetting Liddell, to him beating the Phenom, to giving Tito a spanking, there is no other fighter like The Natural and there never will be. Probably his most memorable moment from Randy was when he came out of retirement to destroy Tim Sylvia at 43 years of age. I think Joe Rogan summed it up best when he said "That guy's my hero." Here's hoping for one more memorable moment from Captain America by going on to capture the light heavyweight title. If he gets a title shot, I know I wont be betting against him.
Former WWE Stars Becoming MMA Stars: From being a kid who loved "fake wrestling", I really enjoy former WWE stars transitioning into MMA (although wrestling has gone down the toilet these days). A lot of people give them stick for their prior employment. That just makes it even better when they come in and do well where, supposedly, their not welcome. Fighters like Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley are great athletes and have already proved that they deserve to be accepted into the MMA community. Because he's going about becoming a Mixed Martial Artist the right way, Im particularly looking forward to seeing what Bobby Lashley can do. Hopefully one day he could become the UFC heavyweight champion, hopefully by beating Lesnar.
New Challengers To The UFC: Its widely known that the UFC is the premier organisation in the world of MMA. They have the majority of the best fighters, they have the best production, they have the most events and they bring MMA to new places that may never have had a UFC event before. But the UFC has always had competition. It used to be Pride, some even saying Pride was better than the UFC, but they got bought by the UFC. Next it was Afflicition but they went under because of Josh Barnett and his attempt to gain an advatage over Fedor. Now its Strikeforce with its acquisition of Fedor Emelianenko. Although Dana White doesn't want to see anyone try and compete with him and the UFC, a healthy competition motivates the UFC to put better shows and to constantly look out for top talent before Strikeforce is able to aquire them. Also the probability is, based on past events, that the UFC will eventually come out on top and will hopefully be able to aquire all of its top talent, including Fedor.
MMA Coming To Ireland: MMA is my favourite sport besides football/soccer. I love the fact that it is being embraced by so many of my countrymen. The UFC has already held two events in Ireland, UFC 72 in Belfast and UFC 93 in Dublin, and I hope that they can come again in 2010 and many more times after that. Who knows, maybe Strikeforce may wish to expand outside of America and decide to put on a show in Ireland with Fedor headlining. That would be a dream come true. MMA fighters are also growing in Ireland. I think its only a matter of time before an Irish fighter makes an impact in the MMA world.
Rich Franklin (A.K.A. Your Favourite Fighter): Everyone has a favourite fighter that they instantly liked from the first moment they saw them fight and destroy whomever they were fighting. Mine was Rich Franklin, and from the first time I saw him fight I instantly became a fan of his and still am to this day. The first fight I saw him in was when he beat Ken Shamrock (at the time I was fairly new to the UFC and seeing Rich destroy someone I saw in the WWF and heard was a fairly good fighter, I,ve since realised he's not that good, made me an instant fan). Im not saying that Rich is the greatest fighter ever, but I still love watching him fight. We all have that fighter that we will defend to the death no matter how many times he loses or how overated he might be. Im personally hoping that he can go on one more title run and win that light heavyweight belt. COME ON ACE.

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Giving Paulo Thiago His Due

Darren Wong — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:17:58 -0500

After UFC 106, I've got to say that I'm just a little bit of a Paulo Thiago fan. Sometimes I think that I'm the only one, and that is a tragedy.

For the many of you who have never heard of Paulo Thiago before (and I'm sure that's a lot), let me start off by introducing him.

Paulo Thiago made his UFC debut against Josh Koscheck at UFC 95. Despite sporting a 10-0 record, it seemed as though Thiago was tailor-made to be a nice tune-up fight for Koscheck. Thiago was known for his submission skills, but not the kind of wrestling necessary to take down an NCAA champion like Koscheck. In terms of striking, it looked like Koscheck had a serious advantage.

And up until the final few seconds, Paulo Thiago's striking against Kosheck didn't look all that good. He was dropping his hands after throwing punches, and was getting hit repeatedly by Koscheck's powerful right hand.

Koscheck made a mistake, and out of nowhere, Thiago clocked him with a big uppercut hook combination for the knockout win.

Thiago's reward for the win was a matchup with the equally tough Jon Fitch.

Fitch used his physical strength and wrestling to really grind down Paulo Thiago en-route to a unanimous decision victory. Nevertheless, Thiago acquitted himself quite well in the loss.

Sometimes after this type of defeat, the UFC will give a fighter a weaker opponent and a chance to get a rebound victory. The UFC didn't see it that way for Thiago, and instead matched him up with the welterweight destroyer, Thiago Alves. Game fighter that he is, Paulo Thiago accepted the fight.

The fight got scratched when the UFC tried to set up a match between Fitch and Alves, giving the UFC another chance to give Thiago an easier opponent.

Instead, the UFC went ahead and gave Paulo a match against another highly-decorated wrestler and submission grappler. Jacob Volkmann is a former All-American wrestler with grappling tournament victories over greats like Dennis Hallman.

Once again, Paulo Thiago proved himself up to the task.

At present, people are calling for another matchup of Thiago and Koscheck. While I can understand the desire to give Koscheck a chance to avenge his loss, I truly hope that Thiago's path gets a little bit easier.

Paulo Thiago already looks like a much better fighter than the one who fought Koscheck the first time, just one year ago.

Since he fought Koscheck in February, Thiago has improved his striking quite dramatically, and also looks like he has become much stronger physically.

Such dramatic improvements over such a short period tell me that Paulo Thiago has only started to train full-time, and is still improving rapidly as a fighter.

While he may not have the physical gifts of a GSP, I think that Thiago has some serious talent deserving of a little bit of patience and development. He might not get that kind of development if he keeps on getting thrown to the wolves.

If he can string together some victories, he might be able to quit his job in the Brazilian special police force, and start training full-time, and then we'll get to see his full potential.

According to the NSAC reports, Thiago was paid $16,000 for his win over Volkmann, and a mere $8,000 for his loss to Jon Fitch. Compare that to Amir's $30,000 for disposing of a broken down Phil Baroni, or George Sotriopoulos's $20,000 for beating the over-matched Jason Dent. It should be clear that when Paulo Thiago is fighting Koscheck for maybe $8,000, he's fighting way over his pay scale.

Fighter salaries aren't always fully represented by the NSAC reports, but in this case, I'm guessing they are accurate.

I have no problem with the way the UFC pays it's fighters. But I do hope that Thiago gets his fair shake, and isn't thrown to the wolves simply because he's already achieved more than the UFC ever initially thought he would.

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Giving MMA Thanks

Tommy Messano — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:36:00 -0500

The MMA world has a lot of thank-you to give out after one of the busiest months in the sport’s brief history. The UFC, WEC, and Strikeforce all held major events during November.

MMA fans can also reflect on a few reasons to give thanks this holiday season:

Thank You for Tito Ortiz

The marriage between Ortiz and the UFC is entering another honeymoon phase.

Thank You for Forrest Griffin

The scrappy original Ultimate Fighter is more pleasant after ending his two-fight losing streak.

Thank You for Josh Koscheck

Every good drama needs a villain. Koscheck should continue to embrace the role of UFC bad guy.

Thank You for Anthony Johnson

At UFC 106 the weight cut to 170 lbs. wasn’t as harsh. Still, a move up to 185 lbs. may be in his cards down the line.

Thank You for Jose Aldo

The newly crowned featherweight king has the “it” factor, while putting away opponents with the ease of a light sparring session.

Thank You for the WEC

145 lbs. and 135 lbs. athletes have an organization to call their own. Here’s hoping that in 2010 flyweights get the VIP treatment.

Thank You for the Strikeforce Challengers Series

SF CS provides a great showcase for MMA prospects looking to gain experience.

Thank You for UFC 105 on Spike

You can’t complain about free MMA, can you?

Thank You for Randy Couture

The UFC Hall of Famer is back at his best weight class. Fans have a chance to witness history every time Couture competes.

Thank You for UFC Expansion

Michael Bisping, Dan Hardy, and TUF 9 have helped shed light on a whole batch of talented UK MMA prospects.

Thank You for Fedor Emelianenko

2009 has seen Fedor continue his six-year run as the unquestioned best heavyweight in MMA history; one of the more amazing feats in all of sports.

Thank You for Brett Rogers

For pushing Fedor and proving his worth as a top-10 heavyweight.

Thank You for MMA on CBS

Despite plenty of room for improvement, having MMA on network TV is a big step for a sport still a few years from its 20th birthday.

Thank You for Referee Big John McCarthy

Good to see the best in the business back being the third man in the cage.

This article originally appeared at ultmma.co

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How Good Is Fedor Emeliankenko Really?

Moses Maddox — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:31:50 -0500

Today, I was looking at the Sherdog.com Heavyweight rankings, and I saw that Brett Rogers jumped to No. 5 after his loss to heavyweight kingpin Fedor Emelianenko.

I pondered how a person can move up in the rankings in a loss, is this the BCS? FML.

If you don't know what fmylife.com is, check it out, it is wonderful how horrible people think their lives are, and though ranking fighters isn't anywhere near pathetic, I'm stuck wondering why fighters are ranked, where they are ranked, who really decides this stuff, and what it's based on.

Consensus No. 1 Fedor Emelianenko has had a run of greatness that none have equaled.

When he ruled Pride, he showed a skill set that none could match. His unique ability to adapt his game to the person who he faced is something that you had to see to completely understand. He out wrestled wrestlers, he out striked strikers, and he submitted submission specialist.

Doubting his skill set would be completely inane, however; is he still No. 1? His last three wins were against Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, and Brett Rogers. He did indeed win convincingly, taking out all three inferior opponents in rather impressive fashion, but I feel like I am forced to look at his last three opponents and question if Fedor really is still that good.

Brett Rogers put up a Rocky Balboa-type performance in his K.O. loss against Fedor. He did what all young hungry fighters should do on the biggest stage of their careers, go for broke and hope for the best.

Until this past spring, he was working at a Sam's Club tire department, meaning that fighting has been his life for less than a year, though it has been a part of his life, he hasn't had the chance to be dedicated to his craft like Fedor, who has been fighting all of his life.

Knocking out Andrei Arlovski in 22 seconds does not make him a top 10-rated heavyweight, it makes him a fighter who beat Andrei Arlovski, who is prone to stupid mistakes such as going for a flying knee against an unfazed Fedor and throwing slow sloppy leg kicks on a young hungry fighter looking to make a name for himself.

I'm not one to doubt the potential of Brett Rogers, but I am one to doubt the fact that he was ready for such a stage after an impressive win over one top heavyweight.

Andrei Arlovski has the skill set to be a problem against anyone. For a brief moment, he was getting the better of Fedor, and he totally dominated some fat guy on Bully Beatdown. Though his knockouts of Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson were impressive, his performances during the fights weren't. A

After watching both Arlovski/Rothwell and Arlovski/Nelson, "The Pit Bull" benefited from two fighters who don't like cardio and benefited from being a recognizable name as the ruler of weak UFC division during the time period when the Pride Heavyweight division reigned supreme. The best fighter he has ever beaten was Fabricio Werdum, and he has losses against former top dogs like Ricco Rodriguez, Perdro Rizzo, and Tim Sylvia.

Arlovski has a history of losing to top competition, leading me to conclude that Arlovski is more of a name than a fighter, and the promotional abilities of Affliction and Strikeforce took advantage and convinced us otherwise.

Was there ever a time when anyone was actually rooting for Tim Sylvia? I became somewhat a fan of his at UFC 39 watching his fight against Cabbage Correira and seeing a debuting "Maine-iac" being more than happy to punch the crap out of Cabbage, and Cabbage more than happy to block punches with his head. After that, I was never a fan of his and cheered loudly when he got schooled by Randy Couture.

Against Fedor, he was definitely on the slide, but he was another name that Affliction could sell. An attribute to his slide was getting knocked out by a 49-year-old Ray Mercer.

If you can find that fight on YouTube, as Mercer landed, and Sylvia went to sleep. The person who lost ultimately was Fedor, because it just made his submission win over Sylvia less impressive.

When you take an overall look at Fedor's record, he hasn't had a meaningful win since his 2005 fight over Mirko Cro Crop. Yet, he is the consensus number one heavyweight in the world, and I am stuck to wonder how.

To be the number one guy, you have to beat the top guys in the division, something his new contract with Strikeforce won't allow. Though Fedor has future opponents like Alistair Overeem, Fabrico Werdum, and Antonio Silva; is this really a lineup that Fedor established as the true number one?

The UFC heavyweight division is supreme right now, with fighters such as Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo Noueira, Shan Carwin, Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, and Cheik Congo waiting and willing to fight each other, how is the king of this hill not considered as the top heavyweight?

The great thing about fighting is that the questions get settled in the ring, not on paper.

With multiple MMA promotions out there, and some gaining a stronger foothold in the US, it is going to get harder and harder to find and name the linear champion. Yet, the best shouldn't be determined by who looks great fighting lesser competition, but who wins against the stiffest competition.

As 2010 nears, we should have a clearer picture of who will be reigning on top of the heavyweight division, and at the end of 2010, it will not be Fedor Emelianenko.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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It's a Fact: WWE's Shane McMahon Will Invest in UFC

Joe Burgett — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:52:11 -0500

Last week, it was reported that Shane McMahon, son of WWE owner Vince McMahon and a well-versed WWE executive in his own right, met with UFC President Dana White.

Many speculated as to the topic of the meeting. Dana White, being the secretive man that he can be when he wants to, said "no comment" every time he was asked about the meeting.

Now, it has been reported from both MMA and wrestling insiders that Shane McMahon will be buying into the UFC.

MMA fans, more specifically UFC fans, need to be happy about this, and I'll tell you why.

Shane O'Mac may be well known in the pro-wrestling circle, but he is a business man first and foremost. He brings a lot of business know-how to UFC, and, as a former VP of Global Operations for the WWE, he brings so much to marketing—not to mention that he has friends in high places.

Many are hoping he could help the UFC get an international expansion, and that is not out of the box either. The UFC can do it if they have a guy who has been there, done that. McMahon is that guy.

He has helped the WWE get into about 30 or 40 different countries outside of North America. He closed a massive deal with Brazil about a year ago, which made the wrestling promotion millions.

McMahon is incredibly smart to come in now because he can easily buy into UFC. If they were already international, he couldn't. Not because he doesn't have the money. For the amount he'd have to put in right now, he would be able to buy a good chunk of the company. But had it been international, it would have only been a small chunk.

He took out $50 million in WWE stock about two weeks ago, and no one knew why. We know now that he could be purchasing a nice chunk of UFC; $50 million for a very well-known international company wouldn't buy 10 percent of it.

As a matter of fact, Shane only owned about 2.5 percent of the WWE when he had $50 million in it. Because it is a well-known, billion-dollar international company, $50 million is nothing to it.

UFC is not a billion-dollar business yet, but Shane can get it there. He brings so much business know-how to the company, it's crazy.

If you want a great guy for marketing and international business, Shane is your guy. He brought millions to the WWE as VP of Global Operations, and will do the same with UFC once he arrives.

Because he is still holding his post as VP of Global Operations until Jan. 1, 2010, many believe nothing financial will happen on Shane's end of things until then. So, I'd expect UFC to start the year without Shane O'Mac by their side.

But by February or March, I could see him investing in them.

UFC, here comes the money!

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November MMA Pound-for-Pound Rankings: Classic David Bowie

E. Spencer Kyte — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:12:04 -0500

The November installment of the Pound-for-Pound rankings deliver a whole lot of ch-ch-changes...

Injury and illness has bumped Brock Lesnar from the list for the time being, much to the adulation of his anti-fan club, while a number of entertaining events since the last time we rolled out these rankings have shuffled the remaining fighters.

Jose Aldo makes his debut after his still-a-little-surprising-how-dominant-it-was performance against Mike Thomas Brown at WEC 44.

I know that when Brian Bowles beat Miguel Torres I said one win isn't enough to vault you over the champ in my books. For Bowles, it wasn't. For Aldo, after the performance he put on, it most certainly is, double standard or not.

November Pound-for-Pound Rankings:

1. Anderson Silva—UFC Middleweight Champion (Last Month: No. 1)

Outside of the ring, questions surround the middleweight champ: will he fight Belfort? Is his elbow healing properly? I thought he didn't need surgery? Will he move to 205 permanently at some point?

Inside the ring, however, no questions remain. Anderson Silva is one of the most dangerous strikers in the game and the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.

2. Georges St-Pierre—UFC Welterweight Champion (Last Month: No. 2)

We now know that Dan Hardy will be the next fighter to be thrown around the cage by the Canadian superstar, we just don't know when.

Regardless, St-Pierre has spent his last 70 minutes inside the cage having his way with Jon Fitch, B.J. Penn and Thiago Alves, all of whom are more complete fighters than "The Outlaw."

More interesting the upcoming dismantling of Dan Hardy is that St-Pierre has been adding muscle to his already muscled physique. Let the Anderson Silva super-fight speculation commence...

3. Fedor Emelianenko—WAMMA Heavyweight Champion (Last Month: No. 3)

Another fight, another win and another impressive knockout of a much bigger opponent. This is the way it goes with Fedor.

Like him or not, there is something to be said about going nine years without a loss and arguably being undefeated through 33 professional bouts.

People can question his level of competition all they want; the bottom line is that Fedor has beaten everyone that has been placed before him and that is something that cannot be said of Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre or just about any other championship caliber fighter in the sport today.

At some point, everyone loses...except Fedor.

4. Lyoto Machida—UFC Light Heavyweight Champion (Last Month: No. 4)

Controversy or not, Lyoto Machida is still undefeated, still the UFC Light Heavyweight champion and still remains one of the most talented fighters on the planet.

Yes, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua fought a great fight and challenged Machida like no one had challenged him before, but that isn't a detriment to Machida; it's a compliment to Rua and his return to the upper echelon of the light heavyweight division.

While the rematch won't satisfy everyone regardless of who comes away victorious, until someone actually puts a "one" in Lyoto Machida's loss column, he'll remain in the top five.

5. B.J. Penn—UFC Lightweight Champion (Last Month: No. 5)

Next up is Diego Sanchez, a stern challenger and a guy who will certainly push the pace more than anyone Penn has fought as of late.

It seems that every time Penn is set to step into the cage, people line up to discuss what attributes his opponent possesses that will spell doom for the lightweight champ.

In the end, Penn emerges victorious and I don't see this upcoming bout being any different.

6. Jose Aldo—WEC Featherweight Champion (Last Month: Unranked)

Normally, I don't jump a new champion into the rankings immediately after the claim the belt. Part of that is because I subscribe to the "to be a true champion you have to defend the belt" theory, but the other part is that on occasion, one great punch can put a belt around your waist.

That isn't the case with Aldo and that's why he skyrockets into the No. 6 spot. He flat out dominated Mike Brown last week, stuffing takedowns, sticking jabs and pounding out a title-earning win.

What is most scary about Aldo is that as dominant as he's been thus far in his WEC career, we've yet to see him utilize his Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt inside the cage...

7. Gegard Mousasi—Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion (Last Month: No. 8)

Normally, beating Sokoudjou wouldn't get you a bump in the rankings, but with all the shuffling that has taken place since the September rankings came out, Mousasi climbs a notch.

While some will say it's too early for the young phenom to be a P4P contender and that Soko won the first round, I would counter that there is no time restriction on making a P4P list and the mark of a truly great fighter is someone who can be losing a fight right up until the point that they win it.

Besides, find me another fighter with 14 straight wins over a number of top-20 contenders across two divisions.

8. Miguel Torres—Former WEC Bantamweight Champion (Last Month: No. 7)

Honestly, I would hate to be Miguel Torres' next opponent.

Chances are that the former champ is going to be on a mission whenever he steps into the cage next, after losing his title and having his 17-fight winning streak snapped.

Perhaps Brian Bowles deserves this place over Torres; the argument could certainly be made and a number would easily agree.

For me, one loss in five years isn't enough to drop you out of the rankings.

9. Mike Brown—Former WEC Featherweight Champion (Last Month: No. 6)

The American Top Team fighter was dominated in his fight against Jose Aldo, and drops three spots in the rankings as a result.

It will be interesting to see where Brown goes from here; whether he moves back to 155 as he's talked of before, who he fights next if he remains at 145 and how far down the ladder he slips after losing his belt are all questions that need to be answered.

The WEC has been pretty good about getting their former champions back into the mix quickly, so if Brown remains at '45, expect no more than two fights before he's back vying for the belt.

10. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua—No. 1 Contender UFC Light Heavyweight Title (Last Month: Unranked)

Regardless of your thoughts on the decision from UFC 104, there is no denying that Mauricio "Shogun" Rua looked better than he has before in the UFC and that he is finally healthy and ready to once again challenge for the title of "Best Light Heavyweight in the World."

Despite an excellent performance against Lyoto Machida last time, Rua faces the daunting task of having to perform even better the second time around, as Machida will undoubtedly adapt to the gameplan Rua utilized in their first meeting.

While it's a tall order, few gave Rua much of a chance heading into the first fight, so don't be surprised if he comes out with another impressive performance when they meet again.

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Roger Huerta's Future: Where Will the MMA Free Agent Land?

Shawn Smith — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:55:20 -0500

Open season has begun for the fighting services of Roger Huerta.

Huerta’s last fight, a split-decision loss to Gray Maynard at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 19 on Sept. 16, was the last on his UFC contract, making him now a free agent in the MMA market.

He originally declined a five-fight deal with the UFC back in January to pursue a movie career; however, his recent bout with Maynard re-sparked his love for the fight game. He has now put his movie aspirations on hold in hopes of returning to the cage very soon.

Despite being a free agent, the UFC has the right to match any offer put forth by any other promotion for up to a year, which raises an interesting dilemma for the UFC.

Huerta is coming off of two straight losses and will likely not be in title contention anytime soon. However, with the UFC working diligently to break into the Mexico market, Huerta could be a key addition.

How much would the UFC be willing to pay for a non-contention fighter who could prove to be a huge draw in a new market? Or maybe the better question is how much is Scott Coker willing to pay for one of the UFC’s most popular lightweights?

Huerta's manager, Jeff Clark, told Sherdog.com Huerta has "had a lot of interest from different parties." One would have to assume that this includes Strikeforce.

For a promotion that is trying to break into the mainstream, a fighter as recognizable as Huerta could be a huge addition.

It’s safe to say that Huerta is in a very good spot right now. Either way, his Mexican heritage and mainstream recognition makes him a huge commodity that will result in a hefty payday for this warrior, one way or another.

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Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz Controversy: This Time the Joke Is on Us!

Darren Wong — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:10:09 -0500

The UFC has now had three consecutive controversial decisions in main events. In the first two controversial decisions, nearly everybody involved has been blamed. This time, the joke is on us.

After the fight between Lyoto Machida and Mauicio Rua, fans expressed their outrage with the judges for awarding a decision clearly not supported by the majority of fans and media people. The fact that many people must have been influenced by questionable commentary is beside the point. People weren't happy with the decision, and they needed to blame somebody.

Cecil Peoples in particular was singled out for ridicule after saying some half-baked remarks regarding the scoring of the fight, but Peoples wasn't alone in receiving the blame.

The UFC was blamed for the judging controversy, as many fans felt that the decision was arranged by the UFC. Unknown to these people is the fact that the judges are appointed by the athletic commissions, not by the UFC.

Even the fighters don't seem to understand this point. After the Machida decision, Rampage Jackson blamed the UFC for the decision and stated that the UFC needs to get new judges. Tito Ortiz said something similar following his decision loss to Griffin.

Another casualty in the initial controversy was Machida, who instantly seemed to go from being fan favorite to enemy of the state.

I don't know how people can blame Machida simply for not thinking that he lost a fight that incidentally three judges thought he won, but if there is one thing people can do, it's finding a way to blame somebody.

The good news for Machida is that if fans are this quick to blame him, hopefully they'll be just as quick to praise him again if he can defeat Shogun in the rematch.

After the decision in the Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera fight, people could no longer blame one or two judges. The new target became the whole judging system.

At least in this fight, people didn't crucify Couture like they did Machida. This time the blame was at least narrowed to something possibly responsible for the problem.

MMA scoring criteria used by athletic commissions aren't perfect, but they certainly aren't the only problem, as we saw last Saturday.

Last Saturday a much larger problem emerged. In the fight between Machida and Shogun, while there were many fans who felt that Machida deserved to win the decision, there were almost no media experts who felt the same way.

There were only a few exceptions.

In the Forrest vs Tito fight, the fans and media experts were all over the map.

The most common scoring for the fight was probably 29-28 for Forrest Griffin, but I saw online that many people scored the fight 29-28 for Ortiz, while others went as far as 30-26 for Griffin.

BloodyElbow.com posted an article expressing outrage that a judge could possibly have scored the fight for Ortiz. BloodyElbow was far from alone in scoring the fight 30-26 for Griffin.

Apparently the problem isn't just with the judging system.

So who do we blame now?

We can't blame one particular judge, because there have been too many judges responsible for the three recent decisions, and the recent judging controversy has shown us that we can't blame the judging system itself.

There are some fundamental issues that need to be resolved to rectify this situation. I'm still working on that article. For now, let's just stop blaming everybody else.

This time the joke is on us.

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UFC 106 Losers: What's Next?

Sterling Spiars — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:37:10 -0500

Despite the fact that a few fights were pulled from the card, UFC 106 featured a number of exciting matchups that produced more fireworks than expected.

Just like with the outcome of UFC 102, Dana White has shown us all that he can take lemons and turn them into lemonade.

Phil Baroni

The one-trick pony with little to no stamina made his return to the UFC against Amir Sadollah. We all knew that Phil Baroni's plan was to knock Sadollah out within the first two minutes before his gas tank was simply running on fumes. Unfortunately for Baroni, this didn't happen, and Sadollah picked "The New York Badass" apart en route to a unanimous decision.

Since White has confirmed that Baroni will not be canned, his next opponent depends on which weight class he would fight in. Either way, it will be against another bottom of the barrel opponent.

If it is at welterweight, a good opponent would be Nick Osipczak. The outcome would be one of two things: Baroni winning the fight with a confidence-boosting knockout, or another case of the crow picking apart the dead, where Osipczak would pick apart Baroni towards victory.

If his next fight happens at middleweight, a perfect fighter to oppose Baroni would be Rob Kimmons. Both fighters like to swing away. Everybody wins with this fight.

Luiz Cane

Luiz Cane entered the fight as a hot prospect that shot his way into the division's top 10. This was the fight to prove whether or not that Cane was ready to swim with the sharks. Unfortunately for him, Cane ran into a great white shark named Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

In a fight that pitted southpaw against southpaw, Nogueira proved that he had the better boxing, knocking out the aggressive striker in the first round.

There is no shame in losing to a world-class fighter, so Cane should only look forward from here. An intriguing fight could come against Ryan Bader. This would give Bader the step up in competition that he needs, as well as give Cane a stiff test against a solid wrestler.

Jacob Volkmann

The twin brother of Lloyd Christmas, Jacob Volkmann entered the arena as an unknown fighter outside of Minnesota. After the night was done, Volkmann had earned the respect of the UFC management and fans.

Volkmann went three rounds against one of the division's top fighters in Paulo Thiago, ultimately losing the decision. There were shining moments for Volkmann, who proved he has a chin and some sneaky jiu-jitsu off of his back.

His next fight should be against Brock Larson, who has fallen from contender status into the midst of the pack. This would generate an exciting, back and forth fight between two solid wrestlers who both wield some exceptional hands as well.

Anthony Johnson

Like with Cane, there is no shame in the performance of Anthony Johnson. In an ugly fight of eye pokes, eye rakes, and a near disastrous knee, Johnson lost to the better fighter in Josh Koscheck.

Johnson did show glimpses of his potential, stuffing a few takedowns from the superior wrestler, as well as connecting on some clean shots to Koscheck's head.

"Rumble" should fight Ben Saunders, who proved that his striking can be devastating. Both guys like to keep the fight standing with the exciting striking, but if the fight goes to the ground, neither one would be at a disadvantage.

Tito Ortiz

Once again, Tito Ortiz made his highly anticipated return to the UFC against Forrest Griffin. Once again, his fight with Griffin generated some serious buzz as the two fought for three rounds.

Once again, the victor was handed the split decision victory, but this time it was handed to Griffin. Ortiz was outclassed and picked apart throughout the third round, where he once again appeared tired and out of shape. Ortiz was only able to score a few takedowns through the fight but had a difficult time keeping Griffin down.

Ortiz has been lobbying to coach The Ultimate Fighter , Season 11 alongside Griffin to set up the rubber match. It is a good idea, but it probably isn't the direction that the UFC wants to go in, recycling the coaches from the past seasons.

The UFC should pit Ortiz against "The Dean of Mean," Keith Jardine, as it gives Tito an opponent that he can bounce back strong against. Nothing against Jardine, but that has been his role since joining the promotion. If anything, it also gives Jardine a chance to prove that nobody in the division should look past him.

Those are the guys that the losers should fight next. Let's ask Robert Gardner about who the winners should fight.

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My Subjective Decision is Better: Opinions Abound on MMA Judging

E. Spencer Kyte — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:34:35 -0500

Quick question: Who is getting the better of this exchange?

The fact of the matter is that there is no definitive answer and getting three people to agree certainly wouldn't be the easiest task of the day.

In all honesty, coming up with a definitive answer to the first question depends on how you respond to a series of related questions first:

Which strike landed first? Who initiated the action? Where are you sitting? Does Machida's punch connect? Did Rua's kick land?

If a consensus can't be reached looking at a photograph, why are so many people up in arms when the same thing happens in real time?

For better or for worse, whenever something is scored subjectively, these things are going to happen.

Just as individuals have different tastes in music, clothes, and food, each judge weighs certain elements of the fights they score differently.

The outcry over what is perceived as a rash of bad decisions as of late, is a little much for me.

While my scorecards have certainly looked different than those read aloud from time-to-time, it's the reactions of some in the media that interest me the most.

This past weekend, both Jorden Breen of Sherdog and Mike Fagan of Bloody Elbow, expressed their displeasure with judge Glenn Trowbridge's scorecard following the Tito Ortiz—Forrest Griffin fight at UFC 106. Trowbridge was the judge who scored things 29-28 Ortiz.

One called him "the most dangerous man in the sport" while the other petitioned for his license to be pulled. I wonder whether they have the same anger and frustration with their colleague Josh Gross of Sports Illustrated , who had the same scorecard as Trowbridge?

Probably not.

What actually interests me more than debating who won the fight, is going back through the video to watch it again or vehemently rattling off Fight Metric numbers about the contest is comments like those offer up by Fagan in his recap :

A card of 29-28 Ortiz is atrocious. Absolutely atrocious. I personally had the fight 30-26 Griffin, though I find 30-27 and 29-28 Griffin acceptable as well.

My question is: what makes one subjective decision better than another?

For the sake of putting all the cards on the table before we go any further, I had this fight scored as a draw (28-28) with Ortiz winning Rounds one and two, but Griffin earning a 10-8 in the final round to even things out.

Apparently, the way I saw the fight is unacceptable.

First and foremost, each of these last three UFC main events that have drawn criticism, were close fights.

To me, if you can't concede that, there is no point in having this discussion. You're cemented in your view and nothing anyone says will get you to budge, not even an inch.

While the commitment and conviction is commendable, it's also flawed in my opinion. Scoring these fights is completely subjective, therefore by definition there are going to be differing views and potentially different outcomes.

Yes, you saw the fight going one way, but that doesn't mean it is outside of the realm of possibility that someone else saw it a different way.

Besides, it's not like any of these decisions were nearly as bad as the Mike Easton— Chase Beebe bout at UWC seven,and other than the Luke Thomas-led charge to change the results ,not a lot of people were outwardly angered about that fight.

Or in the very least, they weren't calling for people's jobs.

But when you put it on the biggest stage and have the most eyes watching, close fights become cause for boisterous outcries for judging reform and the removal of these incompetent people who offered up differing opinions.

While we're certainly in the business of generating hits and controversy brings the crowds, there is something to be said for having a little perspective.

After all, Forrest Griffin still won the fight,so crisis averted.

Are there areas of improvement and opportunities for growth in the judging of Mixed Martial Arts bouts?

Absolutely, just as there is in boxing, figure skating, diving, and every other subjectively scored sport.

But when things are left up to interpretation, telling someone their interpretation is wrong, invalid or ridiculous is pointless and ultimately proves nothing.

One person looks at a Jackson Pollack and sees art, while the other sees a mess of paint with no purpose.

At the end of the day, both think the other is mistaken and no one can tell them otherwise, no matter how loud they yell and demand they return their museum membership.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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With a Win Over Tito Ortiz in the Books, What's Next for Forrest Griffin

Bryan Levick — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:22:30 -0500

Forrest Griffin defeated Tito Ortiz on Saturday night. He may not have won all three rounds, but he did win two of them. End of story.

This article is not to go over the scoring controversy of this fight or the many others that have had some questionable decisions over the past few months. This piece is to provide some input on where Griffin goes from here.

While a third bout between Griffin and Ortiz inevitable, it is not going to happen any time soon. There has been talk of pitting the two former Ultimate Fighter coaches, on season 11. To be honest with you, I truly don't think that will happen.

The time will come for these two to have their rubber match and when it does, the third bout will most likely be a carbon copy of their first two. Until then, Griffin will look to work his way back up the light heavyweight ladder.

If you look at the quality of competition that Forrest has faced over the past two years, it is completely incredible.

Starting with his win over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 76 in September of 2007, Griffin has faced four former or current UFC champions and a former Pride Fighting Championship Middleweight Grand Prix winner.

That is a serious resume, one that can only be matched by very few mixed martial artists.

The win over Ortiz helped Griffin get back in the right frame of mind. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Griffin admitted that Anderson Silva broke him. In fact, many fans and writers alike, questioned whether or not Griffin would ever recover from that loss.

He showed that he is a lot more resilient than people give him credit for. Regardless of the fact that Ortiz had been off for 18 months, "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy," is still a tough fight for anyone.

Looking to the future, you can rest assured that Griffin will look to take on the biggest and the baddest of the light heavyweight division. For me, there is one fight that I believe he needs to take first.

The loss to Keith Jardine was devastating for Griffin, but being the true professional that he is, Griffin used it to make him a better more complete fighter. Now is the time for him to extract some revenge, while also taking on a fighter who at this time isn't considered one of the division's best.

Jardine is always going to be a tough fight for anyone, but I truly believe that Griffin would beat him eight out of 10 times. Take into account that Griffin has grown as a fighter a lot more than Jardine has and it is easy to see that Griffin would be able to gain a win against Jardine.

Griffin has always been a company man, stepping in on short notice to fight Ortiz, stepping up to take on Silva, whom the UFC sorely needed a solid performance from. Griffin will never say no to Dana White.

That is why if Griffin were to request a rematch with Jardine, the UFC would more than likely grant his wish.

Now that he has evened the score with one of the men who have handed him a loss inside the octagon, it is now time to pay back Jardine.

If we all know Forrest Griffin he will wind up fighting someone in the top five, quite possibly the winner of the Rashad Evans-Thiago Silva bout that is scheduled to take place on Jan. 2.

Another option is a high profile match-up with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who made his UFC debut a memorable one on Saturday night by knocking Luiz Cane into next week.

Whomever he fights next, it will surely be a tough fight for Griffin. He wouldn't want it any other way.

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Griffin vs. Ortiz Left Me Smiling

Dorothy Willis — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:43:36 -0500

Like most MMA fans, I was eager to watch UFC 106 to see Tito Ortiz in his return to the octagon.

I have had a grudge against Forrest Griffin ever since I shelled out over 25 bucks to purchase his book, which turned out to be nothing more than a long running joke on whomever purchased it.

Although my son found certain nuggets of what he considered actual wisdom about mixed martial arts and fighting within it's pages, I continued to feel empty and cheated.

And then Forrest added insult to injury when he insulted a fan by talking about the fan's mother in lewd terms. Excuse me, fair readers, but first and foremost, I am a mother of two sons who were athletes. If they had ever dared to talk that way about someone's mother, publicly, they would have regretted it for the rest of their lives!

Aside from hating "Yo Momma" dissing, I also dislike unsportsmanlike behavior, so I had taken Forrest Griffin to task for his run from the ring after his fight with Anderson Silva in an article on this very site. I honestly do not remember how many reads it had.

Of course, today's fans may not approve of my opinions, in fact, my fellow writers on Bleacher Report seldom appreciate the fact that I have voiced my opinions on this site as long as I have. My response has been, "tough noogies, kiddies, Grandma Dee speaks what's on her mind, so get over it!"

I am not a particularly PC oldster, or an overly polite one either.

Unfortunately for a lot of people, I am a big Tito Ortiz fan, too. And before you begin to wonder, "yes, I have read his book and did like it." In my demented mind, it was superior to Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell's books. (I read a lot of MMA books, OK?)

So, as UFC 106 approached, I anxiously awaited Tito's big return bout with Forrest.

I fully expected to see a repeat of their first fight, where Forrest plaintively insisted that he just wanted to win Tito's respect. If I remember correctly, Tito did not mention Forrest accomplishing his goal after winning that match.

Well, you readers must be laughing your heads off thinking how disappointed old Grandma was after this second fight concluded with Forrest defeating Tito.

You would be very wrong to think those thoughts, my friends, because after all was said and done, Grandma had a huge smile on her face and is still very happy with how it ended.

To see Tito being booed was hard on my sensibilities, but when Forrest stepped to the microphone and defended Tito, I had an epiphany of sorts. Forrest is not really a bad guy at all. A smart-ass when he is backed into a corner maybe, but a real sportsman to stick up for the man he had just defeated in front of a booing crowd.

If there is one thing I do know, it is that MMA crowds are pretty much a fickle bunch. It may be the beer, or mob mentality, but they can turn on a favorite fighter in a second. Therefore, what Forrest said certainly won my admiration for his intestinal fortitude in facing down that mob.

Georges St. Pierre, he is not, but still he did a brave and honorable thing in defending Tito, at least in my estimation.

For quite a while I have felt that Tito was greatly wronged by the UFC. I felt like kissing Dana's feet when he accepted Tito so warmly back into the fold. Yes, Grandma Dee had a genuine rush of affection for the other DW! That is certainly newsworthy now isn't it?

The fact that Tito is with Jenna Jameson has never bothered me, because I feel she is extremely intelligent and a very articulate woman. That she has made money making porno movies which have influenced men to talk about her with disrespect sickens me. She made her money in giving men what they like to look at and fantasize about; I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

So, I think Tito should be envied for having discovered what an exceptional woman Jenna is. Their twins are adorable. What a great life they will have raising them!

In the end, though, Forrest got my respect, not by beating Tito, but by standing up to the booing crowd and supporting him in his return to the cage.

Now I have two more men to admire in the world of MMA!

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UFC 106: Recap, Bonuses, Analysis and What's Next

Josh Nason — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:13:01 -0500

Even I was a bit impressed last night at the drawing power of Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin in my little part of the world here in Manchester, NH.

The bar we go to for all UFC ppvs (the awesome MMA-friendly Murphy's Taproom ) was packed last night for UFC 106 and into almost every fight of the night with the exception of Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann.

From Amir Sadollah's Muay Thai clinch clinic on Phil Baroni to the slow motion of Josh Koscheck's finger going in Anthony Johnson's eye, they were transfixed.

And then there was the main event. People cheered for Tito Ortiz and loved Forrest Griffin. They were into this fight like it was five years ago when Ortiz was near the top of his game and when it was all over, most were surprised at the split decision victory for Griffin. 30-27 score? What?

The reason I tell this story is that when I looked around the room, it became apparent that no matter how much guys like myself may complain about the amount of shows and the lack of stars right now on these events due to injury and an overload of cards to fill, it doesn't matter.

UFC is king and the people Saturday night didn't care that Ortiz had been an afterthought in MMA for almost two years. He was a star from the past and they were into it. If that happened here in small New Hampshire, I'm betting it was pretty representative around the country as well.

Forrest Griffin def. Tito Ortiz by split decision

I need to watch the fight again, but at first blush, I thought Ortiz had won 29-28. I was surprised, but not floored by the decision which just seemed to fit given what happened in their first fight. (Of course, they need a 3rd one, right? Almost too good to be true.) Griffin looked good in the win which helped soothe the embarrassment of his loss to Anderson Silva in August and put a positive end to his 2009.

Ortiz is still an interesting draw, but I thought the complaining at the end about his neck and "cracked skull" just came off as desperate and excuse-driven. In the post-game press conference, Ortiz held court and said multiple times that he was robbed.

Surprisingly, he was very emotional and said his career was in Dana White's hands. He's a welcome addition to the star-starved light heavyweight division, but the jury is still out as whether he'll ultimately be relevant in this latest go-round.

And the suggestion from the post-game presser about Ortiz and Griffin being coaches for the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter? That sounds great to me, but I think the impending GSP vs. Dan Hardy fight could use it a bit more. Ortiz vs. Griffin III will sell just fine, but people need a reason to believe Hardy has a chance...any reason at all.

Josh Koscheck def. Anthony Johnson by second round submission

What a weird fight. Between the phantom knee/eye poke on Kosheck to Johnson ironically getting eye gouged twice, this fight was just two rounds but felt like it took about 45 minutes.

Koscheck did exactly what I expected in taking the young Johnson to the ground and making him think about something other than his fists. Good win by Koscheck who earned both Submission Of The Night and Fight Of The Night honors (good for an extra $140k) and has become the UFC's most reliable ironman this fall.

But has Koscheck earned a title shot? Ehhhh, I'm not so sure. Johnson's not a top contender yet and Koscheck can't seem to put a long win streak together. I love the fact he called out Hardy which sets up a fun fight between them down the road, but I need to see Koscheck really beat down a top 10 fighter before I would say he's next in line for GSP.

For Johnson, he's got plenty of time to get better. This was a big jump in competition, so his next fight is going to be important. There was a lot of pressure here, but I like "Rumble" a lot. He's a flashy and fun fighter to watch, so I hope he continues to progress. Losses matter, but this isn't a career killer by any stretch.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Luiz Cane by first-round TKO

Lil' Nog looked great and hopefully will be a shot in the arm in the 205 division. Cane looked overmatched and overwhelmed against Nogueira, who has transitioned as of late into a TKO machine despite having great submission skills. Cane is far from a top 205'er, but I liked what I saw Saturday out of Lil' Nog and am really interested to see who's next in line for him.

He also earned $70k for Knockout Of The Night.

Paulo Thiago def. Jacob Volkmann by unanimous decision

Volkmann looked terrified at the start of the fight as this was his first shot in the big time. Of the televised event, this was the fight that got over the least with the crowd I watched with, even with an entertaining third round. Thiago got back on the winning side of the ledger after suffering his first career loss at UFC 100, but he's not a contender for the 170-pound title just yet.

Amir Sadollah def. Phil Baroni by unanimous decision

Just a pure battering of Baroni, who physically looked great but was absolutely gassed after the first round. I'm not sure why the UFC decided Baroni was worth bringing back, but Sadollah took advantage of the situation. He's still quite inexperienced, but looked the part in devastating Baroni in the clinch with knees that had the crowd cringing with each hard connection.

Maybe Baroni has one more fight left in him, but there is a pattern in him not having the cardio to excel in 15 minutes of action. Gotta give it to him though...he was swinging for the fences until the end.

Ben Saunders def. Marcus Davis via first round KO

I'm becoming a big Saunders fan as his height and wingspan give him a huge advantage in the division. UFC has a great prospect here and need to be smart with his opponents so they don't burn out the candle. Sadly, I'm also a Davis fan and he got decimated. He's lost two straight and this was his first loss by KO in his career. At 36 years old, you have to wonder if one more loss will be enough for the UFC to call it good.

Kendall Grove def. Jake Rosholt via first round submission

This could have earned Submission Of The Night as well. It's hard to figure out Grove who has gone into the 'win a few, lose a few' mode the past two years. This is a bad loss for Rosholt who tapped out really quickly after being caught in the triangle from the ground.

Did you know he beat Chris Leben in August? That seems like a very long time ago now. The UFC is a lot different than the WEC and Rosholt is getting a crash course in just how much.

Brian Foster def. Brock Larson via second round submission

This was another weird fight with Larson losing two points in the first round due to a kick to a grounded opponent (both were separated and Larson kicked him in the face as he attempted to get up) and a knee while Foster had three points on the ground (how was Larson supposed to see Foster's hand touching the mat?). Foster poured it on in the second and looked good in doing so. Larson's lost two in a row...not good.

George Sotiropoulos def. Jason Dent via second round submission

Sotiropoulos looked good in working over Dent, who also made a nice showing here. He's not very TV friendly in terms of what some look for in a fighter, but he's also a good opponent for guys on the way up. If he can put some wins together, who knows?

Caol Uno and Fabricio Camoes drew

The only fight that didn't make TV. What a surprise. I didn't see this, but I can only imagine the excitement.

Josh Nason has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to Fight Magazine and Bleacher Report and appears regularly on Fight Network Radio . Follow him on Twitter.

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Josh Koscheck: UFC's Welterweight Heel

Darren Wong — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:05:31 -0500

Fans love to hate Josh Koscheck.

The reasons people have for disliking the perennial welterweight contender go all the way back to the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, where he made life miserable for Chris Leben. Yet, there are many other reasons why people don't like Kos.

When Koscheck first started fighting in the UFC, he came in with great wrestling skills and athleticism, but little else. As a result, Koscheck was labled a "lay and pray" fighter, or otherwise, "another boring wrestler."

Koscheck, the natural talent that he is, wasn't satisfied with being a wrestler, and focused intensely on improving his striking skills. In fights against Dustin Hazelett, Paulo Thiago and Thiago Alves, it seemed that Koscheck was only willing to use his wrestling as a last resort.

Koscheck is an explosive and powerful striker, but tends to take a few punches. He was rocked by Hazelett, beaten up by Alves, and knocked down by Thiago.

After losing fights to Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves, the new criticism of Koscheck was that he had neglected his wrestling too much in an effort to be a more exciting fighter. Now people began to dislike Koscheck for neglecting the wrestling style that Koscheck was criticized for employing earlier in his career.

It seemed like no matter what Koscheck did, people would still hate him.

Of course it was no surprise that Koscheck was booed last year following his ground and pound victory over Chris Lytle; He'd gone back to his wrestling, and was unwilling to trade punches with Lytle.

Last night against Anthony Johnson, we saw what was arguably one of Koscheck's best performances. You wouldn't know it from the chatter online though, as many fans seem convinced that Koscheck was faking his injuries, and later intentionally tried to poke Johnson in the eye.

I tend to disagree with those complaints. It was a strange fight to be sure, but I think the most important things to get out of the fight were not about Koscheck's character, but about his improvements as a fighter.

There were still flaws in his striking, but it seemed like Koscheck was finally beginning to evolve into a martial artist.

He changed levels frequently to make Johnson afraid of the takedown, and he set up his shots with strikes. By doing these things, he'll become more effective in both areas.

When he succeeded in getting Johnson down, he also used his BJJ skills to pass guard and secure the submission.

Wrestling, striking, and jiu jitsu mixed together seamlessly, that's what Koscheck showed last night, and that's what works in MMA.

Koscheck is a former NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion, and yet was out-wrestled by Georges St. Pierre. The reason to me seems fairly simple; GSP's wrestling is the most effective in MMA because he is so well rounded.

When a fighter fights against Matt Hughes, they're only worried about the shot and the takedown, and so their job is a lot simpler. It's a lot harder to stop a double-leg when you're worried about getting punched in the face.

With Koscheck's new improvements, he's clearly put himself on the short list of fighters at welterweight who might be able to cause serious problems for the champion, Georges St. Pierre.

Of course, for all of his improvements as a fighter, people still don't like Koscheck. He's the "bad guy" in a division ruled by the ultimate "good guy" of MMA.

Georges St. Pierre has embraced his place in MMA as a role model and a champion. He's the baby face, the poster boy, the guy on the Wheaties box, the bubblegum pop superstar, the clean-cut "All-American" Canadian. Koscheck isn't.

Koscheck doesn't care about his image, or what the fans think of him, or if he does, he maybe really wants people to hate him.

While GSP is polite and tries to be respectful, Koscheck says whatever he wants to say.

Yesterday, he threw his teammate Mike Swick under the bus when he said that Dan Hardy hasn't fought anybody good. Koscheck doesn't really seem to care about what other fighters or fans think of him. He tends to come across as cocky and arrogant.

Even if you can get over all of those things about Koscheck, you're probably offended by his bleach-blonde hair.

Personally, I don't mind Koscheck as much as other people do. He's cocky, but that comes from confidence. His comments are almost rude to the point of brutality, but if so, it's because Koscheck is brutally honest.

More than that though, Koscheck knows that the UFC needs "bad guys," and he's more than happy to play that role. He is the heel of the welterweight division, and eventually he'll fight GSP once again in another clash of "good vs. evil."

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Call For Concern: UFC Suffers Due to Poor Judging and Refereeing

Jared Leatzow — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:48:14 -0500

There are some people out there who call themselves MMA fans, I for one am not one of them. I say I am not a fan because my love of the sport borders as some sort of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

So obviously if I'm not a fan, and certainly not a hater of the sport, that can only mean one thing: I'm a fanatic.

So, certainly if I am a fanati,c then I rarely ever miss a UFC or free Strikeforce, and I always check the results for DREAM and Sengoku.

However, I have to say the last two UFC events I most definitely missed. I missed 105 simply out a lack of interest and 106 because I was spending time with a friend who is getting married next week.

Fortunately though, I have heard all the juicy details of last night's fights, and it seems to me like there was some underhanded refereeing and judging.

It came to my attention that Josh Koscheck fought a very dirty and underhanded fight against Anthony Johnson.

As a fan of Johnson and was slowly growing to become a fan of Koscheck's, I have to say I am quite disappointed in the way he fought last night.

Friends told me that Koscheck lied about being hit by a knee to the face and being blinded, then went on to use kryptonite against Johnson.

If I am correct the fight ended with a submission victory by Koscheck as a result of poking Johnson in the eye twice and blinding him.

Now, I really want to know what is going on here in the UFC.

Johnson has lost two fights this way. The first one was against Kevin Burns who just wrecked his eyeball, and now Koscheck.

Why aren't these fights being ruled a no contest? These sort of things shouldn't be tarnishing a talented fighter like Johnson's career.

The second eye poke by Koscheck should be an indication that this guy is fighting dirty and the match should be ended or the guy should be losing part of his purse, not being rewarded a submission of the night bonus.

Now, on the Ortiz vs Griffin II fight, it came to my attention that this fight was once again a poorly judged main event in the UFC. It was just last month that there was all this judging controversy and once again the UFC is embroiled in all this crap again.

I don't know if Griffin truly won this fight, but looking at the score cards and then reading about Dana White's post-fight reactions, it seems to me like there needs to be finely established guidelines for judging.

White seemed very content that Griffin did not deserve a unanimous decision and the fight was much closer than what the cards said.

Whatever guidelines there are, they simply are not working. Is MMA in the United States still using boxing as its example for judging these fights?

These judges don't seem to understand takedowns, submission attempts, and well-placed elbows. The only thing they seem to understand are punches to the head and kicks to the body.

Perhaps it's time to step away from a three-judge scoring model and instead adapt a new system for this sport.

Here is my suggestion: Have a small panel of score keepers. These score keepers' only job is to watch the fight and count strikes, submissions, and takedowns.

These score keepers should be comprised of people who truly understand the sport, like MMA journalists and retired fighters.

There would still be three judges and it would also be their job to keep their own tally for each match.

The judges would take the score keepers' scores into consideration when they are deciding the winner of the fight. It would work similar to the U.S. election process.

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UFC 106: 10 Things We Learned Last Night

E. Spencer Kyte — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:09:57 -0500

1. Best Entrance Music Ever

Before breaking down the fights, let's get one thing clear: the choice of "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba as Forrest Griffin's entrance song was awesome.

Coming off an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Anderson Silva, there was no better song for Griffin to walk out to than one whose chorus states, "I get knocked down, but I get up again. You're never gonna keep me down."

Well played, Forrest Griffin. Well played.

2. Play It Again, Sam

Chances are, we'll see Forrest-Tito Round 3 somewhere down the road, just because: (a) it's a 1-1 series and you have to have a winner, and (b) both of these guys bring in the crowds and would make for a great No. 2 or 3 fight on a stacked card.

While it might not be warranted in some people's estimations because Griffin was clearly the victor last night, while Ortiz eeked out a decision in their first fight, they seem to enjoy fighting each other and match up well against one another, so why not do it again down the road?

You have to admit, this was far better than Ortiz vs. Coleman would have been.

3. Sorry Tito, But You Missed the Evolutionary Bus

No, I'm not saying Tito is a caveman or anything disparaging when it comes to the real world application of the word evolution. But in terms of Mixed Martial Arts, Tito missed the bus in a big, big way.

Back when Tito dominated the 205-pound division, being outstanding at one skill could propel you to numerous victories, and Tito was a prime example. His wrestling was tremendous and few could defend his double leg takedown. From there, a little Tito ground and pound and the fight was done.

But we're creeping up on 2010, and being one dimensional isn't going to cut it today. Even a guy like Forrest, who started out as a brawler, has evolved. He has tightened up his striking, adding some Muay Thai and developing a very underrated ground game under Robert Drysdale.

If Tito wants to have any success moving forward, he's going to have to disprove the theory that you can't teach and old dog new tricks.

4. Not Quite Ready to Rumble

He's close, but Anthony Johnson just isn't quite there yet and Josh Koscheck showed that last night, by utilizing his strong wrestling base and superior submission skills to force the Cung Le protegee to tap in the second round of their much-anticipated bout.

What a novel concept, using your strengths in accordance with your opponents weaknesses to earn a victory. Why didn't someone think of that sooner...or at least tell Jorge Gurgel?

Results aside, this was an ugly fight. Both guys got poked in the eye and we were extremely close to seeing the fight end in a disqualification thanks to Johnson's blatant and brutal knee of a downed Koscheck.

Regardless of what the replays showed and however you want to spin it, Johnson should know better, and until those mental errors are erased and he develops his defensive skills against submissions, "Rumble" will remain an outstanding prospect who can't quite get over the hump.

5. That Was Fight of the Night?

As entertaining as the Koscheck/Johnson tilt was, am I the only one wondering how a fight filled with fouls and accidental eye gouging was awarded Fight of the Night?

My understanding of things is that the $60,000 bonus should go the bout that provided the most action throughout or was the most evenly contested fight of the evening, not a scrap that didn't see the third round and was stopped repeatedly for rest and regaining clear vision.

Griffin/Ortiz and Thiago/Volkmann were far more deserving of the money in my book, but this isn't my book we're talking about.

6. Speaking of Jacob Volkmann...

Two things I liked from the debuting Minnesota Martial Arts Academy welterweight:

1. His nickname

As Joe Rogan said, we have enough pitbulls and spiders and guys with menacing names who are far from menacing, so now we have a guy his friends call "Christmas" and I love it. Even better is that it comes from his ever-so-slight resemblance to Jim Carrey's character "Lloyd Christmas" in Dumb & Dumber.

2. D'Arce Choke off His Back

Yeah, you don't see that one every day, especially against a guy who is known for having a great jiu-jitsu game of his own. While he wasn't able to secure the choke or score the win, pulling out moves like that is certainly a glimmer of hope for future fights with the UFC.

7. The Best Part of Phil Baroni's Performance...

...was his entrance.

Honestly, someone needs to tell me why Baroni was given an opportunity to collect whatever money he made last night while countless fighters are denied chances to fight on pay-per-view cards or even fight in the UFC at all.

Remember, the UFC re-signed "The New York Badass" after Strikeforce had released him, so it's not like he was a big-name talent who could have helped the competition. This was brutal, just as everyone outside of the Baroni family knew it would be.

8. Sadollah Looked Solid

Actually, he looked more than solid. He looked strong, and despite my history of ragging on the former Ultimate Fighter, I won't even qualify that with an "against the equivalent of a human punching bag in Phil Baroni."

His Muay Thai was terrific; powerful kicks and well-placed elbows that would cut up anyone, and he showed a killer instinct to keep pushing the fight when he clearly could have coasted through the final round.

While the memory of the Johny Hendricks fight still lingers, it's not as salient, and I look forward to seeing what's next for Sadollah.

9. Introducing Antonio Rogerio "Minotouro" Nogueira

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Lil' Nog. Nog, meet the UFC fan base.

This was one of the best debuts I can remember, as Nogueira made quick and easy work of a very game opponent in Luis Cane, showing those who were unaware that there are two talented Nogueiras in the game.

Unlike Koscheck/Johnson, Rogerio was more than deserving of his $60,000 bonus for Knockout of the Night, and the rest of the light heavyweight division has officially been put on notice that a new knockout artist has arrived.

10. Still A Couple Judging Questions

As always, there are a couple points of discussion concerning scorecards and judges.

a) Did anyone else think Phil Baroni won a round besides the one judge who scored it 29-28?
b) I still don't know how you can have a fight scored 30-27 Griffin and 29-28 Ortiz...
c) If ever there were a 10-8 round it was Round 3, right? Ortiz did zero...

While there are always going to be a couple questions, at least we didn't have a main event that yielded a controversial decision!

On to The Ultimate Finale!

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UFC 106 Main Card Predictions: Expect Wins for Forrest Griffin, Anthony Johnson

Josh Sanchez — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:12:00 -0500

Originally contributed to Sanchoplata.com

Well, here it is. It is time to make the official predictions for UFC 106.

This should be a very fun card to watch with the return of Tito Ortiz against the always exciting Forrest Griffin in the main event.

Scheduled to air live at 10 p.m. on pay-per-view, the card also includes the promotional debut of "Lil Nog," former TUF winner Amir Sadollah, and a very important fight in the welterweight division between Josh Koscheck and Anthony "Rumble" Johnson.

Main event: Forrest Griffin (16-6) vs. Tito Ortiz (15-6-1)

Griffin will look to avenge his first loss in the Octagon, which many people thought he had won. When the two fighters first met three years ago, Ortiz walked away with his hand held high after a split-decision victory that was very controversial.

Since that fight, Griffin has stayed active and fought consistent competition while Ortiz has been on the shelf with a serious back injury and hasn't fought in over a year. I respect Ortiz for coming back, and he seems very humbled now with this new opportunity, but Griffin is the much better striker, and his grappling skills are incredibly underrated.

Furthermore, Ortiz will definitely have some cage rust that should prove to be his downfall. You need to be at the top of your game against a guy like Griffin, and Ortiz just isn't there yet. I expect Ortiz to gas out near the end of the second round and Forrest to capitalize.

Prediction: Forrest Griffin def. Tito Ortiz via submission (third round)

Josh Koscheck (13-4) vs. Anthony Johnson (8-2)

Josh Koscheck is used to overpowering opponents in the welterweight division. He is a very aggressive fighter who has thrown his wrestling on the back burner, as he now prefers to stand and bang with his opponents.

If he decides to use this strategy against Johnson, who has an edge in power and a huge advantage in reach, Koscheck will be going to sleep quickly. Koscheck needs to take this fight to the ground at all costs. Unfortunately for him, the fight stands on the feet and Johnson will come out quickly. Johnson will use his explosive striking to put Koscheck away early in this fight.

Prediction: Anthony Johnson def. Josh Koscheck via TKO (first round)

Amir Sadollah (1-1) vs. Phil Baroni (13-11)

It is obvious that Baroni has the advantage when it comes to experience. What that also means is that Baroni's time has come and passed.

Baroni still has a recognizable name, and that is being used against him in this case. Baroni has nothing left to offer, as evidenced in his last fight. He looks lost, and he prefers to display little to no defense.

Expect the former TUF winner Sadollah to have an impressive showing after he waited so long for his return to the Octagon in August only to have the fight ended on an early stoppage. I expect Sadollah to wear down Baroni, and when Baroni realizes he has nothing left on his feet, he will try to take the fight to the ground, where Sadollah will use his slick Jiu-Jitsu to grab his second win in the UFC.

Prediction: Amir Sadollah def. Phil Baroni via submission (second round)

Luis Arthur Cane (10-1) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (17-3)

The twin brother of MMA legend Minotauro Noguiera is making his UFC debut. "Lil Nog" is facing a very worthy and dangerous opponent in Cane in what is a favorite for Fight of the Night.

Cane has an advantage on the ground, but if Nogueira can get his hands on Cane and drag him to the mat, the fight enters dangerous waters. Noguiera has decent standup himself, so if the fight stays on the feet, he can hold his own; however, Cane has never really shown what he can do on the ground and could be overwhelmed by the world-class skill of a grappler like Nogueira. In a very entertaining fight, I think Lil Nog will do everything he can to start off his time in the UFC with a W.

Prediction: Nogueira def. Cane via unanimous decision

Paulo Thiago (11-1) vs. Jacob Volkmann (9-0)

This fight was originally on the undercard, but after the Karo Parisyan fiasco it was promoted to the televised card. Both of these fighters are incredible Jiu-Jitsu players, so I would expect a beautiful display of grappling. Of course, they could both try to stay away from each others strengths and turn the fight into a slugfest, but I expect the former.

This is a big step up in competition for Volkmann, who is also making his promotional debut. Thiago has gone 1-1 in his last two fights against top welterweights Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck. This experience should really favor Thiago, who is looking to rebound from his loss to Fitch. In a grappling clinic, Thiago should stay poised on way to victory.

Prediction: Paulo Thiago def. Jacob Volkmann via unanimous decision

Undercard Picks

Marcus Davis (16-5) over Ben Saunders (7-1-2)
Kendall Grove (10-6) over Jake Rosholt (6-1)
Brock Larson (26-3) over Brian Foster (9-12)
Caol Uno (25-12-4) over Fabricio Camoes (10-4)
George Sotiropoulos (10-2) over Jason Dent (19-9)

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UFC 106: Ortiz Vs. Grifin II Predictions/Tips

Flying Knee — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:50:16 -0500

UFC 106, a fairly average card, truth be told, but one that could be profitable to gamblers.

Lines are given as decimals, where 1.55 indicates that for every 1.00 you place, you will get 0.55 profit as well as your original 1.00.

Lines taken from Sportsbook.com.

Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah
(170 lbs/77 kg)

Phil Baroni
13-11-0

+Aggressive striker
+Hard puncher

-Bad wrestler
-Terrible ground game
-Glass jaw
-Very little cardio

Amir Sadollah
1-1-0

+Good Muay Thai
+Slick ground game
+Powerful striker

-May not have recovered from surgery
-Sub par wrestling

Analysis:

As surprising as I found Sadollah's KO loss to Hendricks, he still has to be considered tremendous favorite over Baroni, who will gas after the first round and who has suffered numerous KO losses to fighters of various quality. Everything Baroni can do, Sadollah can do better, I think.

Sadollah's surgery may haunt him, but I wouldn't expect him to still be suffering.

I'd say Baroni's best chance is just a lucky punch, really.

Conclusion:

Sadollah, submission, Round one.

Sadollah is at 1.45 and Baroni is at 2.80, but I can't justify putting cash on Baroni.

Luiz Cané vs. Antonio Rogério Nogueira
(205 lbs/93 kg)

Luiz Cané
10-1-0

+Great muay thai and boxing combos
+Powerful striker
+Very durable and can take punishment
+Black belt Jiu Jitsu

-Unused submission game
-May fade in later rounds

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
20-3-0

+Elite Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt
+High class boxer, having achieved several titles
+Great cardio

-No kicks or knees in his arsenal
-Not the best wrestler

Analysis:

Nogueira is a great technical boxer who won gold in the South American Games in 2006 and bronze at the Pan American games of 2007. Cain wouldn't have the same titles to his name, but he is still a very dangerous boxer/Thai boxer combination.

Both have solid jaws, so I would expect it to go for a while, and they both have cardio that will take them to Round three, but Nogueira may have a slight advantage there.

Honestly, it's very difficult to call, as their skills stack up very close to each other.

Conclusion:

As already said, tough to call, but I'll choose Cané by Split Decision.

Nogueira is at 1.69 and Cané at 2.15. I'd advise money on Cané here.

Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson
(170 lbs/77 kg)

Anthony Johnson
10-2-0

+Good striker
+Significant KO power
+Strength, size and athleticism
+Decent wrestler

-Poor grappler
-Striking could be refined

Josh Koscheck
17-4-0

+Great wrestler, former NCAA Division I champion
+Great power behind strikes
+Great cardio
+Very good ground and pound
+Great sub defense—brown belt Jiu Jitsu

-"Wrestler striking," powerful but combos are basic
-No submissions

Analysis:

People have been complaining about Koscheck wanting to stand and abandoning his wrestling roots. That's just stupid; Koscheck never abandoned his wrestling roots.

Yoshiyuki Yoshida was more dangerous on the ground than standing, same with Frank Trigg, and you can't blame him for assuming the same about Paulo Thiago, who was renowned as a submission magician and not a good striker. Let's take a moment to recall his violent ground and pound over Lytle.

I do not see Johnson's strength and athleticism being a match for Koscheck's wrestling credentials. I think if he ends up on his back he'll be in trouble and will at least end up losing the round.

If it does stay standing, I'd give Johnson the edge, but not by as wide a margin as people might think.

Conclusion:

Koscheck by TKO, Round two, reasserting himself in the welterweight title chase.

Both are at 1.87, so I'll choose Koscheck.

Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz
(205 lbs/93 kg)

Forrest Griffin
16-6-0

+Good technical kickboxing
+Excellent cardio
+Great heart
+Good ground game
+Considerable size and reach

-Feather fists, very little power
-Not much wrestling
-Suffering two defeats prior to the fight

Tito Ortiz
15-6-1

+Good wrestler
+Good ground and pound
+Good grappler

-Poor striker
-Rarely uses submissions aggressively
-Returning after surgery

Analysis:

Ortiz had a close decision win against Griffin last time around, but it was an extremely close call. Tito used his wrestling and ground and pound to win, losing the striking portion of the fight. I wouldn't expect a repeat of that—Griffin isn't the same brawler he was, and Tito just isn't in his prime.

Griffin is a more well rounded striker and has developed a very good ground game should he be taken down. The one issue is how badly his mental shape is after losing to Evans and Silva.

Tito's back surgery will put in jeopardy the cardio that is so often his advantage. It will also damage his entire game, and make his takedowns
sluggish.

Conclusion:

Griffin by TKO Round two, reminding everyone that he is still a good light heavyweight.

Surprisingly, both enter at 1.87, so I'd take Griffin and Sadollah together.

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UFC 106 Punch Drunk Predictions

E. Spencer Kyte — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:47:25 -0500

In the words of Bruce Buffer, "Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's (big inhale) TIIIIMMMMEEEE!"

UFC 106 is upon us and despite numerous injuries, illnesses and last minute decisions, this is still a pretty solid fight card and one that will help to bring clarity to some muddied divisions moving forward.

As has now become custom, before the picks comes the quick hit coverage of the preliminary fights, including Paulo Thiago and Jacob Volkmann which will now be on the PPV portion.

Enjoy the fights!

The Prelims

George Sotiropoulos (10-2-0) vs. Jason Dent (19-9-0)

Dent was a member of Team USA on Season 9 of the Ultimate Fighter and is getting his second go round with the UFC. Sotiropoulos is also a TUF alum (Season 6... yikes!) who looked very good in his debut at 155 last time out in a battle of the Georges.

Sotiropoulos is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a fairly large lightweight, standing 5'10" and having competed previously at welterweight. While Dent is a submission guy as well, he simply isn't on the same level as the fluid Aussie.

Caol Uno (25-12-4) vs. Fabricio Camoes (10-4-0)

The debuting Camoes is a BJJ black belt under Royler Gracie and apparently once went 27 minutes with Anderson Silva in a bare-knuckled fight when he was 17-years-old. No word on whether he's killed a bear with a knife and fork like Aleks Emelianenko...

Uno is a long-time veteran and one of the most respected lightweights in the game. He has four losses in his last seven fights, including a difficult decision against Spencer Fisher in his return at UFC 99. The others are against some of the best the sport has to offer: Shinya Aoki, Gesias "JZ Calvan" Cavalcante and Andre "Dida" Amade.

If you like grappling, you'll love this fight, as these two will surely transition through attempts and reversals for the majority of the fight.

Brock Larson (26-3-0) vs. Brian Foster (12-4-0)

Going to keep this one short and sweet.

Brian Foster lost last time out to Rick Story, who secured an arm triangle from inside Foster's half guard, while Larson is coming off a decision loss to Mike Pierce and has more submission wins than Foster has professional fights.

Please, feel free to do the math.

Kendall Grove (10-6-0) vs. Jake Rosholt (6-1-0)

Let the requisite "Will Kendall Grove be the first Ultimate Fighter winner released if he loses this fight?" discussion begin. Just ignore the guy in the background yelling something about Travis Lutter.

Jokes and speculation aside, Grove needs a win here in a bad way, as four losses in six fights usually doesn't help you maintain employment, Ultimate Fighter winner or not.

Rosholt looked okay against Chris Leben last time out and is still a good-looking prospect at 185 thanks to a great wrestling pedigree and strong training camp led by Boba Fett, Team Takedown's Mark Laimon, who promises to break out more from the Ecko Star Wars collection tonight.

Ben Saunders (7-1-2) vs. Marcus Davis (16-5-0)

This one is intriguing because it could go one of two ways.

Option 1: Davis smashes on Saunders the way Mike Swick did in Germany, pummeling the big man into submission under a flurry of precision boxing and power shots.

Option 2: Saunders uses his massive height and reach advantage, keeps Davis at bay and then locks in that deadly Thai clinch we saw against Brandon Wolff and turns the face of the "Irish Hand Grenade" into Sheppard's Pie.

Either way, this should be a slugfest.

Paulo Thiago (11-1-0) vs. Jacob Volkmann (9-0-0)

It's always a risky proposition picking fights involving fighters you don't know much about. It's no help when the only interesting information that can be gleaned about Volkmann's career to date is that his ring name is "Christmas" and he trains with Brock Lesnar & Co. at Minnesota Martial Arts.

On the other side of the cage, Paulo Thiago has been extremely impressive in two trips into the Octagon, knocking out Josh Koscheck in his debut and going the full 15 with Jon Fitch at UFC 100.

What impressed me most is the combination of those two fights, as we've seen a deadly uppercut drop of Koscheck and some slick submission work against Fitch, neither of which bode well for the newcomer.

Punch Drunk Predictions

Record: 111-80

Preliminary Card

George Sotiropoulos over Jason Dent - Submission, Round 2
Caol Uno over Fabricio Camoes - Split Decision
Brock Larson over Brian Foster - Submission, Round 1
Jake Rosholt over Kendall Grove - Unanimous Decision
Marcus Davis over Ben Saunders - TKO, Round 2

Main Card

Amir Sadollah over Phil Baroni - Submission, Round 2
Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira over Luis Cane - Unanimous Decision
Paulo Thiago over Jacob Volkmann - Submission, Round 1
Josh Koscheck over Anthony "Rumble" Johnson - Split Decision

And in the Main Event of the evening...

"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz over Forrest Griffin via Unanimous Decision.

Now touch gloves and come out swinging!

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UFC 106: The Five Bullet Point Preview

Josh Nason — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:59:07 -0500

Good lord, there's a lot of mixed martial arts going on right now. The fourth and arguably biggest show of the week is set for Las Vegas Saturday night with UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II, headlined by a main event that features the return of a former champion most thought would never come back against a former champion that needs a big win in the worst way possible.

Originally scheduled to be headlined by Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, there could be worse main events for UFC 106 than Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin II and as both men are being introduced, suddenly no one will care about what could have been and will focus on what's in front of them.

With a win, Ortiz can erase his period of inactivity and stake a claim for a future shot at the Light-Heavyweight title. With a loss, he can simply say that it was his first fight back from a major injury and that he'll be better next time—the ultimate no-lose situation.

Griffin, however, needs a win, badly, coming off two straight losses to Rashad Evans (where he lost his L.H. title) and Anderson Silva (an embarrassing and overwhelming KO defeat). He wouldn't be in danger of getting cut like most fighters with three losses, but it would become that much harder to justify putting him among the top 205'ers in the division—fanfare or not.

However, a victory gets him back on track for another high-profile fight in the late-spring.

Let's jump into the UFC 106 Five Bullet Point Preview, shall we?

Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin (205)

After fighting four times along in 2006, Ortiz (15-6-1) has stepped into the Octagon just twice in the last three years and hasn't won since KO'ing Ken Shamrock in October of 2006.
After a unanimous decision over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 25 gave him the Light-Heavyweight title, Ortiz defended the title a record five times over almost three years before dropping it to Randy Couture at UFC 44.
The 30-year-old Griffin has never lost by submission, but Ortiz has only two submission victories to his credit.
When Griffin (16-6) wins fights, it's either by submission (7) or decision (6).
This fight ultimately will come down to the big unknown of Ortiz. While he's touting that the back surgery he had last year has made him a new man, there's a lot of ring rust to be scraped off—even for a veteran. Griffin last fought in August and is ready for redemption. This should be a very good fight that will go the distance.

Anthony Johnson vs. Josh Koscheck (170)

Necessity is the mother of fight-making, as this one literally was put together about three weeks ago. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.
Johnson's last fight was a :41 knockout of Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 104 last month, the same fight he completely missed weight for by a good six pounds. It was his third straight win.
Koscheck (13-4) has had a little more time to rest, having last decimated Frank Trigg via first round TKO at UFC 104 in late-September.
The 31-year-old Koscheck can beat people in a variety of ways (4 T/KOs, 4 submissions, 5 decisions) but has two straight first round T/KOs.
The 8-2 Johnson likes to win via one method: T/KO. His first loss was via submission, so it will be really interesting to see what happens when Koscheck attempts to ground the fight and how Johnson counteracts.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Luiz Cane (205)

Rogerio is the younger brother of Rodrigo Nogueira, aka Minotauro. His nickname is Minotouro which isn't confusing or anything.
Rogerio (17-3) will be making his UFC debut after a long run in PRIDE and some scattered shows including two Affliction events. He comes into Saturday on a five-fight win streak.
The 28-year-old Cane will be making his fourth UFC appearance and has won three fights in a row, last decisioning Steve Cantwell at April's UFC 97.
Even with a black belt in BJJ, Cane prefers T/KO to finish off opponents with eight of his 10 wins coming via strikes.
Nogueira has a slew of decision wins (seven) and submission victories (six), but three of his last five wins have been via T/KO.

Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni (170)

This will be the third fight for Sadollah (1-1), who last lost via controversial first round TKO to Johnny Hendricks at August's UFC 101.
The 29-year-old Sadollah is still a bit of an unknown with just two pro fights and four amateur fights. Since winning TUF 7, he's been plagued by injuries and the Hendricks fight was his first since winning the competition.
This will mark Baroni's return to the UFC—his first tilt in the Octagon since February 2005 when he left the organization after a four-fight losing streak.
The 33-year old Baroni has been known more for his mouth and slugfests than any type of win streaks as he brings a 13-11 mark to the cage Saturday night. He has won three of his last four, last losing by decision to Joe Riggs at a Strikeforce event this summer.
When Baroni wins, it's by TKO and when he loses, it's either by TKO or decision. He doesn't give up, which will make this an interesting clash of style. Sadollah is a black belt in sambo and a white belt in BJJ, so I would assume he'd look to take this down to the ground.

Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann (170)

After starting his career at 11-0, Thiago finally tasted defeat in his last fight—a decision loss to Jon Fitch at UFC 100 (a fight that was actually after Lesnar/Mir due to scheduling).
Volkmann makes his UFC debut after compiling a 9-0 record in the regionals, last winning via 1st round submission in May for Bellator Fighting Championships.
Thiago made his UFC debut by TKO'ing Josh Koscheck in the first round at UFC 95, fighting solely in Brazil before that.
This fight will likely be two guys battling for submissions as they have a combined 12 tapout wins out of 20 victories.
Watch for a fast start from Volkmann, who has six first-round wins to his credit.

Josh Nason has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to Fight Magazine and Bleacher Report and appears regularly on Fight Network Radio . Follow him on Twitter .

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UFC Newsday: Weigh-in Report, Dana White QA, New Upcoming Fights

Josh Nason — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:53:17 -0500

No major stories coming out of the Friday weigh-ins for UFC 106 today in Las Vegas. Everyone made weight (even Phil Baroni who was rumored to be 20 pounds too heavy earlier this week) and there were no noteworthy shoving incidents or throwdowns. These guys are too professional these days!

In looking over the card, this should be a decent show but the top two matches are really going to make or break this one:

PPV Card

Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin
Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson
"Minotoro" Nogueira vs. Luis Cane
Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni
Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann

Spike TV Pre-Show

Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt
Ben Saunders vs. Marcus Davis (I'm surprised this wasn't bumped to the PPV. I'd rather pay to see this than Thiago vs. Volkmann.)

Non-Televised

George Sotiropolous vs. Jason Dent
Caol Uno vs. Fabricio Comoes
Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster

*****

Dana White and Cain Velasquez were at the pre weigh-in Fight Club Q & A session today. Here are some highlights:

- Brock Lesnar is going to Mayo Clinic soon. 'He's very, very sick." (Note that Lesnar's camp posted a video earlier today that makes it seem like we haven't seen the last of him. I'd bet on that.

- Some asked when the UFC will sign Fedor. (Are you serious? Aren't we past this yet? Holy shit!). White said it takes two to make a deal and that they made a respectable offer that was turned down. He joked he wants 'that bald little fat guy over here' which apparently riles up the Fedor fans.

- He was asked about creating a Super Heavyweight Division, but said that really came up when Randy Couture was fighting heavyweight. but that Randy belongs at 205. He said all the guys at heavyweight (Cheick Kongo, Lesnar, Velasquez) are real heavyweights so there's no need to create another division.

- Said of Karo Parisyan that he's got a lot of problems emotionally and physically and needs to take care of his personal life for a while. He mentioned he's been unprofessional and unforgivable the last three fights. He likes him, but he hasn't been the old Karo for a long time.

- He was asked about Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes. Mentioned that Matt is fighting soon, probably in early '10. Said that Chuck and he haven't got to talking about his future and that Liddell has got one more finale dance for Dancing With The Stars and that after that, they will talk. (So much for Liddell definitely not fighting anymore...why did we ever think otherwise?)

- Was asked about adding a bantamweight and featherweight division. White said he always get asked by the media about it and that they've talked about it internally, but there are considerations with Versus and their contract with WEC. Coincidentally, White said they WEC inked a new deal with Versus Friday, but no details were given.

- On Rashad/Rampage: if Rashad makes it out of January's fight with Thiago Silva, we'll see Rashad vs. Rampage after that. He didn't trash talk Rampage at all, so something's getting done behind the scenes - a change of pace from his tone last week.

- Was asked about a women's division. He said his hesitation is that there are not enough good girls to fill out the division, a problem he sees is the same with women's boxing in that there are three or four that are good and a lot that aren't. He said that until the talent is more equal, he's not into doing it. He joked that maybe they should put guys and girls in the TUF house together but that would have to be on HBO.

- On the scoring for Couture/Vera, he said he was sitting with Vera's wife and when she asked about what he thought, he felt Couture was going to get the decision which Lorenzo Fertitta and Joe Silva disagreed with. He reiterated what he tells fighters: don't leave it in the judges' hands, do enough to win, be aggressive.

- When asked if he'd be a character in another UFC video game, he said he had no interest and that they wanted to keep the game as realistic as possible. Someone yelled that he could fight Tito Ortiz and he joked that they were friends now.

AOL Fanhouse posted a nine-minute excerpt here.

*****

There was some concern today when it was heard that main announcer Mike Goldberg went to the hospital today and couldn't work the Fight Club Q/A session. What was the problem? Could he work Saturday night? What if he couldn't?

Well, Goldberg is fine and Twittered that "The story of my demise has been overly exaggerated...I am sick from UK trip...Doc Stile gave me an IV...I'm going to sleep and will be ready".

I wonder if he couldn't go, who is the play-by-play backup?

*****

Not sure why Strikeforce put on a Challengers event Friday night considering the mass amount of UFC/WEC this week, but we'll get back to them Monday including a look at the event calendar they just released.

*****

MMA Weekly reported that Nate Marquardt's next fight will be against Chael Sonnen at February's UFC 109 in Las Vegas. As Anderson Silva is rumored to be defending the Middleweight title against Vitor Belfort in the first quarter of '09, Marquardt has to be the next guy in line for a shot if he can dispatch Sonnen. I guess we'll have to wait for a Marquardt/Mike Bisping fight until sometime in '10 but I gotta imagine that's coming.

They also quoted White as saying Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre's impending return vs. Dan Hardy will likely take place in Las Vegas. No date has been given.

Josh Nason has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to Fight Magazine and Bleacher Report and appears regularly on Fight Network Radio. Follow him on Twitter.

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Report: Brock Lesnar Back In The Octagon In Six Months?

Joe Burgett — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:06:57 -0500

In a surprising story, Brock Lesnar's longtime friend and Jiu-Jitsu coach, Rodrigo "Comprido" Medeiros tells TMZ.com that the UFC Heavyweight champ "will" return to the Octagon within six months.

He went on to say that "(Lesnar) is getting better and that is the most important thing...He will be fine and be fighting again within six months."

Now, Mederios knows about the world of martial arts, as he is a seven-time World Jiu-Jitsu Champion, so he is not just some coach who never made it or anything. But, he has never had a surgery like Lesnar's. In fact, not many fighters have while active, if ever.

Having a hole in one's intestine is quite rare anyway, and I doubt there is even two percent of the World's population who has ever experienced it or even heard of it for that matter, other than doctors.

Medeiros, like Dana White, never misses an opportunity to promote Lesnar. He had this to say to end things, "I can just say that the heavyweights can stop laughing and get ready to start crying because the champion will be back soon."

He needs to realize that while Lesnar was not 100 percent for the past year because of the hole, and will surely be a force like he always was when he returns, adding a timetable of six months is pretty ridiculous right now.

Keep in mind that he just had surgery a few days ago, and he is now going to the Mayo Clinic for more testing. He will probably be there for a few weeks, and he still has to slowly recover from intestinal surgery, which, knowing that part of the body like I do, I can tell you it does not heal at 100 percent fast.

Will it get there? Yes. The surgical procedure they did was said to have gone well, and everything worked out for Lesnar on that end. However, he still has to get back in shape and also prepare for the fight.

Saying he will be back fighting in six months in competition is stupid, but I think he probably meant training. Even so, it would be light for some time as the intestine still has to heal.

I would be this time next year Lesnar would be back in the octagon going full on, not this time in May or June of 2010.

It is good news to see that people have optimism. After what Dana White said a few days ago in that Lesnar may never fight again, at least we know he will.

The problem is that we don't know when that will be. UFC hopes that Lesnar can be back in six months, but if you hope in one hand and pee in the other, tell me which fills up first.

The fact is that UFC will push Lesnar, but realize he is not ready to move that fast. What Lesnar has to do now is put himself before his career. He needs to realize that he doesn't need to come back too quickly.

The competition will still be there, and he will still get opportunities at the gold if they take the title off of him.

Most think there will be an interim title match, possibly at the next UFC PPV. So, he could face the winner of that. It would be similar to what UFC did with Randy Couture a little while back.

In my opinion, Lesnar's trainer and UFC can hope all they want for Lesnar to be back within six months, competing in the octagon. But Lesnar will of course be the ultimate decider in the end.

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Pound for Pound: Who's Really the No.1 Ultimate Fighter?

Brad — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:45:25 -0500

What if? It's an age old question.

What if Kevin Dyson didn't get tackled by the Rams in the Super Bowl?

What if Babe Ruth struck out after calling his shot?

What if that my mom and dad didn't hook up in the back of the van at that Journey concert? Creepy? Yes.

Anyway, one can always ask what if. Here is a what if to ponder. What if the UFC decided to have brawl for it all tournament with no weight classes? A luck of the draw tournament to decide who the Ultimate Fighter really is.

This is how it was back in the day, 1993 to be exact, when Royce Gracie won the very first tournament. But just imagine it today, sixteen or twenty of your top fighters. Throw them against each other, no judges decisions, and 25 minutes to get it done (equivalent to five, five minute rounds).

If a fighter could not get it done in the 25 minutes than there would be another five minute round. All of the current rules would be enforced, minus judges decisions.

Here's how the tournament would work. Take your 16 top fighters from the various weight classes, consisting of all of your division champions plus 4 wild card entries for guys who would be outside of the top rankings but still in the UFC.

In today's UFC, clearly a tournament situation like this would not work because a guy like Kenny Florian or BJ would get crushed by a guy like Carwin or Lesnar or sat on by Roy Nelson. But in theory, a smaller fighter with really good technical skills and excellent cardiovascular conditioning, could outlast, and possibly defeat a stronger, bigger opponent.

What follows is a list of the fighters whom I think would make for an interesting tournament.

1. Brock Lesnar: I realize he's laid up right now but he is still a champion. Besides, someone has to play Darth Vader.

2. Anderson Silva: Listed as the P4P king by many people, it's time for him to prove it. Probably the odds on favorite to win it all.

3. Georges St. Pierre: It would be interesting to see No. 2 versus No.3. A complete MMA fighter with good striking skills, good ground skills, and he can submit anyone.

4. Lyoto Machida: He could possible pull the Royce Gracie and take it all. Dangerous and elusive. Plus, we recently discovered he has striking power.

5. Rashad Evans: A good wrestler with decent striking skills.

6. Shane Carwin: Always dangerous in the early going. An excellent striker with hands of granite

7. Mauricio Rua: Another good all around Brazilian fighter. Skilled in BJJ and a good striker.

8. Cain Velasquez: A good striker, perhaps a dark horse winner.

9. BJ Penn: The smallest guy in the tournament. He has world class BJJ skills and excellent endurance

10. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Nog has made a living in brutal wars and would feel right at home in a situation like this.

11. Frank Mir: One of the best in submissions. He also has decent striking skills.

12. Randy Couture: He maybe 46, but you can never rule him out of a fight.

13. Rich Franklin: Former champ has good striking and submission skills.

14. Dan Henderson*:A very good wrestler and an excellent striker.

15. Vanderlei Silva: Another dangerous striker. He's also just terrifying.

16. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson*: BA Barracus himself. A dangerous fighter all around.

Wild Card Entries

1. Kimbo Slice: Not all that much experience, but this type of setting would be a benefit to him. He's a very dangerous striker.

2. Michael Bisping: A good kick boxer with some striking mixed in. Has good endurance as well.

3. Josh Koshchek: A good wrestler and striker.

4. Tito Ortiz: Puts butts in the seats. A ground and pound specialist.

Here's a list of only twenty UFC fighters. It's exciting to just imagine the possibilities. Who would be on your list, and who would you pick to win?

*No longer under UFC contract

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Creature vs. Creature: How Josh Koscheck Can Beat Anthony Johnson

E. Spencer Kyte — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:54:27 -0500

Another event, another installment of Creature vs. Creature courtesy of yours truly and my partner-in-crime, Robert Gardner.

While the main event has the marquee names, the hastily put together co-main event is the fight everyone is most looking forward to, us included, as perennial contender Josh Koscheck takes on rapidly rising prospect Anthony "Rumble" Johnson.

Many are exceptionally high on the talented Johnson, myself included, and with good reason. Over his seven fights in the UFC (5-2, 8-2 overall), the Georgia native has shown dangerous striking and incredible quickness. In addition, Johnson is a massive welterweight, though that proved problematic last time around.

Though Johnson's future is certainly bright, Koscheck is no slouch and will pose a serious roadblock to Rumble's ascent.

Despite his recent love affair with striking, Koscheck is a dominant wrestler.

The former multi-time All-American should return to his wrestling roots and or risk suffering the same fate. While Johnson possesses solid wrestling of his own, it pales in comparison to Koscheck's, and taking this fight to the ground removes the chances of getting KTFO by one of the top strikers in the division.

In addition to utilizing his superior ground skills, the American Kickboxing Academy product should look to make this a marathon, not a sprint.

As previously mentioned, Johnson is a massive welterweight, walking around in the area of 200 pounds before training camp begins. A knee injury before his last bout—four weeks ago at UFC 104—caused him to miss weight by six pounds.

Despite the quick turnaround, Johnson was back up in the neighborhood of 180 pounds at the start of the week, and the effects of repeatedly cutting big weight will certainly take a toll on a fighter's body.

Conversely, weight has never been a problem for Koscheck, and we've seen him go the distance before against the likes of Thiago Alves, Diego Sanchez, and welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.

Make no mistake about it: This is a dangerous bout for both fighters, and Koscheck enters the cage with more to lose than his up-and-coming opponent.

The winner most likely moves one step closer to a title shot, while the loser moves back down the ladder to regroup.

Three losses in five fights certainly doesn't look good on anyone's resume, regardless of who they come against.

If Koscheck wants to avoid that scenario, he needs to follow the blueprint above or else he'll be left looking up at the lights wondering what went wrong.

For the other side of the story, check out Robert Gardner's thoughts on what will make Johnson successful on Saturday.

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UFC 106 Fight Week Previews: Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin

E. Spencer Kyte — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:33:00 -0500

A lot of people are lamenting this bout being atop the marquee for UFC 106.

They complain about two fighters coming in on losing streaks; one not having stepped into the cage for over a year, the other coming off an embarrassing defeat less than four months ago.

While this may not be the best main event the sport has ever seen, injuries and illness are to blame, not Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. Besides, the inclusion of Griffin over the aging Mark Coleman is an upgrade, and the last time these two met in the center of the Octagon, fight fans were treated to a tremendous back-and-forth bout.

Now, Tito's healthy and Forrest has something to prove. Expect a repeat of Round 1.

.
"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz (15-6-1) vs. "The Original Ultimate Fighter" Forrest Griffin (16-6-0)

Tito Ortiz is Team Punishment; he is the driving force behind the camp. And while he certainly has a wealth of experience and a routine that works for him up in Big Bear, Forrest Griffin's affiliation with Xtreme Couture gets the nod in the opening assessment category.

While Ortiz can bring in any number of well-known partners in advance of this bout, Griffin spends each day working with some of the best in the business, not to mention striking coach Ron Frazier, wrestling coach Neil Melanson, and grappling/jiu-jitsu instructor Robert Drysdale.

Thankfully, the 2007 ADCC Absolute champ didn't make any bold predictions heading into this bout.

Experience and strength of schedule fall to the longest reigning UFC light heavyweight champion in history. While some will diminish Tito's run atop the 205 pound division because it involved a good year or two of dodging friend and challenger Chuck Liddell, Ortiz still handily beat every opponent put before him over a three-and-a-half year span, including earning the belt over Wanderlei Silva.

Of course, he also has the edge head-to-head against Griffin as well, though some would argue differently.

Their first fight was one that cemented Griffin's standing as a fan favorite and helped begin his transformation into an eventual champion. For Ortiz, it was the last good win of his impressive career, and a win that was achieved with a back that required major surgery.

But things have changed this time around, as Griffin is no longer the brawler who simply tried to trade blows with his opponents that Tito fought the first time. Though he's lost his last two fights, Griffin has matured into a more technical fighter, at least he had previous to the Anderson Silva debacle.

That being said, Ortiz is essentially a big bag of question marks coming into this fight, as more than 18 months have passed since we last saw him in the ring, losing a unanimous decision to current light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

While Ortiz is always one to sell himself to the hilt and do what is necessary to hype a fight, who can truly say how much the back problems affected him all this time. Could a surgically-repaired back lead to a return to relevance for Ortiz?

Obviously, this isn't the fight the UFC and fans were hoping to have as the Main Event of UFC 106; it wasn't even the fight originally booked for Ortiz in the first place.

But in terms of last minute replacements and compared to the likes of UFC 97 (cough Thales Leites cough), this really isn't that bad of a bout.

Chances are that by the time Sunday rolls around, you'll have been pleasantly surprised.

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Who Are the Real Contenders in the UFC's Light-Heavyweight Division?

Bryan Levick — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:32:49 -0500

While doing some research for a future article, I started going down the list of the UFC's light heavyweights. A thought popped into my head: Who will take on the winner of Machida-Rua II, which is rumored to take place in May?

Unless Rua wins by a controversial decision, a third matchup would probably be saved for sometime down the road.

The first fighter who came to mind was Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Unfortunately, for the time being, Mr. Jackson is on sabbatical. I am pretty sure at some point he and Dana will make nice but until that time, I need to go with realistic options.

A lot hinges on who comes out victorious on May 1. If Machida is still holding the strap that would eliminate Rashad Evans. I don't know about you, but would a second fight really go any different than the first? Now a matchup pitting Evans against Shogun would be very interesting.

On one hand, you have the aggressive Muay Thai striking of Rua and on the other hand you have the patient counter striking of Evans. When it comes down to it, it is my belief that Rua has better all around skills. Now, if Evans were to utilize his superior wrestling, then maybe he could become a two time champion.

Another interesting matchup, if Rua were to win, would be Forrest Griffin. As is the case with Rua defeating Machida, Griffin would have to be successful in his bout against Tito Ortiz tomorrow night.

The storyline is already set. Griffin looking to prove that the first fight with Rua was not a fluke nor was it due to any lingering injuries that Shogun may have had. Rua would be looking to prove that his injuries were significant and that he is the superior fighter.

A fight like that would sell a boatload of pay-per-views. Not only is there the revenge factor, but Griffin has shown time and time again that he is a huge draw.

Tito Ortiz, what does he have left in that 34 year old body? Did the back surgery give him the necessary spring in his legs that his double leg takedowns require? We will find out tomorrow night.

If Machida is still champion, then the UFC can sell a Ortiz-Machida rematch. Many of you may remember their first fight, Machida thoroughly dominated the former champion, that is until there were a few precious seconds left.

With under a minute remaining, Ortiz shocked Machida and the world by slapping on a triangle choke that nearly finished the Karate master.

As the story goes, Machida was able to slip out and was awarded a unanimous decision for his trouble. None the less, Ortiz has been talking about it ever since and if he defeats Griffin, the UFC has another potential blockbuster rematch on their hands.

Would the fans want to see a Ortiz-Rua bout? Why not, especially if Ortiz is back to being the dominating wrestler that he used to be. I for one, would love to see it.

Of course, there is always Randy Couture. He is scheduled to face fellow Hall of Famer, Mark Coleman at UFC 109. If he were to win, that would make him 2-0 in his return to the light heavyweight division.

The Natural has spoken many times of his desire to try and solve the Machida puzzle. Would the UFC go back to the well once again? At 46 years old, there isn't much time left and title opportunities are normally few and far between, except if you are Couture.

The same could be said of a potential Rua-Couture matchup. Defeating an icon, albeit and aging icon such as Couture, would benefit Rua greatly. If he is to be a successful champion in the UFC, he needs to become more marketable. Nothing showcases a fighter better than a showdown with Captain America.

Also under consideration would be Rich Franklin. He would need a solid win as an actual light heavyweight rather than fighting at catchweight bouts. The UFC could market a Franklin-Machida matchup, the two have met before back on New Year's Eve in 2003.

Machida handed Ace his first career loss via a second round TKO. Many believe the outcome would generally be the same, but Franklin is as popular with fans as anyone.

The winner of tomorrow night's Luiz Cane-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira bout could receive some consideration. Cane has slowly but surely been building himself up over the past two years.

As far as Nogueira is concerned, he brings an impressive resume into the octagon with him, along with big name recognition. How cool would it be to have a pay-per-view with a possibility of the two Nogueira brothers fighting for a title!

Anderson Silva is only a possibility, well at least according to him, if Rua were to win. The Spider has stated time and time again that he has no interest in fighting Machida. To be honest with you, it is my belief that he would rather walk away than fight one of his teammates.

Rua on the other hand is a different story, the two have traded verbal barbs in the past. It doesn't matter where the animosity started, this is a fight that the fans would love to see.

Those are the only fighters I can think of at this time who would receive any consideration. My future pick would be Jon Jones but he is a few fights off from being thrust into title consideration.

There is always Dan Henderson, that is if he comes to his senses and resigns with the organization. At this stage of his career, the UFC is the only place that makes sense for him.

Did I leave anyone out? If so, who, and why do you think they deserve consideration?

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