Bleacher Report - Strikeforce

MMA Holiday Wishes: What I Want for Christmas and the New Year

Bryan Levick — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:35:20 -0500

Last week I wrote an article about the things in MMA I was grateful for. Today I wanted to talk about what I would like to see in the next month and for 2010.

Being a fan of Diego Sanchez since his days on The Ultimate Fighter, I would like to see him defeat BJ Penn at UFC 107.

Not only would I get to see another one of my favorite fighters capture a championship (Forrest Griffin), I would also get to see Penn lose again.

I would like to see the return of "The Iceman," Chuck Liddell. I would like to see him come back for one last fight, no matter who it is against, and be victorious.

Liddell deserves a proper sendoff, in my opinion.

Speaking of returns, I would like to see the UFC and John McCarthy kiss and make up. The best referee in the business belongs in the biggest mixed martial arts promotion in the world.

Next up on my list: Who wouldn't want to see a complete reform of the way MMA fights are judged?

New judges need to be trained properly and a system geared to MMA bouts needs to be set in place. Maybe Big John could be put in charge?

I pray for the return of Brock Lesnar and hope that he comes back at full strength. Love him or hate him, he is a great athlete and his best days are still ahead of him.

While on the subject of Lesnar, it is my sincere wish that at some point in 2010, the UFC and Fedor Emelianenko can come to terms.

A bout between Lesnar and Emelianenko would be awesome; at this point in their careers, I still believe Emelianenko would win, but he would take the beating of a lifetime.

I truly hope that Rampage Jackson will make his return to the Octagon and knock Rashad Evans out cold. Then maybe we can get a Rampage-Shogun rematch.

Being a lifelong resident of the great state of New York, I would have to say that having MMA legalized there would be one of my top wishes for 2010.

I hope the WEC remains in and of itself, as there are so many talented fighters who would get lost in the shuffle.

On the topic of the WEC, I hope that the fighters can be paid more in line with their talent.

In fact, I hope all of the great mixed martial artists can get paid more money for risking their lives. They do it for our enjoyment and deserve to be better compensated.

I hope that the year 2010 will mark the end of the Junie Browning and War Machine nonsense. By writing and reading about them, it only gives them the attention they crave.

I would love to see Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva mix it up sometime next year. Two of the best in the world going at it—what could be better than that?

I am looking forward to seeing the progress that some of the younger fighters have made this time next year.

Jon Jones and Anthony Johnson are two studs that come to mind; with another year under their belt, they may be ready to climb the ladder.

I look for the continued success of the Strikeforce promotion—and for more free MMA in general.

The Ultimate Fighter finales and UFC Fight Nights are great, but watching stars like Jake Shields, Gegard Mousassi, and Emelianenko fight for free is even better.

Last, but not least, my personal goal is to interview Forrest Griffin at some point next year.

I have had the fortunate opportunities to interview some great fighters who are also great human beings over the past two years.

Talking to Griffin is not only a professional desire but a personal one as well.

What are you guys and gals looking for in the next year?

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The Sexiest Female MMA Fighters

Darren Wong — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:41:27 -0500

I know what you're thinking! Writing a B/R article on "The Hottest Women In Martial Arts" is a cheap tactic to try to get internet hits and improve one's writer ranking. Such blatant hack jobs objectify women and should be treated with the contempt they deserve. Or, you could just enjoy the slide-show :) This list is in no particular order.

Begin Slideshow

MMA Newsday: The Hot UFC Middleweight Division, Junie Browning's Return

Josh Nason — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:56:41 -0500

Hope everyone had a great holiday so far and keeps it going through the weekend. It's a light one for MMA today, which is welcome considered the enormous amount of events we've had this month.

Several outlets are reporting that Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping is set for the UFC's debut in Australia, the officially unannounced UFC 110 in February in Sydney.

Bisping (19-2) is coming off a second-round TKO of Denis Kang at UFC 105, while Silva (32-10-1) hasn't fought since losing to Rich Franklin by decision at June's UFC 99, as he's recovering from facial surgery.

The middleweight division has really been ramping up in the past few months, even with the departure of Dan Henderson. With middleweight champion Anderson Silva (hopefully) set to defend against Vitor Belfort at February's UFC 109, the winner will have either the winner of Bisping/Silva or Nate Marquardt/Chael Sonnen to look forward to in the early summer.

Speaking of Henderson, there is still no word on his future. Strikeforce has yet to announce anything and you've got to think Henderson is ready to fight as his last bout was in July.

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Heavyweights Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is being planned for either UFC Feb. 6 Las Vegas show or the Australia show mentioned above. The winner will likely be the next in line for a heavyweight title shot, which could end up being an interim title match against Shane Carwin, as there's no update on Brock Lesnar's status.

This fight was originally scheduled for UFC 108 on Jan. 2 but got pushed back due to Nogueira's bout with a staph infection that put him in the hospital.

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Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez for the undisputed Strikeforce lightweight title has been added to headline the Dec. 19 Strikeforce card on Showtime. These two have been looking to rematch since July of 2008, when Thomson won a unanimous decision over Melendez for the title. Since then, an interim belt was created, which Melendez won. Follow all that?

The card itself looks really fun with that, Cung Le vs. Scott Smith, Robbie Lawler vs. Benji Radach (rumored), King Mo vs. Mike Whitehead (rumored), and Matt Lindland vs. Jacare Souza.

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Junie Browning is back and will headline for MMA Big Show this Saturday at the Belterra Casino Resort in Belterra, Ind., against Scott Cornwell. For those of you not in the area, you can stream the fight for $10 via MMABigShow.com. Fifteen fights in all including Mojo Horne vs. Kevin Barkdull and Chris Bennett vs. Brian Karmolinski.

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Wreck MMA on Dec. 12 at the Robert Guertin Arena in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada with Fabio Holanda vs. Sean Pierson, Mark Holst vs. Nabil Khatib, Igor Gracie and more. A portion of the proceeds will go to Solider On, a charity that assists ill or injured Canadian Forces personnel. (Thanks to www.WreckMMA.com.)

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So much for a holiday. Brock Larson was cut by the UFC this week after two straight losses. In an interview with MMAJunkie.com, Larson didn't seem upset and said he's had a hard time getting motivated for the last two fights because "the undercards didn't do it" for him. I find that statement to be quite something. If competing for the UFC doesn't do it for a 32-year-old journeyman, why should he expect to get a top draw somewhere else?

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Former Zuffa/Strikeforce fighter Jeff Curran will take on Tomohiko Hori on Dec. 5 in Lakemoor, Ill., for XFO. (Thanks to Phil Lanides/www.xfomma.com.)

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Plans for the MMA Expo in Philadelphia are coming together, scheduled for January 9-10 at the Valley Forge Convention Center. Xtreme Cage Combat will be putting on a Pro-Am show, along with seminars, exhibitions, etc.

Sean Sherk, Shonie Carter, Kim Couture and Cung Le are already scheduled to be in attendance. For more info, go to Philadelphia.mixedmartialartsexpo.com.

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X-1 World Events of Hawaii has agreed to a distribution deal with FightZone TV, a group that airing on Sun Sports in Florida, Sport South in Georgia and other small regional sports networks. (Thanks to Phil Lanides, x1events.com and fightzone.tv.)

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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