mma reel

Boxing legend Ricardo Mayorga calls out Nick Diaz, BJ Penn

2011-05-23T02:26:00.001+01:00

For those unfamiliar with Ricardo Mayorga, He is a four time boxing world champion who has now decided to try and make headlines the James Toney way.

Today Mayorga called out Strikeforce welterweight champion, Nick Diaz, as well as former two-time UFC champ, BJ Penn. Lets be honest here, Mayorga's best days are behind him. The last time he held a title was five long years ago, and at 38 years old he isn't exactly a spring chicken. The boxer took to Twitter to make some headlines, check them out below.

Via Twitter

"@DiazBrothers209 tu- disgrace to latinos, fighting a bum Lacy, fight me- After I f** u up, I put a dress on u and send u back to ufc maricon"

Not content with dissing Diaz, he turns his sights on to MMA as a whole:

"MMA is for maricons, first they pick that hippo Toney, now Lacy. Come see a real man and I will show that boxeo is numero uno!"

The MMA Reel translation machine tells me that a "Maricon" is slang for a homosexual. Now it's time for Penn to feel the wrath of a has-been.

"MMA putos challenge cripples like Lacy and Hippos like Toney- i will end the debate with my right fist. If not Diaz, I want that chubby BJ"

In case you guys were unaware, Nick Diaz is currently scheduled to fight professional boxer; Jeff Lacy, sometime in the fall. You can check out the details here. Is all this noise that Mayorga is making even relevant? Not really. It looks as if Dana White is going to try and organize a GSP/Diaz super-fight, so you can bet your bottom dollar that we won't be seeing Diaz in the squared circle against Lacy, let alone Mayorga.

So what options does Mayorga have? Try and fight Diaz or Penn MMA style? Those fights would end quicker than the boxing legend can finish a cigarette. It would be less competition, more demolition. Here's a quick play by play.. "The fighters touch gloves, Penn takes down Mayorga, Mayorga taps". That's literally all there is to it, simple.

You can bet that Diaz will respond to these comments, he isn't a punk. I will keep you lot updated.

Rob Billington

Michael Bisping: "Gutted for Chael Sonnen"

2011-05-18T23:51:00.001+01:00

The rumor mill had been swirling over the past month or so that Michael Bisping's next fight would be against the motormouth, Chael Sonnen, after the two coached on a season of The Ultimate Fighter. However, todays ruling by the CSAC means that Sonnen is suspended indefinitely, meaning it would be highly unlikely that we will see him in action anytime soon.

Bisping and Sonnen are far from buddies, the two have exchanged words back and forth for the past few months, but it hasn't stopped him from empathizing with Chael.

Via Twitter

"Gutted for chael sonnen, people make mistakes.He paid his dues and should be allowed to continue with his career. Real shame for the guy."

Do you agree? Personally I think it is about time that fighters are made pay for using steroids, whether you believe Chael or not, to lie is simply unacceptable.

Don't get me wrong, watching these guys coach TUF would be both hilarious and awesome, but sometimes people need to pay. Bisping had been pulling for a fight with Sonnen for sometime, and if it happened I think it would be safe to assume it would have been a no.1 contender fight, well Bisping thought so anyway.

"I did wanna fight him,as it would of been awesome, and a no1 contender matchup, but my own personal wants aside, I do truly feel for the guy"

No one knows what will happen with this whole debacle as of yet, it is possible that the UFC could put Bisping on ice for a few months while we wait to see how "Sonnen gate" pans out. Dana White is no fool, if they had those two as TUF coaches it could potentially be their most watched season to date.

In case you missed it, click here to read about Sonnen's suspension.

Big Nog: "not worried" about Brendan Schaub

2011-05-18T23:09:00.001+01:00

I reported yesterday that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be facing off against Brendan Schaub at UFC 134. After his long layoff due to an injury which occurred back in 2010, he feels confident of getting the win.

Via Tatame

"I’ll do my homework and watch his bouts. He’s a good boxer, uses the distance, but I’m prepared to strike. I won’t keep trying to take him down all the time. I’ll try to do my best, no matter where things are. I’m not worried about him. I want to be at my best, in a good shape, because I believe in myself."

With wins over Gabe Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop, Schaub is looking a lot like a legend killer. Does Big Nog have what it take to compete at the top level anymore? It's hard to tell, Nog has taken a lot of punishment over the years and has a known deficiency against powerful strikers, and Schaub is just that.

Hopefully "Minotauro" will keep applying pressure and look for some take down's as we haven't really seen Schaub off his back, Nog definitely has the better ground game, so it would be stupid of him to stand and trade.

UFC 134 will be live in Rio, on August 27th, and will feature Anderson Silva vs Yushin Okami as the main event.

Chael Sonnen to retire if todays hearing goes against him

2011-05-18T19:51:00.002+01:00

Chael Sonnen's hearing with the CSAC is happening right now, if he fails to get a licence it is likely that he will retire.

Sonnen was suspended by the California State Athletic Comission for elevated levels of testosterone back in 2010 after his fight with Anderson Silva.

He has always claimed it is due to a medical condition, but the CSAC and NSAC have remained vigilant in their scrutiny of his alleged condition.

Sonnen's suspension ended back in April but he has yet to get a fight licence, which is part of the reason he is at a hearing today

ESPN's Josh Gross is live at the hearing, he tweeted earlier:

"If I don't get my license today I'm effectively retired. That came from the boss, Dana White." -- Chael Sonnen"

Dribs and drabs of information are coming through as I type, as the case is live right now. Apparently the CSAC are looking to come down hard on Sonnen.

What is more interesting is Chael's comments relating Dana, is seems like the UFC chief is done with his drama. What with the money laundering charges and this, I cant blame him.

Keep on the page for updates as they develop

Update: The hearing is all done, and Sonnen will remained suspended indefinitely. At this point his fighting future is unknown, but likely hanging in the balance. There has been no statements from Sonnen's camp as of yet.

Dos Santos speaks about Carwin “He’s very dangerous, but I’ll bet on my speed”

2011-05-18T01:36:00.000+01:00

By Rob Billington.

Junior Dos Santos is on the brink of getting a title shot, initially he was supposed to fight rival TUF coach, Brock Lesnar, but a recurring bout of Diverticulitis has sidelined his former opponent for the foreseeable future.

It was announced last week that Dos Santos had a new opponent, Shane Carwin. Carwin was pulled from his fight with Elmeno to go to war with JDS and likely become number one contender if he can get through him.

Junior knows the risks of facing Carwin, speaking to Tatame, he discusses the match up..

Via Tatame

“He’s very dangerous, but I’ll bet on my speed. I’m sure I’ll put on a great show up there”, said the friendly fighter, claiming to be ready to go, and wishing for a quick recovery of Lesnar. “Unfortunately he had that disease again, it must be pretty serious, and I wish him all the luck he can have. For what I could know about him, he’s a nice guy”.

I think Carwin vs JDS is probably a better fight than the original match up. We all know that Lesnar has a severe deficiency on the feet, whereas Carwin has lethal hands and solid wrestling (regardless if we've seen it or not).

This fight should be Dos Santos' if he keeps his distance and utilizes he superior boxing. While Carwin is a devastating KO artist, he isn't what you would call technically proficient.

The two will face of on June 11th at UFC 131

Anthony Petits on Gray Maynard, lightweight title picture

2011-05-18T00:51:00.001+01:00

By Rob Billington

Former WEC lightweight champion, Anthony Petits, finds himself in a potentially frustrating situation. If he beats Clay Guida in his upcoming no.1 contender fight he will be on the shelf until Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard return from injury and have their rematch.

Speaking to Heavy MMA he had this to say on his frustrating predicament.

Via Bleacher Report

"It kinda puts the whole lightweight (division) on a stand. I was in line for a title shot after Clay Guida, I mean I'm definitely focused on Guida, but the whole lightweight division is just kinda stuck right now."

That's for sure, the UFC have been plagued by inured champions as of late. What with the heavyweight, light heavyweight, and lightweight title's all tied up because of injuries, the future is not as good as it should be.

After news broke that Frankie Edgar had succumbed to injury it was reported that Maynard was offered a fight with Petits, but turned it down due to lack of interest. Petits is never one to shy away from speaking his mind, told Heavy MMA what he thought of Maynard's comments.

"I feel that he might be a little jealous of my level of success so fast, I am probably the most popular UFC fighter that hasn't fought in the UFC yet,"

I'm not sure if jealousy is the culprit here, I would cite that the reason Maynard turned down the fight was due to a case of a lot to lose, little to gain. If Maynard gets beat by Petits then he would have to climb the ladder again, if he won he would be exactly where he left off.

Be sure to check out Anthony Petits vs Clay Guida at the TUF 13 finale, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Brendan Schaub on tap for UFC 134

2011-05-17T21:59:00.000+01:00

By Rob Billington.

Big Nog will make his long awaited return to the octagon in his home country of Brazil, against young prospect Brendan Schaub, at UFC 134.

Both sides have previously stated their interest to face off, looks like Joe Silva has granted them their wish.

Nog has been sidelined due to injury since early in 2010. In his last fight he got KO'd by heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez. With fans saying he has lost his edge i'm sure Nog will be hungry for a win in this fight, especially since he will be fighting in Brazil.

Brendan Schaub has been on the up and up since losing in the TUF 10 finals against Roy Nelson. With back to back wins against Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop, Schaub looks like a legend killer, in my opinion this is a tougher fight for him, but only time will tell.

UFC 134 will be live in Rio, on August 27th.

Rashad Evans doubts legitimacy of Jon Jones' injury

2011-05-14T15:54:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

This was bound to happen, as I reported yesterday, Jon Jones will not be having the surgery on his thumb that caused Rashad Evans to lose his title shot. Evans, having signed for a fight against Phil Davis instead, now feels short changed. He has even gone as far as to say Jones is ducking him.

Via MMAjunkie

"Jon doesn't need surgery," Evans today told www.mmajunkie.com. "He did not need the surgery. No doctor will operate on him. They say he doesn't need it."

"It's obvious he doesn't want to fight," he said. "Because if you don't need surgery and you're not going to have it, then why tell the UFC that you're going to have surgery and not have it?"

Interesting take on the whole thing I have to say, It definitely doesn't look good on Jon Jones, who declined to fight Evans over a seemingly minor injury. I noticed that when Rashad confronted Jones in the cage after his win over Shogun the champ seemed quite sheepish, which is out of character for him.

I reported yesterday that the two had to be separated by GSP at a Las Vegas nightclub, apparently they nearly came to blows. Evans had this to say about the whole debacle.

"He pulled me over, and he's like, 'I just want to tell you right now – I'm going to destroy you,'" Evans recalled. "'You're going to be my first knockout highlight.'

"I'm looking at him in disbelief like, is this dude serious? So I was like, 'Ok, you are. Then why didn't you take the fight?'"

Touche, It's good to see a healthy rivalry forming here as it can only make for a more exciting fight for us fans. With lack of interest in this years TUF I think it would be a great idea to have these two coach a season, granted Jones is a bit too young to be coaching, but it still would be great television.

This fight has the potential to be one of the biggest PPV's in UFC history if they market it right. I just want to see them fight sooner rather than later.

Cain Velasquez back training after long lay off due to injury

2011-05-14T15:25:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington.

UFC heavyweight champ, Cain Velasquez, has been sidelined from training since injuring his shoulder in a title fight with Brock Lesnar. The shoulder is one of the worst places to pick up an injury, and he has been sidelined for almost eight months because of it.

While Velasquez cant do any weight lifting or sparring, he has been permitted to resume cardiovascular training. Speaking to heavy MMA, he had this to say:

“Yeah, I’m back in the gym. I’m limited in what I can do. I can’t punch with my right hand yet,” Velasquez told HeavyMMA.com. “The doctor wants me to take two months to strengthen my right hand.”

It will be a full year before he fights again, his next bout is rumored to be in October. Initially Cain was supposed to fight the winner of Lesnar/Dos Santos, but with Lesnar injured and Carwin taking his place it is unknown if Carwin will get a title fight should he win. I would presume he will, the UFC heavyweight division is a mess right now.

Jon Jones declines surgery, will be fighting this fall.

2011-05-14T02:40:00.002+01:00

By Rob Billington

This is all a bit fishy to me, so Jones pulls out of surgery after Rashad signs another fight? Is this psychological warfare, or a genuine injury?

I mean it's his thumb for Christ's sake, the reason the surgery is not going through is because Jones' doctor told him that the surgery would be too invasive for an injury like he has, basically it isn't an injury that will leave him without the use of his hand or anything.

Anyway, that's enough of me ranting. Jones' manager, Malki Kawa, had a chance to tell the guys over at mmaweekly what went down.

Via MMAweekly

“The UFC flew us out to their doctors here in Nevada on Wednesday. We came out here, we met with the doctor. The doctor looked at Jon and basically advised Jon that in his opinion that he thought that surgery was maybe a bit drastic. He didn’t have to have it if he didn’t want to if he could stand the pain and he didn’t have to sit out and go through all that rehab. Jon chose not to have the surgery. He wants to be back in the cage and fight. He thought it was something medically he absolutely (had to do) and this doctor gave him the option not to do it if he didn’t want to.”

“Between the September/November area hopefully, you’ve got to understand if he comes back June 11, the first day he’d be back is that Monday, and he’s not going to be able to go full speed that day and start an eight-week camp from that moment (to fight) Aug. 6.”

So there you have it, all you Jon Jones fans don't have to worry about him going around like Luke Skywalker in Return of The Jedi, he will be fine. Rashad has been short-changed big time over the past year, he now has a tough fight against a phenomenal wrestler in Phil Davis, which he chose because of Jones' injury. Sucks to be him.

There will be conspiracy theories abound about this one, I as a fan am a little pissed off that the match-up I want to see wont be happening for even longer, and with Brock's illness, Maynard and Edgar injured, I cant help but feel a little bit let down with the UFC landscape at the minute.

Possible match-ups for "Bones" include Lyoto Machida, or maybe "Rampage" Jackson if he beats Matt Hamill at the upcoming UFC 130.

And the beef continues, Rashad Evans and Jon Jones have an altercation in nightclub

2011-05-14T00:40:00.000+01:00

By Rob Billington

For those unaware, the UFC fighters summit is underway in Las Vegas, Nevada. If you don't know what it is let me explain, basically every Zuffa fighter (including Strikeforce guys) have to attend this event and get briefed on future plans etc. Having this many fighters in the same place at the same time is surely a bad idea, especially with all the rivalries we see in this sport.

The biggest rivalry currently ongoing is that between Rashad Evans and Jon Jones, who bumped into each other in a Las Vegas nightclub. The story came from the Las Vegas review journal:

"Vegas Confidential learned the incident took place near the table of UFC champ George St. Pierre at Surrender nightclub at Encore. Jones and former champ Tito Ortiz had a table next to St. Pierre's.

St. Pierre ordered Jones and Evans, former friends who trained together, to take it elsewhere before things got ugly.

Jones and Evans, who have been having words of late, walked away to hash out their differences."

The most bizarre thing about this story is that Tito Ortiz and Georges St. Pierre were sitting at a table together, talk about opposites attracting. Speaking of Tito Ortiz, he too was involved in a war of words at the fighter summit with none other than Matt "Meat head" Mitrione, check the video below to see what went down.

Really bad audio here, I cant make out jack shit. It does however, look like it begins to heat up.

TapouT's "Punkass" and "Skyscrape" to be sued over distribution of "Mask's" ashes

2011-05-12T19:52:00.000+01:00

By Rob Billington

This is all very crazy, so let me explain a little. For those unaware; TapouT co-founder Charles "Mask" Lewis passed away back in 2009, at a memorial service his buddies and fellow work mates; "Punkass" and "Skyscrape", handed out between 50-100 vials of his remains to close friends. Lewis' sister, Carla, is not impressed.

TMZ broke the story that Carla Lewis has decided to press charges, apparently she is the only person with any rights to retain said ashes, however she has stated that both Skyscrape and Punkass hold a significant amount of Mask's remains and have refused to return them.

In light of this whole mess both Skyscrape and Punkass have offered to return the ashes, they even went as far as to say that Mask had distanced himself from his sister before his death.

Phew, that is some dramatic shit. Ashes being handed out like free candy, angry sisters, law suits, It's all a bit too much for me, i'm a MMA fan, not a Desperate Housewives fan. Too much drama.

And on a side note, why the fuck are TMZ covering so much MMA? They should stay the fuck out of it, all they do is report negative shit, Tito "beating up" Jenna, Hughes "breaking a womans nose", and now this. Here's an idea, how about you stick to reporting about if Lady Gaga has a dick or not!

If you want to subject yourself to the original article it's HERE

Dan Hary vs Chris Lytle signed, will headline UFC on Versus 5

2011-05-12T18:47:00.000+01:00

By Rob Billington.

This is good news for fans of a good old brawl, both fighters have expressed the want to fight each other, and they always bring it.

Lytle is coming off a surprise loss to Brian Ebersole, while Hardy is on a three fight losing streak to notables such as; Anthony Johnson, Carlos Condit, and GSP.

This is a great match up and I have both fighters with a good chance of winning, however it is Lytle that has more tools to dispatch Hardy.

The event will take place on August 14th, at the Bradley Centre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This card is stacked, check it out below.

Dan Hardy vs. Chris Lytle
Ben Henderson vs. Jim Miller
Cole Miller vs. T.J. O'Brien
Duane Ludwig vs. Amir Sadollah
Stephan Bonnar vs. Karlos Vemola
Danny Castillo vs. Jacob Volkmann

You know MMA has gone mainstream when.. (NSFW)

2011-05-12T18:25:00.000+01:00

this happens. I was browsing a few MMA sites the other day when I stumbled across this ridiculous website in a sponsor section, It's called Battle Bang, where male porn stars face off in a cage and the winner gets a shot at some female porn star.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but don't they get to bang porn stars anyway without the risk of injury? This all seems like an exercise in stupidity to me.

Porn and MMA should not be mixed, don't get me wrong I love both, but isn't it a bit bizarre to watch two sweaty dudes fight and then switch straight to banging? Freud would have something to say about this.

Before you know it Battle Bang fans will be getting a semi looking at Jon Jones KO some dude, mark my words! Maybe I am ill informed as I have never actually watched an episode of this drivel, but it seems pretty straight forward, fight then bang.

Here is a link for your *ahem* pleasure. http://battlebang.com/

Oh yeah I forgot to mention, the loser of this prize fight gets beat up by some nasty ass BBW, sucks to be him.

Anderson Silva vs Yushin Okami set in stone for UFC 134

2011-05-10T23:23:00.000+01:00

UFC 134, otherwise known as UFC: Rio, has been made official. The main event will see Anderson Silva face off against Yushun Okami, who holds a DQ win over "The Spider".

The card will also feature plenty of Brazilians.. obviously. Guys like Paulo Thiago, Rousimar "Paul Harris" Palhares, and Shogun Rua, are all scheduled to fight.

This will mark the UFC's second show in Brazil since '98, it's a shame that they couldn't put together a card there sooner, what with Brazilians being some of the most prolific and dangerous fighters out there. Better late than never I suppose.

Check out UFC.com for all updates regarding the card.

Randy Couture talks retirement, front kick.

2011-05-10T19:21:00.000+01:00

Props to MMA30

This is a pretty cool video in which Randy talks about his retirement and gives Machida props for that insane front kick he landed to knock him out.

As always Couture is classy in defeat, I will definitely miss seeing him fight, however it is probably for the best at this stage in his career. Once again, I wish him all the best in his future endeavors. This video also shows some other opinions on the fight.

Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard cancelled due to both fighters carrying injuries

2011-05-10T18:56:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington.

If you guys haven't heard already, Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard was cancelled yesterday due to both fighters carrying injuries. Sucks balls eh? I was looking forward to this fight, and I know many others were too.

You can check out the story here: MMA fighting

"According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Edgar had the more serious injury of the two, suffering two broken ribs during training, while Maynard suffered a knee injury."

Sad Face, It has been reported that we will see this fight get rescheduled to sometime in fall. The sooner the better, this fight will be epic.

Rumor also has it that former WEC lightweight champ: Anthony Petits, was asked to step in due to Maynard wanting to fight on with his injury. You can check out that story here.

So that's that, there will be no new fight added to the card, instead we will see "Rampage" Jackson v Matt Hamill as the main event. That fight could be a snooze fest, it all depends on if 'Page can stuff Matt's takedowns.

Nick Diaz to move to boxing, fight against Jeff Lacy signed

2011-05-06T20:13:00.001+01:00

Well that puts an end to GSP vs Diaz rumors then. It has emerged today that both Nick Diaz, and professional boxer, Jeff Lacy, have signed an agreement to meet in the squared circle in fall 2011.

Earlier today, Jeff Lacy's camp put out this press release.

"A few moments ago, former IBF super-middleweight champion & devastating knockout artist, Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy, officially signed on the dotted line to square off against Diaz in the Fall of 2011."

Don Chargin states, "This is a very dangerous fight for both men. Not only is this fight dangerous but stylistically it is very intriguing. I expected more resistance from fight fans and media in regards to this match-up but its amazing as to the hundreds of calls and e-mails I've received from fans on both sides wanting to see this match-up take place. I've received more than a few inquiries from some other very high-profile boxers that want to step up and fight Nick. Its been a real whirlwind."

Chargin continues, "I've been around boxing for quite some time and I've seen a lot of great, tough fighters in my six decades within the sport. I believe that if Nick had been one of those kids who had picked up boxing from a youth, he'd undoubtedly be a world-champion today. Sometime within the next 2 weeks I'll be personally making the trek to Cesar Gracies gym to setup a private, closed door sparring session between Nick and a few nameless top-level contenders I have in mind."

So it looks like it's official then, Mauro Renallo also tweeted:

CG @CesarGracieBJJ tells @mauroranallothat @nickdiaz209's bout with @lefthooklacy has been green-lit

So that's that, we will probably not see a fight between Diaz and GSP like all us martial arts fans have hoped for. Instead, we will have to make do with Diaz taking a very risky fight against a decent professional boxer, who has some very heavy hands.

No date has been announced yet but I would say sometime in August. Diaz recently expressed his frustration with not getting enough money from MMA and cites this as his main reason for testing the waters in the boxing ring.

There has been nothing official from Diaz' camp yet, but it seems like this fight will definitely happen, unless Dana wants to poach him before it's all done, however if Diaz has indeed signed a contract then you can forget about a Pierre super fight.

I reported about this last month, I also stated how bad an idea I thought this would be, Diaz will not be able to hang with even B level boxers, you wait and see. What are your thoughts?

Props to bloody elbow

UFC 130: Edgar vs Maynard 3 video preview

2011-05-06T16:52:00.000+01:00

I seriously cant wait for this event, it looks to be a solid card from top to bottom. Who doesn't want to see the final part of the Maynard/Edgar trilogy?!

I really hope Edgar can pull off the win here, but he will have his work cut out for him, there is no way in hell that Maynard will make the same mistake again.

Rampage and Hamill will be explosive, I think Hamill will be lured into standing with 'Page somehow or other.

Mir vs Nelson should be fun, these guys already have grappled before, with Nelson winning. Big country is a Renzo Gracie black belt, so it only makes sense that this could turn out to be a stand-up war.

Rashad Evans contemplates a Michael Bisping vs Anderson Silva match-up

2011-05-06T02:51:00.000+01:00

By Rob Billington

As we all know, Anderson Silva will be facing Yushin Okami at a UFC event held in Brazil. This has not stopped perennial middleweight contender: Michael Bisping, from voicing his want to someday fight Silva, and bring the belt to the UK for a change in scenery.

Rashad Evans knows Bisping better than most, he has fought him after all, and the fight was surprisingly close too, even with British fighters being handicapped in the wrestling department, Evans only came away with a split decision victory.

Speaking to fighters only mag Evans gives Bisping big props, and even sees a match between Silva and "The Count" being quite competitive.

Via fighters only

“Bisping has gotten really effective at that transition and that happens to be Anderson Silva’s Achilles Heel, the takedown, so it could be a completive fight. And another thing that Bisping does is, sometimes he just doesn’t care, you know? He just doesn’t care, he just goes for it. So for people to say it wouldn’t be a fight or it wouldn’t be close? I wouldn’t say that about someone like Michael Bisping."

This is an interesting point of view but I have to disagree, although I am one of the ten Bisping fans out there I just don't see it going down like that. Yes Bisping does have decent take-down's, but could he land them against Silva? I doubt it.

It is true that Silva has had problems against wrestlers, but a wrestler Bisping is not, he is a primarily stand-up guy. I could honestly see Silva stuffing any attempts, and keeping it on the feet, from there it's his fight to win. Dan Henderson exploited Bisping's wobbly jaw, and a few fighters have rocked him since.

What do you guys think? Does Bisping have more of a chance than most people give him credit for?

No guest octagon girls announced for UFC Rio :(

2011-05-06T01:53:00.001+01:00

We reported yesterday that Brazilian hottie: Maria Melilo, was rumored to appear as a ring card girl for the UFCs upcoming event in Rio.

However the UFC have announced today that this is not the case, initially the report came from mmafighting, who talked to a UFC official, who said there is "no truth to this report."

So it looks as if it is just a rumor for the time being, hopefully the UFC will realise the positive fan reaction to this news and indeed sign her for the event.

Until then, you guys will just have to do with Arianny and co. What a shame!

by Rob Billington

Gray Maynard on Frankie Edgar rematch

2011-05-05T17:54:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington.

UFC: 130 is almost upon us, and that means we will see the last part of the Maynard/Edgar trilogy. The first fight was a clear win for Maynard, the second was a war in which Frankie Edgar came back from a first round beat down to earn a draw and retain his belt.

The fight was very close, but the first round couldn't have been more one sided, Maynard literally punched Edgar around the cage, so much so he suffered a dreaded adrenaline dump.

Speaking to mmafa, Maynard had this to say.

"It’s not that I was tired, but I had an adrenaline dump in the rematch. The first round really was an adrenaline dump. All of your goals and dreams are right there in front of you, you think you’re done, and then you’re drained. My cardio was great, but my arms were f***ing zapped. So I fought the last four rounds and that was probably half of what I was capable of. But I did screw the whole thing up. It was my fault."

Both fighters aren't what you would call exciting, but it seems that when they get together shit gets real. You can expect to see a true grudge match here, both Maynard and Edgar are highly competitive individuals, and sparks are bound to fly when they face off.

I have Edgar winning this, after watching him beat Penn twice I think he is more resilient than people give him credit for. He will need to work hard though, use his wrestling and fast hands to apply pressure without getting tagged, Maynard literally sent him flying across the octagon with a punch in their last fight, so he needs to avoid those heavy hands.

However as long as Maynard doesn't punch himself out he has every chance to win, I think we will see Maynard use more wrestling in this match too so he can wear the cardio machine: Frankie Edgar, out.

You can catch Gray Maynard vs Frankie Edgar at UFC 130, in Las Vegas, at the MGM, May 30th

Yushin Okami: "All I think about is defeating Anderson"

2011-05-05T16:43:00.002+01:00

Article by Rob Billington.

UFC: RIO, has yet to be formerly announced but it seems likely that a rematch between Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami will be the main event.

Their last fight ended with a controversial disqualification loss for Silva after an illegal up-kick, both guys will be looking to redeem themselves and Yushin Okami seems more determined than ever, not only to decisively beat Silva, but to represent JMMA too.

Via mmafighting

"I hope the people of Japan will feel joy by seeing me fight and seeing me become the champion," he went on to say, "All I think about is defeating Anderson."

Okami is one of the last credible opponents Silva has left to beat, and he is also one of the biggest challenges to the Brazilian. Over Silva's dominant reign at middleweight we have seen a weakness to grappling, look no further than the Chael Sonnen fight to verify that.

However, in their past fight Silva dominated before his eventual disqualification. Okami definitely has his work cut out for him, both guys are different fighters now, and I feel Silva has the tools to successfully dispose of Okami. Will he get take-down's? More than likely, but Silva's striking skills are on another level.

Maria Melilo scheduled to appear as ring card girl for UFC Rio (NSFW)

2011-05-05T03:00:00.002+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Ah the fabled UFC: Rio, still not officially announced but boy does it look promising.. And im not talking about the potential match-ups, i'm talking about the smoking hot girl that is rumored to be a guest card holder thing.

Her name is Maria Melilo, probably doesn't ring a bell to anyone outside Brazil, but over there she was a Big Brother contestant as well as doing some general rif-raff media jobs that most ex BB people do.

In my opinion this lovely lady k.o.'s Arianny, Brittney, and Chandella, she is just that good!

What do you guys think? To help you mull over this tough decision, take a look at some highly nsfw pics. That's how we do around here. Click to enlarge

Props to terra sports

BOOM!

BLAM!

She looks happy to be naked!

Checking to see if the remote is behind the couch

Fedor Emelianenko scheduled to face Dan Henderson for a Strikeforce bout on July 30th

2011-05-04T22:21:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Looks like we will see Fedor back in action sooner rather than later, over the past week stories have been circling teh interwebz about a possible match-up with Dan Henderson, today these rumors have been confirmed as true.

It is likely that the fight will be at a catchweight of 220lbs, and will take place in Chicago, Illinois.

Fedor is coming off a two fight losing streak, (It feels weird typing that) and will look to get back into the win column against Dan Henderson.

This is a good match-up for both fighters in my opinion, and will surely create fireworks. Both guys have extremely heavy hands, as well as great grappling. As far as I know this fight wont be for Hendo's belt unless there is a change of plan and they move the fight to light heavyweight.

I have Fedor taking this fight, he has the faster hands and if the fight goes to the ground I believe he can pull off a submission, but don't get me wrong, Henderson also has a good chance of victory if he plays his cards right.

Props to sbnation for the heads up.

Nick Diaz wants fight with Georges St. Pierre

2011-05-04T21:58:00.001+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

After Georges St. Pierre won a one sided decision over Jake Shields at UFC 129, fans began to question if there is any worthy competition left for him at welterweight, or should he move to middleweight to face Anderson Silva.

The only big name left for him at welterweight is Strikeforce champion: Nick Diaz. With GSP coming across as hesitant about a move to middleweight this fight makes perfect sense, Nick Diaz seems to think so too.

Via MMAmania

"Yeah, sure, (I think my boxing is superior to Georges). I think I'll put my punches in, I think he's going to try to force takedowns and go for takedowns. But I saw him out there and he doesn't look... he's not much for size, you know, and I don't think he's... I don't know if that'll be the smartest plan for him either. I feel like it will be real hard for him. I feel like I'm ready for that fight, I been ready for that fight. I just feel I'm even more ready for it now. I want to get this show on the road, like I said, I'm not getting any younger, I don't think old Georges, he's not getting any younger and I need some change in my lifestyle, you know?"

It is an interesting match-up, I definitely think Diaz has better hands than Georges but whether or not he can hang with a wrestler of Pierre's caliber remains to be seen, after all, it wasn't too long ago that Diaz was handed his walking papers by the UFC after a three fight losing streak to some of the better grappler's at welterweight.

Strikeforce haven't exactly tested him either, all of his fights have been against stand-up guys, which makes it hard to determine if his take-down defense has improved. One thing is for certain, Diaz will make an entertaining fight, he wont be as tentative as some of Georges recent foes and will definitely try to push the pace.

I want to see this fight soon, maybe by then we will see some new competition waiting on the fringes to fight Pierre, such as Rory MacDonald, and maybe even Diego Sanchez if he can string a few more wins together. Moving to middleweight is not the answer in my opinion, after Pierre's fight against Shields I think Silva would crucify him, every fight starts standing, and GSP has never fought a guy with Silva's skill set.

Lets make this fight happen, I want to see someone who will bring the fight to Pierre, and few bring it like Diaz.

Lyoto Machida on "Karate Kid" Kick

2011-05-03T17:25:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

UFC 129 was and event packed full of great fights, not only was it the biggest event in UFC history, but it was also one of their greatest cards, full of explosive fights from top to bottom.

My personal highlight was Lyoto Machida's Karate Kid-esque crane kick. The move came out of the blue and landed flush on Randy Couture, knocking him out cold in the process.

The move was reminiscent of Anderson Silva's front-kick k.o. over Vitor Belfort, Couture was barely awake before action movie legend: Steaven Seagal, was taking all the credit for the kick, just like he did with Silva.

This couldn't be further from the truth, both kicks are well known techniques and to take credit for them is simply ridiculous. In an interview with TATAME, Machida explains the kick.

Via TATAME

"This kick is from Karate, it’s the Kanku Dai. When I started my preparation, after I did a hernia surgery, I couldn’t do everything in training, so my father (Yoshizo) told me to train three or four types of kicks and use them in sparring, but very carefully, because they hurt a lot, it’s like the elbow. When I came to Canada I met Steven Seagal, and he told “Lyoto, this kick will hit”. But I wasn’t worried to use it or not, I’d do it if the opportunity came. I came more relaxed to the second round and hit that. It’s not like it came from nowhere."

So there you have it, hopefully this clears some of the misinformation that is being spread throughout teh interwebz. Seagal simply asked Machida to use the kick, which would be similar to me telling Chuck Liddell to use an overhand right before a fight.

Regardless of Randy's age, this is still an impressive win for Machida. In my opinion he is the biggest threat to Jon Jones out there, lets not forget, it was only two years ago that Machida was a seemingly unsolvable puzzle. I would like to see him against a top wrestler such as Davis before then, unfortunately pretty much every light heavyweight is tied up at the minute.

Matt Hughes questioned over alleged bar assault

2011-05-03T16:44:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Woah boy, Ol' Hughes is up to no good. According to celebrity waste of time website: TMZ, A woman had her nose broken when Matt Hughes and another man locked horns at an Illinois bar.

Via waste of bandwidth website TMZ

"TMZ has confirmed 37-year-old Hughes was named in a police report filed in Taylor Springs, IL ... stemming from an April 23 incident at a place called Trails End Bar and Grill. "

"According to a source who was inside the bar, Hughes got into an argument with a male bar patron ... which led to some forceful shoving."

I'd like to think that the guy was telling Hughes that there is no way he will get a title shot again, who knows what actually went down, only time will tell.

Matt is a 37 year old mixed martial artist, what the hell is he doing picking bar fights and busting up women? I'm sure Dana will love this one.

Again this is TMZ so you cant really rely on this information, allegedly the woman suffered a broken nose because Hughes pushed the other guy into her. Lets see how this one all pans out, Matt Hughes has gone underground and cannot be reached by news sources at the minute.

Fans brawl at UFC 129

2011-05-02T15:45:00.000+01:00

Props to middleeasy

Watch the video above, In my opinion this is an absolute disgrace and blemish on the UFC's lack of security. Basically three Tapout T-shirt wearing tough guys decide to pick a fight on one dude, what follows is a one sided beat down, to a guy who clearly cant defend himself.

The most alarming thing is that not one person breaks up the fight, they simply let this poor guy get hammered into the floor, he emerges from the melee looking worse than most fighters who exited the octagon. Regardless of whether that one guy started it or not, three on one is unfair in any circumstance, especially when its three guys beating him to a pulp on the floor when he is defenseless.

This is a blemish on the UFC in my opinion, where were the security guards? At numerous points during the video you can hear Women, and Men, calling for security. Dana White should pay for this poor guys medical bill, the largest event in UFC history should of also had the largest security team, in this video it's evident they didn't.

Let Dana White know about this, tweet him at http://twitter.com/#!/danawhite with a link to this video. The guy with the camera deserves to get his fucking face smashed in.

Following UFC 129 loss, Nate Diaz looks set to move back to lightweight

2011-05-02T15:11:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Nate Diaz's last five fights have been a mixed bag, comprising of three losses and two wins, the Stockton native has looked flat lately, this is probably due to a move up to welterweight, which proved both unnecessary, and unsuccessful .

Before he moved up weight he had been on a two fight win streak, beating both Josh Neer and Marcus Davis, however since then he has been dominated by wrestling based fighters. Speaking to MMAmania, his coach, Cesar Gracie, had this to say:

Via MMAmania

"Nate Diaz didn't look too good. I'm gonna be the first one to say it. He looked lethargic out there and he's been asking me to go back to 155 for some time now. Frankie Edgar is the champion over there and he's the student of a good friend of mine. Nathan was one of the contenders at 155 so we brought him up to 170 but it looks like we'll probably bring him back down to 155 where he belongs. "

He does indeed belong at lightweight, I was puzzled to see him move to welterweight. which is a tough division full of very dangerous grappler's. The same can be said for the lightweight division, however Diaz lost close fights against the top wrestler's there, it wasn't as if he was completely dominated, losing to both Maynard and Guida by split decisions.

Hopefully Diaz makes the tweaks needed to counter-act wrestlers, I feel he may one day fight for the title if he goes down the right path. Him and his Brother both have similar styles, I wonder is this a sign of things to come if Nick moves over to the UFC.

Fights to make for the winners of UFC 129.

2011-05-02T00:19:00.001+01:00

Article by Roy Billington

UFC 129 had some surprises, we seen GSP look slightly more human, Aldo actually having to fight for once, and Lyoto Machida physically becoming the Karate Kid.

After the dust had settled people are beginning to ask what is next for last nights winners. Here is my opinion on who should fight who.

George St. Pierre
Next opponent: Nick Diaz

Instead of pushing Georges into a dangerous fight against middle weight king pin; Anderson Silva, I predict the ufc will try to push for a fight against Nick Diaz, which is just as marketable. The most logical thing for Dana to do would be to offer Diaz a welterweight title fight instead of losing him to professional boxing.

Nick Diaz is coming off a devastating first round t.k.o victory over the always dangerous British slugger, Paul Daley. Strikeforce’s welterweight divison has run dry, all the “contenders” have been beaten soundly by Diaz. All that’s left is Tyron Woodley, and he is a little bit too green for the shot. It's a fight that could work for the UFC’s Houston card in fall, giving Gsp the summer to rest and recuperate.

Jose Aldo

Next opponent: Chad Mendes

Jose wasn’t as impressive as usual last night, he looked like he had a bad weight cut and I doubt that mistake will be made again.

UFC president Dana White was asked last night if he thought Jose would be competing on the Rio card, Dana’s answer was shocking to me, he stated they were trying to put a fight with Mendes together for UFC 133 in Philadelphia. Chad is 10-0 and coming off a win against Japanese stand out; Michihiro Omigawa, and his wrestlng could give Aldo fits.

Lyoto Machida

Nest opponent: Winner of Rampage/Hamill

Lyoto is dying to get a second chance against Jackson and avenge his loss at Ufc 123. Jackson has to get past former Olympic free style wrestling gold medalist; Matt Hamill, that being said, I pick Rampage to get a tko victory over him.

If Jackson wins this fight will likely headline a pay per-view, Lyoto’s stock seriously rose with his "knock out of the night" performance against Rany Couture last night.

Vladimir Matyushenko

Next opponent: Stephan Bonnar

The popular "American Psycho" will always bring viewers, no matter who he fights.

Matching Vladdy and Bonnar makes sense, two fan favourites and brawlers who are bound to leave it all in the cage and just scrap. Stephan is coming off a t.k.o victory against Igor Pokrajac and is always game . A win against Vladdy would get him back in the top ten, but Vladimir Matyushenko's a good grappler with heavy hands, a slug fest could be the result of the match up.

Ben Henderson

Next opponent: Jim Miller for number one contendership

Both guys are very well rounded, both have submissions and good hands, this is a match-up that has to happen. It would be great to see either guy face off against either Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Clay Guida, or Anthony Petits. The names I have listed shows how congested the lightweight division is at the moment, but any one of those guys could be champ in six months!

George St. Pierre, I am not impressed by your performance

2011-05-01T19:26:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

UFC 129 was the biggest show that the UFC have put on in history, and nearly every fight lived up to the fifty-five thousand fans expectations. Machida went Karate Kid on our asses, Aldo and Hominick had a war, there was flash ko's, a flying triangle, and many more awesome moments.

However I am left with a bad taste in my mouth, not because I am a Jake Shields fan, but because of how bad the main event sucked balls. I felt short changed by both fighters, but I was more impressed with how Shields performed in defeat than how GSP won the fight.

Lets face it, since his defeat to Matt Serra, Pierre has played it safe. I commend his strategies, he is a master at coming in with the right game-plan, but there is a difference in using a strategy to win and playing it safe to win.

GSP had a seemingly massive striking advantage over Shields in this fight, and many fans expected him to use it, to an extent he did, but Shields was the man who caused more physical damage, bloodying Pierre and closing over his eye. No one predicted that, I thought that Shields would win this on the ground but he only attempted a handful of take-down's, maybe due to Pierre's amazing defense or maybe because Shields was having some success on the feet.

Pierre came in with a largely apparent tactic; to land an overhand right, this didn't really work well for him and gave Shields the opportunity to land on a few occasions. After watching Pierre's last few fights I cant help but feel shortchanged, he couldn't submit Hardy, who has a weak ground game, he barely out struck Shields, who is a ground fighter with some of the worst stand-up at welterweight, they dont call him "pillowfists" for nothing.

I don't question GSP's dominance, he is the best welterweight in the world, but lately I find myself getting increasingly bored watching him, this isn't his fault, he owes me nothing, but it would be nice to see the same Pierre that dominated Hughes, Penn, and Fitch.

I would like to see a rematch between the two, with Shields using what people expect from him, i.e. relentless take-down attempts, and Pierre actually letting his hand go. I think the reason this fight stayed upright was because Shields didn't really feel threatened by GSP's hands, and if he came forward more and threw more punches I reckon he could of beaten Pierre the same way Edgar bet Penn in their first fight.

Whether its a rematch, a super-fight with Nick Diaz, or a super-fight with Anderson Silva, I hope it's exciting. There are no match-ups at welterweight that excite me anymore, except Diaz, who will definitely try and make an exciting fight.

Maybe we will see GSP return to putting on exciting and dominating fights, maybe not. Until then I have no interest in watching someone jab for twenty-five minutes.

UFC 129: St. Pierre vs Shields, Live Results and Discussion

2011-05-01T01:34:00.030+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, UFC 129 is upon us, as a Jake Shields fan I have been waiting to see how he faces up against possibly the greatest welterweight of all time.

Join me as I go through the fights round by round with some light commentary and analysis, It is going to be a great event if the free Facebook prelims are anything to go by.

You can check my picks for the event here, and my brother and I also have a bet on for this event, the forfeits are pretty hilarious, you can check those out here.

Remember to refresh often for round-by-round commentary!

Mark Bocek vs Ben Henderson
Round one
Hendo landed some nice strikes and applied good pressure against the fence. Bocek managed to score a takedown late in the round but it was Hendo who dominated on the feet, It's a hard round to call as Bocek got a takedown but i'm leaning towards Henderson.

Round two
Bocek got a nice takedown, but Bendo quickly got back to his feet. Shortly after and Bendo returns the favor with a takedown of his own. It looked as if Bocek had a sub in but Hendo escaped and got to his feet, from there he landed some vicious strikes. I'd give that round to Henderson

Round three
Bocek landed a takedown early, once again Hendo reversed and landed some crazy ground and pound. It gets back to the feet and Hendo outclassed him again, Bocek gets a takedown soon after. I'd give the fight to Henderson but it could go either way.

Decision: Ben Henderson, Unanimous Decision

Vladimir Matyushenko vs Jason Brilz
Round one
Holy shit! Short fight! Matyushenko knocks out Jason Brilz in 20 seconds!

Decision: Vladimir Matyushenko, round one, tko

Lyoto Machida vs Randy Couture
Round one
Very tentative from both fighters, but Machida has gotten the better of the exchanges. Randy clinched up but Machida proves illusive as always. Tame round but definitely Machida's.

Round two
Accusations from Randy of greasing,but it doesn't matter, Machida knocks out Couture with a front kick identical to that of Anderson Silva!!

Decision: Lyoto Machida, knock out, round two

Jose Aldo vs Mark Hominick
Round one
Aldo came out hard early, landing some huge shots, and securing a takedown early. From there he managed to keep the fight there, landing some tidy gnp. One sided so far. Big John stands the fight up but Aldo brings it back down.

Round two
Aldo looks tired, Hominick is actually out-boxing him in this round which is hard to believe! Aldo manages a takedown but he is breathing from his mouth so i wonder how far his gas will take him. Ref stands it back up, Aldo very very tired, but he gets another takedown.

Round three
The round began with Aldo being outboxed however later on he managed to land a big shot and drop hominick but was unable to finish. Both fighters bloody, good fight so far!

Round four
The fight is shifting Aldo's way, he dropped Hominick again and man, mark my words when i say this, his head is absolutely disgusting, he has a massive heamatoma on his forehead, its about three inches off his head. Lets just hope it doesn't open!

Round five
Hominick lands a takedown, but he is bleeding bad. The fans are going wild, Aldo still on his back. Hominick landing good gnp and Aldo is doing nothing to defend really, very bizarre fight, and its all over!

Decision: Jose Aldo defeats Mark Hominick via unanimous decision

Georges St. Pierre vs Jake Shields
Round one
Jake with early pressure against the fence, GSP reverses, they break, some back and forth stand-up. Shields with two failed takedowns and GSP has had the edge in this round, with some good jabbing.

Round two
Back and forth round, no takedowns but again GSP has come up on top with the striking, Shields getting tagged but in no danger yet.

Round three
Similar round to the last two except GSP took down Jake at the end, not enough time for Shields to do anything effective. GSP's round.

Round four
Shields has cut GSP good, back and forth round that was hard to call. Perhaps GSP as he rocked Shields, but Jake has been the aggressor.

Round five
Another similar round with GSP playing it safe, the strange thing is that Shields has landed more effective strikes and done more damage in this round.

Decision: Georges Saint Pierre, unanimous decision.

UFC 129: Prelim and Spike TV results, (spoilers) obviously

2011-04-30T23:10:00.009+01:00

These are free right now on Facebook, so there are no excuses for missing these fights! Refresh often for results.

Claude Patrick vs. Daniel Roberts - Claude Patrick, unanimous decision

Ivan Menjivar vs. Charlie Valencia - Menjivar, round 1, TKO

Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen - MacDonald, Submission, round 1

John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson - Makdessi, Round 3, spinning back fist ko

Yves Jabouin vs. Pablo Garza - Pablo Garza wins by Flying Triangle, Round 1.

Sean Pierson vs Jake Ellenberger - Jake Ellenberger, knock-out, round 1

Nate Diaz vs Rory MacDonald - ‎Rory MacDonald, Unanimous Decision

UFC 129: The Bet!

2011-04-30T13:22:00.000+01:00

By Rob Billington

So by now you should know I am rooting for Jake Shields in tonights fight, I have predicted him to win, and I believe he will pull off the upset.

My Brother Roy (who contributes to the blog and facebook page), thinks different. He sees this fight as a GSP whitewash, so in the name of good sibling rivalry we have decided to put both our money; and dignity, where our mouths are.

We have placed a small wager with some money; only 20 euro each, not a huge sum of money, but still. Here comes the good part, my forfeit is if Shields loses I have to don my uni-tard and do my best wrestling pose. The photo will then be uploaded to the MMA Reel facebook page and remain its profile picture for a week.

I was struggling to think of a forfeit for my Bro, but I think I've got it now. In the event of GSP losing he will post the following on Jake Shields' facebook for three days in a row, "I love your vegan sausage in, and around, my mouth. If you have a problem with that I will kick your ass cos I train UFC!!!!!!!111!". So there you have it, these will be the forfeits.

Please share this page around to maximize the potential humiliation, I might even go as far as to record us watching the main event too.

UFC 129: All the video interviews!

2011-04-29T16:05:00.001+01:00

By Rob Billington

In what will be the biggest event in UFC history, we will see a huge throng of 55 000 MMA fans at the Rogers Centre in Ontario, Canada.

Not only is this the biggest even the UFC has had, it's also a stacked card packed full of explosive match-ups. If you look at the card from top to bottom it seems like a American vs Canadian type thing.

I cant wait to see this event, it looks as if it will be one of the greatest this year, and maybe even all time. Anyone who isn't excited for GSP vs Shields simply isn't an MMA fan, he is the most legitimate threat that Pierre has faced in a few years, maybe even all time.

Here you will find most of the pre-fight interviews, be sure to share with your friends!

George Saint Pierre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0DtLB-tPUo - GSP talking about fighting in front of 55'000 fans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BtpjKZGNWQ - Talking about the fight, UFC undisputed, and more!

Jake Shields

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjokeTGoBZ8 - Shields about Strikeforce buy out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKlzhtqS5Bg - The pre-fight interview

Jose Aldo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HfKL--3wX8 - Crap quality, but decent interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUhPG0xTiHI - On how he will approach the fight

Mark Hominick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6BhJp-NMns - Mark Hominick on fighting at such a huge event
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3by8pLVZDpc - Ariel Helwani interview.

So that's the main and co-main events covered, tune in later for the rest of the vids!

Dana White will talk to Nick Diaz in an attempt to work out problems

2011-04-28T23:00:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

It wasn't too long ago that Strikeforce welterweight champion; Nick Diaz, expressed his desire to leave MMA so he could earn bigger pay days by dabbling in professional boxing. Diaz was also frusatrated with the fact that there are no credible fighters for him to fight under the Strikeforce banner.

Dana White, during interviews with press before UFC 129, has stated that getting Diaz to stay with Zuffa is a priority of his.

Via MMA Fighting

"I'm going to sit down with him and we'll figure out what he wants to do. Listen, for the last 10 years, I've dealt with the craziest, the coolest, the baddest, the this, the that. I've always tried to make everybody happy. You can't make them all happy, but you can try"

It would be shame to see Diaz leave MMA, after all, he is one of the most exciting and unpredictable fighters we have. A move to boxing would be unwise, Diaz would get destroyed by top tier boxers, and that scar tissue wouldn't help either.

I'm not sure if Diaz is using boxing as a ploy to make more money but he is one of, if not the highest, earners in Strikeforce and he is an active fighter, it feels to me like MMA cant offer him the kind of dough he seeks.

Will we see Diaz fight for the UFC after all is said and done? It is possible, with the news that Mayhem Miller has switched sides anything can happen. There are plenty of interesting fights for him over there, who wouldn't want to see Diaz/Sanchez 2? Or Alves/Diaz? and that is before we bring in the chances of a GSP super fight.

If Shields loses this Saturday he may move back to middleweight, and if that happens I bet Diaz will be fighting for the UFC in a heartbeat. Strikeforce will be left with an empty welterweight division, so if Diaz goes I see them in real trouble.

UFC 129: St-Pierre vs Shields predictions

2011-04-28T15:07:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

UFC 129 will take place this Saturday at the sold out Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario. This is a big event for the UFC as it marks the first time the travelling show has landed in Ontario since they legalized MMA, about time too.

Once again we will see GSP defend his welterweight strap on home turf against former Strikeforce middleweight champ, Jake Shields. The co-main event will see featherweight phenom, Jose Aldo, attempting to defend his belt for the third time against Canadian striker, Mark Hominick. There are also some great match-ups in Machida vs Couture and former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson vs Mark Bocek.

I will go through the entire main card and predict the best way I can without bias, one thing is for certain; this is going to be a great night.

George Saint Pierre vs Jake Shields

This fight will be closer than most bookmakers and fans would believe. Shields has gone six years undefeated at both welterweight and middleweight, he always finds a way to win and is extremely hard to put away. The Cesar Gracie protege has displayed the will and desire to rise up against adversity, it wasn't long ago that most bookmakers had Shields down as a severe underdog against Dan Henderson, you should consider placing a bet on this guy. Betting websites in Ireland have Shields to win by submission at 9/1, which is crazy..

But then again, he is facing GSP, who has been unstoppable at welterweight since a shock knockout by Matt Serra. Pierre also has the home advantage, it's likely that the only people chanting for Jake will be his camp.

Now down to predictions. You can expect to see GSP keeping his distance, using his jabs and kicks to fend off Shields, who always powers forward. I can see him mixing up the striking with the occasional take-down, maybe going as far as to throw a few elbows and punches before standing back up. I don't see Pierre staying in Shields guard for too long, that would be unwise, and GSP is a smart fighter.

Anyone who has seen a Shields fight knows him game plan, which will be to get in close, clinch up and go for the take-down against the fence. He will get a take-down, there is no way Pierre will defend every single attempt, once it goes to the mat is when it gets interesting. We have seen in the past that most fighters can successfully scramble back to their feet against Jake, but I believe this is where Jake will capitalize, his scramble is great and I think he can submit Pierre during one.

My heart says Jake Shields, I believe he has the tools to beat Pierre, but my head screams GSP, it is so hard to pick anyone to beat him but i'm going to go with my heart on this one.

Prediction: Jake Shields, by submission, in maybe the second or third round, by some type of choke.

Jose Aldo vs Mark Hominick

Hominick is coming off a vicious win over George Roop, but in my opinion that wasn't enough to earn a title shot, we will see if he is worthy on Saturday night. Aldo needs no introduction, he is the best featherweight in the world and one of the pound-for-pound kings, with only one loss to his name.

The Canadian claims he is the best striker to ever face Aldo, and perhaps he is, but the Brazilian is on a whole other level. I see this as a one sided win for Jose, using his awesome striking to show Hominick who's boss. This could be an early stoppage for Aldo, maybe second round.

Prediction: Jose Aldo, knockout in round one or two

Vladimir Matyushenko vs Jason Brilz

This one is tough to call, Brilz last fought nearly a year ago against lil nog, in my opinion he was robbed by a decision loss for a fight he dominated. Matyushenko is coming off a win more recently, but both guys are hard to predict.

Based on Brilz last fight i'm going to pick him to win, he has superior wrestling and that will be the deciding factor, while Matyushenko has a few subs under his belt, he doesn't have anything that should trouble Brilz..

Prediction: Jason Brilz, by unanimous decision

Randy Couture vs Lyoto Machida

Unfortunately I see this fight only going one way.. A forty seven year old unconscious on the mat kind of way. Lyoto is just too hard to catch, that coupled with his laser precision striking means it will be a long night for Couture.

You can expect this to be a fight where Couture chases down Lyoto, and gets knocked out in the process. I think "The Natural" has lost his edge in terms of speed, and there is no one better to exploit that than Lyoto Machida.

I would love to see Randy defy all odds but again, I just cant see it coming to fruition. After two losses Lyoto will be looking for the finish, and I think he will do it early in the fight, probably the first round.

Prediction: Lyoto Machida, first round knockout

Mark Bocek vs Ben Henderson

A UFC lightweight faces off against a former WEC lightweight champ in what will prove to be an interesting match. Both fighters are prolific grapplers, Bocek more jiu jitsu and Henderson more wrestling, although "Bendo" has some good submissions under his belt.

Again this is another hard match to call, Bocek can definitely win it, especially with his fellow Canadians behind him. Henderson will be looking to keep it standing, and I feel that is where the fight will be won, providing he doesn't make any rash moves on the ground which Bocek will exploit.

Dont get me wrong, either fighter can definitely win this, but I am going for Ben Henderson for this one.

Prediction: Ben Henderson, unanimous decision

Mayhem Miller was banned from Showtime, had no choice but to fight for the UFC

2011-04-28T02:44:00.001+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

It seems like Mayhem Miller's departure from the UFC isn't as shady as I initially thought. Following his post-fight brawl with the Cesar Gracie camp; Miller, who was more the victim than aggressor, got the shit end of the stick from Showtime/CBS. In an interview with MMAWeekly Dana White reveals what went down.

Via MMA Weekly

“Mayhem Miller he had a contract with those guys, he wasn’t being fought because he couldn’t fight on Showtime, he couldn’t fight on CBS, so he was in a bad position. So that’s why that happened”

Seems like a pretty raw deal to me. Miller, who nearly finished Jake Shields, simply stormed the cage after his old foe beat Dan Henderson to call him out and ask for a rematch, but what ensued was a full fledged brawl, live on national television for all the soccer moms to see. Maybe it was a foolish thing to do, but to be sidelined and punished while other fighters who were involved (Nick Diaz, Gil Melendez) got off the hook is a bit unfair.

Dana added: “Mayhem, he’s banished from CBS for life. In my opinion, he was a guy that’s put into a position. First of all, we control what happens inside that Octagon, the fighters do not. In our organization, you don’t see melees break out and huge fights."

He is right, perhaps the most glaring issue was the fact that CBS had little to no security in or outside of the cage, never mind the brawl. Miller's last fight was against Japanese legend, Kazushi Sakuraba, in which he easily won, but that was in Japan, Mayhem has not fought on American soil since 2009. The much loved eccentric fighter will be welcomed back to the octagon against Aaron Simpson, a tough fight for sure, but you can bet that hardcore fans are eagerly waiting to see how he faces off against UFC's top guys.

Dana White UFC 129 Vblog part 1

2011-04-28T02:14:00.000+01:00

Love him or hate him, Dana White always produces a good vblog. Watch the latest episode to get a glimpse inside what happens in the UFC office, it's like having Michael Scott as your boss. Check out the video below, and remember to share!

George Saint Pierre feels the pressure

2011-04-27T21:32:00.001+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

I know it is said every time GSP steps into the cage, but Jake Shields is definitely the toughest test the Canadian has faced. Pierre is aware of that; after all, Shields is undefeated over the course of six years, and prolific at both middle, and welterweights.

Never one to "Rush," into a fight unaware of the dangers, (LOLZ), he had this to say during the UFC 129 pre-fight presser.

Via MMA Mania

"This is the most pressure I've ever had in my life. Every fight is going to be the same now. I'm at the best when I feel like I'm right on the edge and I'm about to fall off. That's when I perform my best and I try to adapt to the situation."

This fight is an enigma to predict for me, my head says Pierre, but my heart is going with Shields as I am a fan of his persistent and relentless style. After so many high profile wins it is great to see a champion with a humble attitude, which is the way it should be, as Martial Arts is founded on respect and discipline. If we had one hundred Chael Sonnens running around mouthing off we would be watching WWE more or less.

Either way, we are sure to see a great battle between two master strategists. This fight will not be a brawl, nor a stand up clinic, but more like a chess match between two very accomplished players, and I cant wait.

Lyoto Machida focused on his future

2011-04-27T21:05:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

After two losses, it seems like people have solved the Lyoto Machida puzzle. Two years ago, the Brazilian seemed as unstoppable as current light heavyweight champ; Jon Jones, but recently Machida has fallen out of favor with some fans. Speaking during the UFC 129 pre-fight press conference, he had this to say.

Props to MMA Mania

"When you're the champion, you have a target on your back and everyone is aiming for you. After a couple losses, it's actually freed up my time and allowed me to focus on my training. Don't get me wrong, I do want to get that title and that target back though."

It is good to see Machida focused on the task at hand, he faces ultimate legend Randy Couture this Saturday at UFC 129. Not so long ago Machida was top of the food chain, I believe he can climb back up the ladder and prove a serious threat to Jon Jones.

One thing is for sure, Randy will have his hands full. I don't think anyone would like to fight a guy like Machida when he is on a two fight losing streak. With any luck we will see a more aggressive fighter, in the Rampage fight he lost by not pulling the trigger, and Couture will exploit that like he did to Brandon Vera, so he will need to push the pace, if he does I can see a quick knock-out.

Chuck Liddell: "I got Shields winning it"

2011-04-27T01:46:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

George Saint Pierre vs Jake Shields is just days away, with most bookmakers, and fight fans, favoring GSP to do what he does best; win. However, UFC legend Chuck Liddell, sees things going a little different to the usual predictions.

Via Dana White vblog

"I got Shields winning it. He's got awkward take-downs, he's going to have to take him down to beat him. He's got awkward take-downs and some awkward submissions. No one is giving him a shot, GSP will show up in shape, Jake will show up in shape and I think he's going to win."

I agree with Chuck here, Shields is definitely not given enough credit and I firmly believe he will shock the casual UFC masses on Saturday night.

Shields has been an underdog in a lot of his fights, he himself has said that he works better when faced with adversity, and there is nothing bigger than the prospect of beating GSP and really throwing the cat amongst the pigeons in UFC's welterweight division.

Whether you agree with Liddell or not, you would be foolish to dismiss Shields, I feel like a broken record but it is true. There aren't many fighters who have been as effective at both middleweight and welterweight., and that is the fact of the matter.

You can catch UFC: 129 this weekend, with free Spike, and Facebook, Prelims.

Anderson Silva feels Chael Sonnen "Disrespected" him

2011-04-27T01:06:00.001+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Chael Sonnen has never been a man to hold his tongue. In the lead up to their fight at UFC 117 he talked more trash than any foe Silva has faced, in true Sonnen fashion of course. Speaking to The MMA Hour, "The Spider," had this to say.

Via MMA Fighting

"Chael disrespected me, disrespected all of the fans in MMA, Chael disrespected my people in Brazil. Chael no respect nothing, I don't know what happened with Chael, but he's a good fighter. Maybe I don't look at Chael as a bad guy, but sometimes Chael has a problem with the fight. He has no control. I don't know. This is Chael's problem."

Sonnen brought the meaning of trash talk to a whole new level with some of the things he was saying in the build up to UFC 117. I was surprised by how calm Silva remained, it seemed like he was more upset with Maia than Sonnen, yet Chael said things that would peel paint off walls.

Silva is not the first fighter to accuse Sonnen of being disrespectful of Brazil, it wasn't too long ago that Wanderlei Silva told Chael to watch his tongue.

One could argue that middleweight champion Anderson Silva nearly met his maker in the Chael Sonnen fight, as it was a nail-bighting, twenty-four or so minute war in which Silva was nearly dethroned, before he pulled off a quick arm-bar/triangle choke combo.

Chael's fighting future is still at large, he has a hearing with the NSAC in regards to his steroid use which could go either way. At this point no one really knows when we will see him fighting again, hopefully it is sooner rather than later, as he never fails to entertain.

Silva on the other hand, will be facing Yushin Okami at the much talked about UFC: Rio.

Jon Jones injured, Evans will face Davis instead

2011-04-25T19:28:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Looks like we will have to wait a little longer to see a grudge match between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans, apparently Jones has injured his thumb in training.

Via Canadian press' twitter

"Jon (Bones) Jones injured. Phil Davis steps in to face Rashad Evans."

It has been said that Jones has damaged some ligaments, and that a recovery time is still unknown. This is a huge blow, Evans hasn't fought in nearly a year and it would have been crazy to wait on the sidelines even longer.

Phil "Mr Wonderful" Davis now steps up for what will be a tough test for the up and comer. The two will headline UFC 133 in Philadelphia, and it should be an exciting fight.

Jones, Evans, and Davis' twitters have all been quiet, and no new updates have been released as of yet, however I will keep updating the story as it develops.. Evans will definitely have something to say about this.

George Saint Pierre cautious of move to middleweight

2011-04-24T21:35:00.002+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

George Saint Pierre has never seemed too keen on a move to middleweight, which is probably for good reason, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, why risk his seemingly unstoppable win streak if there is no need to? Speaking to ESPN, he had this to say.

Via ESPN UK

"We've seen in the past with boxers like Roy Jones Jnr. In my opinion, what ended Roy Jones' career-winning streak was when he went up in weight and tried to go back down. It's not the fact that he went up; it's when he tried to go back down that messed him up"

A year ago, I would have died to see a match up between Silva and GSP, but the more I think about it the more it seems like a bad idea. Who in their right mind would really want to jeopardize an illustrious win streak by moving up in weight and potentially altering their career forever? I still think GSP and Silva both have fights at their respective weight classes which I would like to see.

There is something peculiar about GSP's statement, part of me wonders if this is cerebral warfare directed towards his upcoming opponent, Jake Shields. Pierre fights both mentally and physically, so part of me wonders is this statement a slight dig at Shields. Shields looked tired and lackluster against his last opponent, Martin Kampmann, which was also his first fight back at welterweight after a stint at middleweight. Shields, like Jones Jnr, is on a massive streak so it is worth considering.

Georges Saint Pierre will face off against Jake Shields at UFC 129 on April 30th

Bellator FC 42: Live Play by Play

2011-04-24T02:12:00.011+01:00

D.J. Linderman (9-1) [205] +110 vs. Richard Hale (16-3) [205.2] -140

Ronnie Mann (18-2) [145.6] -700 vs. Josh Arocho (6-9) [147.4] +475

Christian M'Pumbu (16-3) [201.4] +165 vs. Tim Carpenter (7-0) [205] -200

Luiz Nogueira (10-1) [133.2] -345 vs. Jerod Spoon (5-1) [135.8] +280

REFRESH OFTEN

Luiz Nogueira (10-1) [133.2] vs. Jerod Spoon (5-1) [135.8]

Round one

Wow what a great round, Nogueira definitely had the stand-up advantage, he constantly pushed the pace, leaving Spoon flustered. Nog landed a takedown as did Spoon but that round was Nog's for sure.

Round two
Spoon came out with intent early and managed to string together some nice combos, however Nog rallied after maybe two minutes and brought the fight back in to his control, he also scored a takedown close to the bell.

Round three
Again this round was all Nog, he successfully controlled the cage and landed some nice combos as well as a few takedowns.

Winner: Luiz Nogueira, Unanimous Decision

Christian M'Pumbu (16-3) [201.4] vs. Tim Carpenter (7-0) [205]

Round one
The round started slowly with both fighters a little cautious, however Christian M'Pumbu landed a huge counter punch, which left Carpenter out on his feet, he then followed with another blow to finish the fight via TKO

Winner: Christian M'Pumbu, technical knock-out, round one.

Ronnie Mann (18-2) [145.6] vs. Josh Arocho (6-9) [147.4]

Round one
Arocho landed a takedown early but Mann sweeped him beautifully; ending up in Arochos guard and from there landed some nice ground and pound. It remained like that for the duration of the round so that one goes to Mann without a doubt.

Round two
Mann started the round as the aggressor, Arocho shot for the takedown but Mann sprawled and once again ended up in Arochos guard.Not much else to note for that round, it stayed the same throughout.

Round three
Again Mann brought the fight to the ground, its great to see an English fighter with some wrestling. He really dominated Arocho from here, landing some effective strikes and shredding up Arochos face. Dominant performance, Mann all day.

Winner: Ronnie Mann, unanimous decision

D.J. Linderman (9-1) [205] vs. Richard Hale (16-3) [205.2]

Round one:

Linderman pushed the pace early but Hale counter-punched effectively, it remained standing throughout the round but towards the end Hale had Linderman in trouble with a nice combo.

Round two:

Wow Linderman came out early and not only landed a spinning back-fist, but a huge takedown as well. Linderman stalked for most of the round, good war. I'd have to give that round to Linderman.

Round three
Linderman looked for the takedown early but couldn't secure it and during a failed attempt Hale landed in full mount and then took his back. From there Hale tried for the rare naked choke but he couldn't secure it.

Winner: Rich Hale, split decision

Will Mayhem Miller's signing to the UFC signify the beginning of the end for Strikeforce?

2011-04-23T01:11:00.001+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

It was recently announced that Strikeforce middleweight, Jason "Mayhem" Miller has signed for the UFC as his Strikeforce contract had run out. Now while all this may seem innocent I have reason to believe that this will have further, more serious implications on the Strikeforce brand in the near future.

Lets say Gilbert Melendez' contract runs out soon, do the UFC buy him too because he is a big name? While at this point it is all speculation, it is certainly worth thinking about. Mayhem Miller was one of Strikeforce' biggest names, not to mention one of their best fighters, and to be honest I am disappointed that they let him go so easily. The Strikeforce middleweight division is weak at best, even their champion, Ronaldo "Jacare" De Souza has expressed his frustration due to lack of a viable opponent.

Where will the line be drawn? Losing Mayhem is a huge blow to SF, I am worried that they do not have the money to convince these great fighters to stay, hell, it wasn't long ago that Nick Diaz was expressing his annoyance with Strikeforce not being able to pay him enough. Are we on the verge of a new, UFC totalitarian, era? All signs point to a big fat yes.

My bet is they milk the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament for all its worth and then fold the org, so by my predictions you will see a Strikeforce free MMA horizon by early 2012. This is both a good and bad thing, we will get to see all the dream fights we want, but on the other hand we will lose a great organisation that has put on some great, and memorable match-ups.

This signing to me is a large warning sign, it should be mid level UFC fighters moving over to the Strikeforce, instead we are seeing one of Strikeforce' biggest names going to its bigger brother. That hardly seems like good business acumen in my eyes.

Strikeforce simply cant afford to lose any more names, they need to push contract renewals. On the flip side it could be easier said than done, any money wise fighter who is worth his weight in gold will try and push for a move to the UFC, who can supply a larger pay day.

Good for Mayhem, I hope he is successful in the UFC, but as for Strikeforce? Well they really need to get on top of this situation fast or else they will be spoke of in the same sentences as Pride, WEC, Elite XC, and so many others.

Frank Mir sees his upcoming bout with Roy Nelson as a lose/lose situation, wanted fight with Carwin

2011-04-23T00:09:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Former UFC heavyweight champion, Frank Mir has expressed a lack of interest with his upcoming bout against Roy "Big Country" Nelson. Speaking to MMA 30 he had this to say.

Via MMA 30

"I really didn't like the idea first, Roy is coming off a loss to Dos Santos and the way our sport works I want to fight a fight where I have a lot to gain, a win for either of us doesn't move us towards a title shot. I was looking for a fight with Carwin, he has only lost in a title fight"

I can understand where he is coming from as Big Country is coming off a loss, however a rematch with Carwin would be a bad idea in my opinion as Mir had little to offer him in their first clash of heads.

Mir should not overlook Roy Nelson, after all, Nelson has a win over him in a grappling tourney, and if he comes into the bout with a lazy approach it will be a short night. Most people let Nelsons size fool them, but make no mistake, this guy means business.

Personally I think this is going to be a great fight and it will propel either fighter much closer to a title shot. You can catch this fight at UFC 130, which will also see the end of the Frankie Edgar/Gray Maynard trilogy.

Be sure to check out the full interview below.

It has begun, Jason "Mayhem" Miller has signed with the UFC

2011-04-22T22:12:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Looks like the UFC is beginning its acquisition of any talent that Strikeforce has left, It has been announced by MMA Fighting that Jason "Mayhem" Miller has signed a multi- fight contract with the sports biggest organisation.

Via MMA Fighting

"I will beat the brakes off most of the guys in the middleweight divisions in the UFC," he said. "I guaran-damn-tee it."

Miller was out of contract with Strikeforce which enabled him to sign for the UFC. This will be interesting, and there are definitely a lot of exciting fights for him there.

When his first fight will be however, is still an unknown. This is big news , will we see this happening more and more until Strikeforce have no more legit fighters? It seems like it, Miller was a strong fighter to have in SF's thin middleweight division.

Rashad Evans says Jon Jones made "a snake move"

2011-04-22T01:30:00.001+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Rashad Evans still feels upset over Jon Jones' decision to fight him, and understandably so, before hand both fighters had sworn allegiance to eachother, but after Jones put together a few wins Jones changed his tune. Speaking to Pro MMA Radio he had this to say.

Via mmanews.com

"I don't want people to feel sorry for me. It wasn't about him being on the team. What's done is done. The thing that upsets me about Jon is how he threw me under the bus because he said he'd fight me after all that time we said we wouldn't fight each other. It was a snake move and I don't like snake moves. Be a man."

I can empathize with Evans here to an extant, Jones put Evans in a tough position and made him look like a coward, especially when both fighters had been so publicly against the thought of fighting, after all these guys were supposed to be friends.

It is hard to say if Jones' initial call out was simply a mistake which could be attributed to his age, and being inexperienced with the media. However there was no real apology issued and I feel their coach, Greg Jackson, could have done more to calm the issue before it spiraled out of control into the rivalry we have now.

Both fighters know what went down in training, it is likely that they confided in each other too so I wonder which fighter has the biggest exploitable weakness?

There has been no official date for this fight by the UFC, hopefully we will hear soon, I will be sure to keep you informed as the story develops.

Brittney Palmer photo shoot.. hot! (Video)

2011-04-21T20:46:00.001+01:00

By Rob Billington

One of the greatest things about the WEC/UFC merger was the addition of hotter than hell ring girl Brittney Palmer.

Enjoy the photo shoot guys!

Dana White green-lights Vitor Belfort vs Yoshihiro Akiyama for UFC 133

2011-04-21T20:05:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

For a while it seemed like Vitor Belfort would be waiting for an opponent, he himself had been getting frustrated with being on the sidelines, calling out Wanderlei Silva and Anderson Silva.

Looks like all that has changed, speaking to ESPN UK, UFC president Dana White has confirmed that Belfot will face Akiyama.

Via ESPN/Dana White

“Coming off three straight ‘Fight of the Night’ performances, Yoshihiro Akiyama will take on former UFC light-heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort in Philadelphia.”

This should be an exciting fight, I call Belfort to win this as his hands will be too much for Akiyama. The fight will be at UFC 133, the card before the alleged "UFC: Rio" event. Although I am not excited for a Belfort rematch with Silva, I can certainly see him climbing up the ladder to get that far. Providing Wandy gets past Leben, and Belfort gets past Akiyama, a rematch between the two would be great.

The middleweight picture is finally coming together, it seemed for a while that if Silva beat Okami we would have a boring division, it is now starting to heat up again. Now if only Chael Sonnen worked out his case with the NSAC..

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua back training with Rafael Cordeiro, legendary coach pleased.

2011-04-21T19:22:00.001+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

I reported a few days back that Shogun was considering a move to former Chute Box trainer Rafael Cordeiro, the move has since been completed and Cordeiro cant help but be impressed with Rua's talent.

Via Tatame

“We started pretty well yesterday (Tuesday), he came here all excited, and that shows he’s willing to train a lot. We started by doing some Muay Thai training, we corrected some of his moves so that I could see how he was doing, and he’s doing just fine. It’s easy to take Shogun to the top again, he is gifted”

Shogun is coming off a crushing loss to UFC light heavyweight champ, Jon Jones, in which he also lost his title. Since coming from Pride to the UFC, Shogun has looked unpredictable, he has had poor performances against both Griffin and Coleman, hopefully we will see a return to old form.

Rua's next fight will be against an opponent who already has a win over him; Forrest Griffin, it definitely will be a tough test for the Brazilian, but now that he is back with Rafael Cordeiro I feel we will see him rejuvenated, lets not forget that Cordeiro coaches such big names like Wanderlei Silva and Fabricio Werdum, so there will be no shortage of talented fighters for him to train with if nothing else.

Lyoto Machida on past mistakes

2011-04-21T18:54:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Lyoto Machida was once a seemingly unsolvable puzzle in the MMA game, however after two back to back losses the Brazilian Karate maestro looks back on past mistakes and how he can right those wrongs.

Via Sherdog

“I came back after my first loss, which was a knockout. I knew Quinton was very explosive and very powerful, and I didn't want to take too much risk in the beginning of the fight,in the third round, I felt that Quinton might have tired out a little bit, so I was not as hesitant to pull the trigger. But I realized that I should have done that earlier. I think the outcome would have been different. Maybe I would have finished the fight.”

Machida faced "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 123, it was a close fight in which he nearly finished Rampage during round three. If he hadn't been so shy to pull the trigger he could of conceivably won the fight, this seems to be a reoccurring problem for counter strikers like Machida, if he wants to win a fight which goes to the Judges he will need to apply more pressure instead of sitting back and waiting to exploit any openings.

You can see Lyoto in action at UFC 129 against living legend Randy Couture, Couture has said this will be his last fight, but if either fighter can pull off a win they should at least be put in title discussion. I believe both fighters would be great match ups with the seemingly unstoppable Jon Jones.

Vitor Belfort calls for Anderson Silva rematch, calls Silva "insecure"

2011-04-21T00:48:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Vitor Belfort is still upset about how his fight with Anderson Silva went down, and rightfully so, that front kick to the head was not only a highlight reel moment, it was also a very rare occurrence in MMA.

Speaking to ESPN, Belfort had this to say.

"I would like to get the rematch to be sure. It left a bad taste because I know I was feeling very well. Everybody says I was superior in the beginning of the battle, looking for the fight, and I know he was insecure to trade with the hands."

Belfort sure is doing a lot of talking lately, calling out Wanderlei, and now campaigning for a rematch with Silva. It seems to me like he is trying to take a page out of Chael Sonnen's talk-yourself-into-a-fight book, however it is lacking the panache that Sonnen brings.

To say he was superior in a fight where there was maybe twenty maximum strikes thrown is grasping straws to an extent, there was no point in the short lived match-up where Silva looked threatened, as far as i'm concerned he looked no better than Irvin or Griffin.

Vitor will likely have to climb back up the ladder after such a humiliating loss, Okami is next in line, after that it should be Sonnen if he can get a win in a tune up fight first. Sorry Vitor, looks like you will be sitting on the bench for a while.

Rashad Evans turns Jon Jones into a pop star

2011-04-20T01:36:00.001+01:00

Article by Rob Billington/picture by Rashad Evans

Looks like the Rashad Evans/Jon Jones beef continues. Evans posted this to his website earlier with the following caption.

Via RashadEvans.tv

"Pick up Bones latest album although most of it isn’t really him.. Bones, your mask is slipping! Can’t fake 2 much longer!"

In case you kids didn't know he is comparing Jon Jones to Milli Vanilli, an old school pop group who infamously got caught lip-syncing while on stage.

I presume this is in reference to Evans allegations that Jones has a fake persona that he portrays to the media.

Will Jones take the high road? or will he he retaliate?. This "beef" is starting to heat up and become over cooked. This fight cant come soon enough, UFC hurry up and get this fight going!

So what do you guys think? was Rashad's photo-shopping funny or more meh?

5 of the craziest MMA pre-fight entances

2011-04-18T17:15:00.001+01:00

Back in the Pride days it was common place for a lot of fighters to have outlandish entrances to the arena, which can be attributed to the Japanese and their love of the spectacle. As MMA started to shift towards a more predominantly American audience the crazy intros stopped happening as often, however there are still a few hilarious UFC ones. Join me as I explore some of the weirdest and funny walk outs in MMA.

This is one of my favorite's, Silva has never been one to take himself too seriously and this pretty much sums it up. He definitely has some impressive moves both in and outside the octagon, the funniest thing about this video is how completely awkward Wanderlei Silva looks standing behind Anderson as he struts his stuff.

Good ol' Genki Sudo, dressed up as a baseball player? check, dancing cheerleaders? check, robot dance? check, dry ice smoke producing backpack? check. This entrance is all kinds of win!

This was a crazy fight for many reasons, firstly it was a mixed rules match, one round kickboxing and one round MMA, Nagashima managed to KO legendary grappler Shinya Aoki in the MMA round, but even crazier than that was Nagashima's entrance, complete with Cosplay, dancing girls, and him experimenting with some drag costume. Who would have thought a drag queen would KO Aoki.

Can you say YES?! Diego Sanchez is an intense man and always brings it, but it was this entrance against Joe Stevenson that sticks in my mind. His intensity is surely unrivaled, the guy looks like he has just broken out of a mental home. I wouldn't want to be in a cage with him..

No crazy entrance list would be complete without Sakuraba, he is a fighting legend and coincidentally had some of the weirdest intro's. Here is a compilation of all of his flamboyant entrances, enjoy!

This is not all however, there are still plenty more to get through and I will resume this list at a later date. Until then, sit back and enjoy these crazy intros.. Hard to believe these guys could twist you inside out in a few minutes!

Why Anderson Silva would beat Jon Jones

2011-04-17T21:30:00.000+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

I feel with all the talk going on about Jones fighting Silva and Jones likely winning I should do an article on the matter, for no other reason but to remind people whats up.

Jon Jones is an exciting prospect no doubt, he has good wrestling and great stand-up which is probably the most devastating combination you can have in MMA, whereas Silva has some of the best Muay Thai we have seen, as well as competent jiu-jitsu.

It is understandable that people give Jones a great chance, after all, wrestling is the most important thing you can bring to the cage when fighting Silva and Jones brings that and then some, but I firmly believe Silva can win, here's the break-down.

Stand-up
Anderson without question has the better stand-up, and more straight KO power. It is hard to tell how Jones' long reach would come in to effect but Silva has amazing power which he can use both offensively and defensively so whether Jones is applying pressure or sitting back Silva should be able to utilize leg kicks and take the role of a counter boxer, which I envision happening.

Clinch
This is where the fight could be make or break for both fighters, both like using the Muay Thai clinch, and both are very effective there. It is hard to say who is superior but again I believe it has to be Silva, he has more experience there and not to mention more fights that have been won from there.

Wrestling
This without a doubt goes to Jon Jones, his greco-roman can be frightening at times. There is no doubt in my mind that he could take Silva down and land some devastating strikes, which leads me to..

On the mat
Probably the hardest part of the fight to call would be here, both fighters have long frames. I can see Silva using his long legs in the guard to keep Jones from really piling on the damage, after all it is very hard to put Silva away as evident in the Chael Sonnen fight. We do not know how good Jones' sub defense is as it hasn't really been tested. Silva's jiu-jitsu isn't given enough credit in my opinion, Jones often leaves his arms hanging out and I definitely think "The Spider" would capitalize on that.

So there you have it, to even contemplate such a fight at this stage is ridiculous in my opinion as Jones hasn't even defended his belt once, but people are talking about it and favoring Jones to win, which I think is crazy. Anderson recently said he wont fight Jones because they are friends, this is also crazy, there is too much craziness going around. Do I want to see an over-sized light heavyweight fight a over-sized middleweight? No.

Lately there has been too much talk of these fights happening, GSP vs Silva, Silva vs Jones and so on, I originally thought GSP vs Silva would be great, but as I think more about it how about we just leave these guys in their divisions and see how dominant they can be.

Silva and GSP have both got their work cut out for them with Okami and Shields respectively, lets see what happens there and enjoy what we are used to. Jones has got at least five great match-ups at light heavyweight before we should even be mentioning this.

Has Jon Jones forgotten how to be respectful?

2011-04-17T16:23:00.002+01:00

Article by Rob Billington

Jon Jones has been praised throughout his career for his respect of opponents, it seems that lately he has decided to change his tune, claiming that, "it has always been me finishing him" in reference to him training with former UFC champion and partner Rashad Evans.

These are not words of a humble man, considering it was he who said this without any catalyst, it simply came out of the blue. Rashad had said nothing to warrant this, all the stories in circulation about Evans getting the better of Jones in training had come from unreliable press sources.

Following Jon Jones' story of how training went, Rashad Evans, never one to bite his tongue, had this to say over Twitter.

@jonnybones it's been on!! Get off your own fan bus cuz nobody is driving!! U ain't as raw as u believe & I'm gonna show ya!!

@jonnybones must b high! Cuz remember him looking at me begging me 2 let him up cuz he couldn't get back 2 his feet in training.

To which Jon Jones said:

@SugaRashadEvans #cmonson

I'm a firm believer that Jones is about to change his tune permanently, hell, he already did in regards to fighting Rashad Evans and now he seems to be borderline smug and cocky. For a man who hasn't even defended his belt once he is sure acting like cock of the walk.

This can be attributed to his fans, who are blindly, perhaps idiotically, saying he would crush middleweight champion Anderson Silva, in my opinion the two fighters shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath until Jones has cleared out his division and even then it may be too late for such a super fight to happen.

It is important that Jon Jones stays focused and doesn't surround himself in the crazy hype his fans are perpetuating, if he doesn't then fighting Rashad could be an exercise in humility. I believe that Rashad has the tools to take down Jones, people seem to forget that Rashad was throwing large heavyweights around like rag dolls during TUF season 2, and if the reports are true that Jones has trouble off his back then he will be in for a long night.

Bottom line is if Jones was as humble as his fans perpetuate he would not be smack talking about Evans, he would have taken the moral high ground. Looks like that is out the window.

Bellator FC 41: Warren vs Galvao, live play-by-play

2011-04-17T01:51:00.017+01:00

Joe Warren (136.8 lbs.) vs. Marcos Galvao (136.6 lbs.)

Zach Makovsky (135.4 lbs.) vs. Chad Robichaux (134.2 lbs.)

Wilson Reis (145.6 lbs.) vs. Patricio Freire (145.8 lbs.)*

Kenny Foster (146 lbs.) vs. Daniel Straus (145.4 lbs.)

Looks to be a solid event, two five rounders.. remember to refresh after every round!

Kenny Foster (146 lbs.) vs. Daniel Straus (145.4 lbs.)

Round 1
A pretty close round, Foster had the edge in the stand-up but I feel that Straus won the round by landing an impressive flying knee which resulted in a takedown for him.

Round 2
Round 2 was highlighted by Straus and his takedowns, he looked good throughout, taking down Foster at will. Nothing else significant.

Round 3
Another similar round, Straus used his wrestling to neutralize Fosters stand-up. Straus then mounted Foster against the fence, as Foster tried to scramble Straus locked in a guillotine.

Winner: Daniel Straus, guillotine, round one.

Zach Makovsky (135.4 lbs.) vs. Chad Robichaux (134.2 lbs.)

Round 1
A good back and forth round but it was Makovsky had the edge due to multiple take-downs. Robichaux looks dangerous from his back though so a sub may not be out of the question

Round 2
A more dominant round from Makovsy, he came close to subbing Robichaux twice and landed some really impressive slams/take-downs

Round 3
Makovsky came out and landed a take-down early, from there he obtained full mount and pounded Robichaux to snatch a TKO victory

Winner: Zach Makovsky, TKO, Round 3

Wilson Reis (145.6 lbs.) vs. Patricio Freire (145.8 lbs.)

Round 1
A good back and forth round, Reis pressing Freire up against the fence on a few occasions, however I feel it was Patricio who stole the round with a late take-down

Round 2
Back and forth, Reis landed a take-down early and kept the fight there till Freire managed to scramble back up. Reis landed another take-down shortly after, I have to give that round to Reis.

Round 3
Patricio with some nice striking early, but Reis gave as good as he got. Wow! Patricio launched a volley of shots and dropped Reis, the dazed fighter tried to stand back up but Freire peppered him with more strikes to win via KO

Winner: Patricio Freire, KO, round 3

Joe Warren (136.8 lbs.) vs. Marcos Galvao (136.6 lbs.)

Round 1
I would definitely give that round to Galvao, every time Warren went for the take-down it was Galvao who ended up on top, this rang true in all but one instance.

Round 2
Warren attempted many take-downs and only got one, he ate a lot of knees in the process but none the less he pushed the pace, a late take-down will likely lead to him winning the round.

Round 3
Warren spent most of the round on top of Galvao throwing some nice gnp, he definitely won this round however it's hard to tell how the judges will see it. Close fight.

Winner:Joe Warren by unanimous decision

Let the war of words commence! Jon Jones on Rashad Evans: "It has always been me finishing him"

2011-04-15T23:41:00.001+01:00

Jon Jones has remained tight lipped since his former training partner and future opponent Rashad Evans left Greg Jacksons MMA, but it seems he is growing in confidence.. In a recent interview with ESPN he has gone as far as saying that he has had the opportunity to finish Rashad on a number of occasions.

Via ESPN/Josh Gross

"We fought each other in practice, a finish has been possible several times and it has always been me finishing him. I never did it out of respect that he was the elder of the school."

I am surprised that Jones has come out and said this, He usually comes across as being humble and respectful, coming out and saying something like this is disrespectful in my book and I am looking forward to hearing Rashads retort.

If true, this proves to be interesting, however I think Rashad is a lot tougher than some people give him credit for. Jones needs to be careful and not get caught up in his own hype which is a little like what happened to Evans when he won the title.

One thing is for certain, Rashad is going to blow his top.. I'll keep you guys posted if there is any developments.

Mauricio "Shugun" Rua considers reuniting with former Chute Box trainer Rafael Cordeiro for upcoming Griffin bout

2011-04-15T22:40:00.001+01:00

Following his devastating loss to Jon Jones, Shogun Rua is considering returning to train with legendary Chute Box coach Rafael Cordeiro. This would be a great move, I posted a video a few months back of Wanderlei and Rafael putting out the invitation to reunite Chute Box which you can see here.

Speaking to Sherdog, Shogun mulls over the possibilities.

Via Sherdog

“It’s an open possibility, a possibility I’m considering, I’m always looking to develop my game, and I have a great affection for Rafael, who was my coach in the past."

It has recently been announced that Shogun will likely face Forrest Griffin at UFC: Rio, this will be a tough fight for Rua as Griffin already has a win over him. Shogun, who has looked wobbly throughout his UFC career needs a change up in my opinion, and a camp with Rafael Cordeiro would be the perfect solution.

UFC Rio is rumored to happen sometime in August, with Anderson Silva vs Yushin Okami as the main event.

Rafael Cordeiro now runs Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, California, where he trains the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Fabricio Werdum, and Renato "Babalu" Sobral.

UFC 130: Edgar vs Maynard trailer

2011-04-15T16:54:00.001+01:00

UFC 130 will commence May 28th, 2011 at the MGM arena, and it will be the third time Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard face off against each other.

I cant wait for this card, we get to see Rampage against Hamill and Mir face off against Nelson. The main event will be epic for sure, I predict Frankie taking it this time though.

UFC Primetime: St-Pierre vs Shields episode 1

2011-04-15T03:41:00.001+01:00

UFC 129 is just two weeks away and it seems the long wait is nearly over, featuring Canadian superstar George Saint Pierre face off aginst the six year undefeated Jake Shields, this will be a fight you wont want to miss.

You see this fight isn't going to be a stand-up brawl, nor a war in my opinion, but more like a complicated chess match between two great strategists. Shields has gone six years undefeated, while Pierre has remained seemingly untouchable.

People have been quick to write off Jake Shields but any savvy MMA fan knows he is a legit threat, (see this article I did a couple of months back)

Enjoy the Primetime and be sure to share with your friends.

Nick Diaz to test the waters in professional boxing

2011-04-15T02:56:00.002+01:00

Nick Diaz, following his win over Paul Daley, has stated that he is losing interest in MMA, citing lack of a big pay day; amongst other things, as his main reasons.

Via HDnet, (Transcription by Sherdog)

“[MMA] doesn't have anybody else for me to fight right now. I'm better than all these guys they have, the guys [the media] have ranked above me, I'm sure they don't want to fight me. I don't see much of a future in this sport for me. I honestly don't, especially if there's not a whole [lot] of money going on.”

This comes as a surprise to me, Diaz netted $175,000 for defeating Paul Daley, and for one of the more active MMA fighters, (fighting 3-4 times a year) he sure does a lot of complaining for the amount of money he is pulling in.

While the Strikeforce talent pool at welterweight is pretty weak at best I feel a move to boxing would be an unwise decision for both his career and overall health. Yes Diaz has good boxing, but that is MMA boxing, which is an entirely different game.

It looks as if former IBF super middleweight champ Jeff Lacy will be the man he meets in the squared circle. Diaz has a lot of scar tissue and doesn't use much head movement, coupled with the fact that he stays relatively flat footed I think this will be a quick win for Lacy.

I would love to see an MMA fighter do well in a boxing ring, do I think Diaz is the man for the job? He's as good as any, but good wont cut it against a professional boxer. Check out the interview below.

Are Strikeforce vs UFC fights such a good idea?

2011-04-14T21:39:00.001+01:00

Since UFC's parent company, Zuffa LLC, has purchased the second largest MMA organisation in the game, Strikeforce, people have been speculating on match-ups to make, Diaz vs GSP, Overeem vs Velasquez etc. This would be many a MMA fans dream, but would it be good business practice in the long run?

The answer, in my book, has to be no. It is easy to get ahead of ourselves and call for the big cross-promotional fights, but I firmly believe that they would end up being the final nails in the coffin for Strikeforce.

Take Nick Diaz for example, he has entirely cleared out his division of credible, and not so credible opponents alike, while the easy solution is to have him fight George Saint Pierre (providing he gets past Shields), is it really worth it to jeopardize the credibility of Strikeforce?

People quickly forget that Diaz was booted from the UFC after a three fight losing streak, all via unanimous decision. This leads me to think about the way Zuffa would execute these matches, would they be three round non title? or five round title fights to unify the belts? Diaz would definitely have a hard time for three rounds and I believe that GSP would eek out another UD, over the course of five rounds it's possible that Diaz could win, but the odds would be against him.

Diaz' kryptonite is wrestling, In Strikeforce he has been sheltered from that and instead been but up against predominantly stand-up fighters so it is hard to gauge exactly how much he has improved. What if he looses to GSP? We have a shallow welterweight division in Strikeforce and their number one star has been beaten, thus losing a lot of his, and the promotions marketability. This can be applied to most of Strikeforce' divisions excluding the heavyweights.

UFC fan-boy I am not, but lets face it, if you round up ten UFC lightweights and put them against ten Strikeforce lightweights its the former that will come out on top, I ask you to try this yourself in each division. So while it may be worth it too see a handful of super fights, is it really worth it to see a whole company collapse?

Why don't we just hypothesize these dream match-ups until Strikeforce have five plus, solid, non UFC, guys in their divisions, guys like Tyron Woodley, a great prospect who will likely be fed to the sharks against Diaz in the same way Beerbohm was to Aoki, while Woodley is a wrestler, he has only had eight professional fights as opposed to Diaz' thirty three.

Bottom line; lets just leave things as they are, lets not rock the boat too much before it capsizes and we have another Pride style wreckage.

Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson on Fedor, Cavalcante

2011-04-14T20:05:00.002+01:00

In a video interview with Clinch Gear radio, Dan Henderson, fresh off his victory over Rafael Cavalcante discusses whats next for him in Strikeforce, which will most likely be a super-fight between himself and Fedor Emelianenko. Man i'm so excited for this!

Via Clinch Gear

Vitor Belfort speaks out on Wanderlei Silva: "He needs to learn to talk less and fight more"

2011-04-14T15:40:00.001+01:00

Vitor Belfort has never been shy when it comes to speaking his mind, a month or so ago he was called out by Pride superstar Wanderlei Silva via Tatame's website but the bout never materialized due to Silva Changing his tune and instead asking for Chris Leben.

Speaking to Tatame on his frustration with Wanderlei:

"Well, my friend, what can I do? The tongue is a man’s whip and he needs to learn to talk less and fight more. But, what I can do, right? That’s life, bro, I don’t care about it, I’m focused for my next challenge."

Following his devastating loss to UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva a bout with Wandy would have been the dream match up for Belfort, a straight stand-up brawl against a fighter whom he has already beaten in the past.

Hopefully The UFC put Vitor on their upcoming Rio card against a game opponent, his future is still bright. Meanwhile Wanderlei Silva will be facing off against Chris Leben at UFC 132.

Cindy Dandois Fights Whilst Unknowingly Pregnant, Possible Bout With Gina Carano Scrapped

2011-04-14T01:17:00.000+01:00

In one of the more bizarre stories I've covered; Female MMA fighter Cindy Dandois has pulled out of a possible bout with MMA superstar Gina Carano because she is, wait for it.. Three months pregnant.

Via Steve Cofield

"I did tests before because my weight was more difficult to reach, but they were all negative so I didn't realize it,"

This would be relatively tame news except for the fact that Dandois, unbeknown-st to herself, won a fight whilst pregnant! This is all pretty crazy stuff, however I am glad to report that she is happy to be pregnant and that the baby is healthy; despite her having a 1 round throw-down with Jorina Baars in which she won by TKO.

There is only one lesson to be learned here.. Don't cross a pregnant woman!

John Howard to Face Off Against Danish Kick-boxer Martin Kampmann

2011-04-13T23:15:00.000+01:00

It looks like we will be treated to a striking showcase at UFC Live 4 as John Howard looks to be facing off against Martin Kampmann.

Via UFC.com

“Verbal agreements are in for a battle between two of the best strikers in the welterweight division as John “Doomsday” Howard takes on Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann,” - Dana White

Kampmann is coming off a controversial loss to Diego Sanchez while Howard is coming off a loss to perennial top 5 welterweight Thiago Alves.

It will be interesting to see he pulls out the win here as this is a really tough fight to call, and with both fighters coming off two losses in a row you have to wonder if either will be cut in the event of a flat performance, hopefully i'm just getting ahead of myself.

UFC on Versus 4 will be taking place on June 26, at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it is shaping up to be a great card.

Mike Swick, Roger Huerta, and Phil Baroni in Thailand.. Drinking Cobra Blood!

2011-04-13T20:35:00.001+01:00

Here we have Mike Swick, Phil Baroni, and Roger Huerta ripping it up in Thailand, man it looks awesome over there, I am envious! Over the past couple of weeks they have been issuing dares to each other but the latest one goes over the edge a bit.

In the video above, Phil Baroni and Roger Huerta drink Cobra blood, it looks pretty disgusting, but doesn't seem to phase Baroni, he even takes it a step further by eating the Cobras penis, bone and all.

The guys are hilarious, hopefully we will see all three return to the cage soon, Swick has been gone for way too long. Until then I am enjoying their Vblog dares, lets hope no "lady boys" get involved!

Paul Daley Reflects on Loss to Nick Diaz

2011-04-13T17:21:00.002+01:00

Paul Daley, fresh off his loss to Strikeforce welterweight champion, Nick Diaz, weighs in on the how the fight went down.

Via Mens Fitness

"I got hit in the first two minutes and I never fully recovered from that – for the rest of the round I was just running on instinct. I think I still did pretty well though because I managed to knock him down. I love being in fights like that, giving people some entertainment and making their Saturday night TV a bit better."

Daley seems to be coming across as a man humbled lately, which can only be a good thing for his image, he is a entertaining fighter and always brings it, so here's hoping he doesn't fly off the handle any time soon.

It is likely that we will see Daley fight under the Zuffa/Strikeforce banner again as it seemed that UFC president, Dana White was entertained and impressed, following the fight he tweeted: "I give him all the respect in the world for that fight. They went to war!".

So although he lost one of the biggest fights of his career on Saturday night, the future is looking bright for Paul Daley.

Anderson Siva weighs in on George Saint Pierre, Jon Jones

2011-04-13T16:42:00.001+01:00

Ron Kruck of HDnet had a chance to catch up with Anderson Silva during the opening of the new Black House gym in San Diego, California. " The Spider" reflected on his win over Vitor Belfort, George Saint Pierre, and what the future holds for him.

George Saint Pierre: Anderson Silva "best pound for pound"

2011-04-12T23:03:00.002+01:00

It seems like a super fight between welterweight champion George Saint Pierre and middleweight champion Anderson Silva is getting more and more unlikely but that does not stop GSP from reflecting on the subject.

Via Tatame

“As a MMA fan, I wanted to fight him. I believe he’s the best pound for pound fighter of the world, but like I said: no one is unbeatable, If I find a way to defeat him, I’d set the right strategy to do it”

GSP is a master at coming in with the right game plan, as a huge Silva fan I would be inclined to believe that "The Spider" would exit the octagon as the winner, however it would be far from an easy fight.

We will probably never see this match up which is a shame as it would probably be the biggest super fight in MMA history. I suppose we can keep dreaming, it's always fun to hypothesize anyway.

Tito Ortiz relates with Michael Bisping

2011-04-12T22:36:00.000+01:00

In MMA it is rare that a fighter is as disliked as Tito Ortiz, up until recently he was pound-for-pound the most hated fighter in the UFC, but a new contender entered the fray after UFC 127, that man is Michael Bisping.

It makes sense for the black sheep to flock together, speaking to Five Knuckles Tito had this to say.

Via fiveknuckles.com

"He's doing something right. You may not like him, other people may not like him, but there's some people who do like him. He's getting noticed and it's a part of entertainment. It's part of showmanship. You know, there are guys who are disrespectful and guys who aren't. And us who are, sometimes we make mistakes and learn from them and sometimes we don't and continue to do them."

Bisping has never been what one would call disrespectful, sure he is brash and cocky, but there would be something wrong if he wasn't.. he's a fighter for Christ sake. However that all changed at UFC 127 where; after weeks of video assaults launched by Jorge Rivera and his camp Bisping lost his cool. The Brit spat at Jorge's corner men and hit Rivera with an illegal knee.

Since the incident Bisping has formally apologized and vowed to never stoop that low again. So what do you guys think? Are Ortiz and Bisping a match made in heaven?

Cesar Gracie says no to his camp fighting eachother

2011-04-12T16:19:00.000+01:00

With two of his fighters, Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez coming off impressive wins this weekend, Cesar Gracie weighs in on his view of same camp fighters clashing heads.

Via Studiomma.com

"As far as Nick Diaz is concerned, there's nothing out there like him, really. I'd love for him to fight GSP but I think his teammate's gonna take care of business. My guys won't fight each other, it's just one of the laws we got"

The teammate in question is none other than Jake Shields, who has a scheduled bout with welterweight UFC champion Georges Saint Pierre, so if we see Jake win; which I think is very possible, then we wont see Diaz in the octagon against GSP.

It is good to see camp solidarity in my opinion, the recent rift in Greg Jacksons camp between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans has been a source of negativity from the press towards both Greg Jackson and his fighters. So while we wont be seeing Diaz fight Shields any time soon it does open the door for many other dream match ups in both welterweight and middleweight divisions. Who wouldn't want to see Shields face off against Maia, Sonnen, or Silva if he loses to GSP?

Here is the full interview.

Paul Daley: "I feel the fight was stopped early"

2011-04-11T14:01:00.000+01:00

Check out this post fight interview Daley has with Fighthub.tv

Jardine's coach feels he won the fight.

2011-04-11T01:40:00.001+01:00

Techno Viking

It seems Keith Jardine's trainer, Mike Winklejohn was viewing the fight through rose tinted shades.

Via sherdog.com

“I thought Keith won the fight. I thought he won rounds one and two. I know round two was a little closer, but I thought he won the round,”

I have to disagree, Mousasi effectively stalked Jardine for rounds 2 and 3, and at no point did he look in any real danger. The reason that this fight was a draw was because of Mousasi's illegal up-kick, coupled with the fact that he was likely down on the scorecards in round 1 due to Jardine scoring a take-down.

However what I will say is that Jardine is definitely in for a chance to win if he gets a full training camp. I doubt there is many mixed martial artists out there who would fight Mousasi on a weeks notice so props to Jardine.

Dana White on Nick Diaz, Strikeforce change-ups and more!

2011-04-11T01:20:00.000+01:00

Looks like Uncle Dana has come over to Strikeforce to check out how his little pet is doing. As always Ariel delivers the goods with another good interview.

In the video below Dana discusses some possible change-ups, upcoming fights, and also announces that we will see Chris Leben face off against Wanderlei Silva, that is going to be a great fight. I cant wait!

Strikeforce: Diaz V Daley afterthoughts.

2011-04-10T23:23:00.003+01:00

Once again Strikeforce has shown us that they know how to put on a great card, even if their talent pool is lacking. First up we had Japanese grappler Shinya Aoki face off against the always game Lyle Beerbohm, this was always a mis-match as Aoki has a lot more experience than the relatively green Beerbohm and the fight accurately portrayed that fact.

Beerbohm rushed Aoki early and unwisely took the fight to where Aoki is best; the grappling game, as a result this fight was short lived. Once Aoki got a hold of Beerbohm he showed his superiority by quickly dragging the fight to the mat, taking his back, and pulling off a neck crank/guillotine submission with relative ease. Nothing new for Aoki really but it's always good to see him showcase his grappling prowess.

Next up we had Gegard Mousasi vs Keith Jardine, this fight on paper was always going to be a win for Mousasi in my opinion; especially considering "The Dean Of Mean" took the fight on a little over a weeks notice. The fight ended in a majority draw but this was not an accurate representation of Mousasi's dominance.

In the 1st round Mousasi accidentally up-kicked Jardine and was docked a point for his efforts; this, as well as Jardine's solid effort in the opener caused Mousasi to lose the round. However for the next two rounds it was all Mousasi, he completely dominated the stand up and left Jardine battered and bloody by the end of round three.

Scott Coker has hinted at a rematch for this fight and It will be interesting to see how Jardine does with a proper camp, but I see Mousasi pulling off the win.

Then it was on to the co-main event, Gilbert Melendez vs Tatsuya Kawajiri. In their last meeting it ended up being a unanimous decision win for Melendez and I predicted the same for the rematch, I however, was sorely mistaken. Melendez came out like a man possessed and completely dominated Kawajiri, beating him in every exchange and eventually getting it to the ground where he landed some vicious elbows and punches on his way to a technical knock out.

Post fight Melendez called out Frankie Edgar, I think this would be a great match up as both fighters always bring it. Make it happen!

That leads us nicely on to the main event, Nick Diaz v Paul Daley. This fight was one of the best back and forth's I have seen in a long time, It was Daley who was getting the better of the exchanges at the beginning, he managed to put Diaz in severe trouble, dropping him twice.

It seemed that during the exchanges Diaz was slowly chipping away at Daley with some nice body shots. Daley isn't known for his stellar cardio and has missed weight before in fights; this, coupled with blowing his wad early trying to finish Diaz cost him the fight, he simply didn't look himself after he tried to finish Diaz.

The fight was stopped with three seconds to go and I felt it was a little premature, while Daley was clearly dazed; I believe he had a little more left in him. After an exchange with Diaz he was wobbly and tried to turn, this made him lose his balance and trip, it wasn't long after that Big John called a stop to the fight.

So what next for Diaz? Well it looks like Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has announced that the relatively green Tyron Woodley will be next for the Stockton brawler, this to me, is another mis-match on the same level as Beerbohm/Aoki, however Woodley has legit wrestling credentials that could make for an interesting fight.

All in all a great card, it wasn't pretty, but it was still a fun card to watch and I feel that as long as SF keep putting out these solid showings they will be safe from Zuffa influenced liquidation.

.

The Top Ten Mixed Martial Arts Prospects under 25 part 2 (4-1)

2011-04-09T02:41:00.002+01:00

Ok so if you guys haven't checked numbers 10-5 I suggest you read them here, now I ask you to remember Jon Jones is NOT in this list, this is purely prospects who currently do not hold a belt. Remember that before you go on your "OmG ROFL" sprees. Enjoy honkies.

"I better be number one!"

4. Charles Olivera

Promotion: UFC
Age: 21
Record: 14-1
Weight Class: Lightweight
Team: Bronx Gold Team Usa

Charles Olivera is definitely one of the most exciting prospects to ever compete in MMA. Charles is 14-1 in his short MMA career, with victories over the Ultimate Fighter season 8 winner Efrain Escudero as well as submitting Darren Elkins in his UFC debut. His only loss came against top 5 lightweight Jim Miller which is understandable considering Miller's current demolition of everyone of lightweight proportion. I think the defeat against Miller could be good for Olivera as less pressure will be on him when he returns to the cage. One thing is for certain, one day he will be a title contender. It is rare we see a fighter with such slick skills at such a young age.

3. Luke Rockhold

Promotion: Strikeforce
Age: 26
Record: 7-1
Weight Class: Middleweight
Team: A.K.A

American Kickboxing Academy product Luke Rockhold is currently 7-1. With all his fights ending within the first round, Luke is always down to fight, and what makes the San Jose native so special is he started both wrestling and jiu jitsu in seventh grade so he progressed equally in both martial arts making him a tremendous grappler. Luke has it all going for him, great coaches and great team mates at A.K,A. The only thing letting him down is his own body, he has been injured for over a year which has resulted in him pulling out of high profile bouts against Matt Lindland and Tim Kennedy. Hopefully 2011 will be a break out year for Rockhold, one solid win and he could be in line for a title shot against Jacare.

2. Chris Weidman

Promotion: UFC
Age: 26
Record: 5-0
Weight Class: Middleweight
Team: Serra/Longo

Former two time Division 1 All-American Chris Weidman recently stepped up to the plate on two weeks notice to take on Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara, he was a big under dog but managed to dominate the vastly more experienced fighter.After only a year training BJJ Weidman particpated in the 2009 ADCC where he was out pointed by multiple time world champion Andre Galvao. Granted, Weidman doesn’t have a wealth of experience but if he continues to progresses at the rate he has done so far within the next two years he will be a title contender in the 185 lbs division.

1. Anthony Pettis

Promotion: UFC
Age: 24
Record: 14-1
Weight Class: Light Heavyweight
Team: Rofus Sport

It is hard to still class Anthony Pettis as a prospect but the fact is he is only 24 and his best years are most certainly ahead of him. On the 16th of December in the sold out jobing.com arena Anthony shocked the world with a moment that will go down in history as mixed martial arts greatest kick but the truth is before the “Showtime Kick” Pettis was slowly rising up the ranks with a mixture of unparalleld stricking and some slick submissions off his back, submitting talented wrestler Shane Roller with a 3rd round triangle. His last fight was against Ben Henderson and with that victory he became the final WEC champion. Pettis is scheduled to fight Clay Guida in a number one contender fiight for the UFC lightweight title. I predict “Showtime” will fight for the UFC title and if he wins it he will hold on to the strap for years to come.

Strikeforce: Diaz V Daley predictions.

2011-04-06T16:14:00.001+01:00

Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley

Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley

Gilbert Melendez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

Gegard Mousasi vs. Keith Jardine

Shinya Aoki vs. Lyle Beerbohm

Nick Diaz v Paul Daley

This fight is a great match up that gives both fighters a fair chance at winning, on one side you have a fantastic grappler/striker in Nick Diaz but on the other you have an explosive and dangerous striker in Paul Daley. While Diaz has the reach advantage it is Daley who has the power, you can expect to see Diaz looking to keep his distance and use his reach both in leg kicks and punches while Daley looks to close the gap and work the inside.

In the past Diaz has shown a stubborn tendency to stand with fighters who are known strikers such as K.J. Noons and Cyborg, if he does this with Daley he will be going to sleep in my opinion. The main difference in this fight is Nick's stellar Jiu-Jitsu and whether or not he can take the fight to where it needs to be, the mat. I don't think he will have an easy time doing this as Diaz favors more traditional Jiu-Jitsu sweeps as opposed to double and single-leg take-downs, Daley is a very strong welterweight and should be able to withstand most attempts.

My heart is saying Daley but my head is screaming Diaz so for that reason i'm going to have to go with Diaz via arm-bar, maybe in the 3rd round when Daley starts to gas. I wont rule out a Daley knock-out but placing your money on Diaz is the sensible option.

Final Prediction: Nick Diaz, arm-bar, round 3.

Gilbert Melendez v Tatsuya Kawajiri

Melendez already has a win via unanimous decision over Kawajiri from way back in the pride days and to be honest I cant see how this fight is going to go any differently. Sure Kawajiri is coming off an impressive win against the always game Josh Thompson but it seems that he always fails against big named opponents such as Aoki, Gomi, and Alvarez.

I see this going to Melendez, probably by decision but i wouldn't rule out the possibility of a TKO either.

Final Prediction: Gilbert Melendez, unanimous decision.

Gegard Mousasi v Keith Jardine

Here we have another explosive fight between two fighters very capable of producing knock-out's. Jardine comes in to replace the injured Mike Kyle on a weeks notice which is no where near enough time to prepare for a striker as decorated and deadly as Mousasi.

Jardine is coming in on a two fight win streak but these are against relatively no-named opponents in small promotion fights, can he beat Mousasi? Not by a long shot in my opinion, Jardine's bread and butter is striking and Mousasi is leaps and bounds ahead of him in this department.

Final Prediction: Gegard Mousasi, knock-out, round 1.

Lyle Beerbohm v Shinya Aoki

Beerbohm is looking to bounce back from his first loss against Pat Healy but man does he have his work cut out for him against Shinya Aoki, for those unfamiliar with Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm i suggest you research him, he has a fantastic story, rising up from incarceration due to an addiction to Crystal Meth to be a successful mixed martial artist is something to admire.

The problem is Lyle is a wrestler and lacks experience, Aoki will submit Beerbohm as soon as this fight goes to the ground so the best thing he can do is keep this fight standing, Aoki has weak stand up and maybe Beerbohm can capitalize on that.

Realistically I see this going to Aoki, he has way more experience and is just so good on the ground.

Final Prediction: Shinya Aoki, submission, round 1.

The Top 10 Mixed Martial Arts Prospects under 25. (10 to 5)

2011-04-05T23:23:00.002+01:00

See where Renao Barbao is placed.

We have compiled a list of young prospects for you guys to put on your radar, if you aren't familiar with any of the following from the list I suggest you check them out. Before you ask there is no Jon Jones in this list, It is a list of fighters who currently do not hold a belt so he was immediately out of the question.

So read on and enjoy, if you dispute or disagree please do let us know in the comment box below.

10. Lorenz Larkin

Promotion: Strikeforce
Age: 24
Record: 10-0
Weight Class: Light Heavyweight
Team: M.A.I

The California native is without any doubt one of the most promising young strikers in MMA today. Only 24 years old, “the Monsoon” holds an impressive record of 10-0 with 8 knockouts and 2 decisions. Larkin made his Zuffa debut this past Friday with a huge victory over the former K1 fighter Scott Lighty at Strikeforce Challengers 15. Standing at 6 ft tall, Lorenz is a rare specimen in his weight class. Enjoying a valuable speed and size advantage he looks more like a line backer than a martial artist. The most interesting thing about Lorenz Larkin is that he's only been fighting professionally 2 years and still holds a remarkable 10-0 record as a pro and a 10-0 as a amateur. This kid has a proven record in the stand up game of MMA and has exhibited some decent take down defense, we haven't seen much of his ground game but if he continues to improve his game we could potentially see him competing for the light heavyweight strap.

9. Rory MacDonald

Promotion: Ufc
Age: 21
Record: 10-1
Weight Class: Welterweight
Team: Tristar Gym

Young Quesnel natve Rory MacDonald is definitely one of Canada’s greatest prospects, following his loss to UFC welterweight main stay Carlos Condit he has relocated to Montreal to train with the pride of Canada Georges St Pierre. Before losing at UFC 115 “The Waterboy” was on a 10 fight winning street which led him to become KOTC Canada and KOTC world lightweight champion. During the fight with Condit he was dominant for 2 and a half rounds before his gas tank ran dry which was a rookie mistake but with time i'm sure he'll learn not to make that mistake again. Rory is scheduled to fight Bjj ace Nate Diaz at Ufc 130, if he can find a way to beat Diaz i believe he will begin a rapid ascent up the rankings.

8. Edson Barboza

Promotion: UFC
Age: 25
Record: 8-0
Weight Class: Lightweight
Team: The Armory

The young Muay Thai phenom showcased his striking pedigree in his UFC debut against the more experienced Mike Lullo where he systematically chopped Lullo down with brutal leg kicks, ending the fight via tko due to leg kicks in round 3. In his most recent fight he welcomed seasoned striker Anthony Njokuani to the big league and out classed him en route to a unanimous decison victory. “The Nova Friburgo Phenomenon”'s Muay Thai is a pleasure to watch, and his impressive 8-0 record of 6 KO's 1 submission and a decision is proof that he has a future as one of the top lightweights in the World.

7. Renan Barao

Promotion: UFC
Age: 24
Record: 25-1
Weight Class: Bantamweight
Team: Nova Uniao Brasil

The Nova Uniao stand out has probably the most impressive record on this list, with 25 victories and just one defeat (in his first professional fight via a disputed split decison). Barao will make his much anticipated UFC debut at UFC 130, hopefully he will build on his two fight WEC win streak. Half of Barao's victories come by the way of submission. UFC Featherweight Champion and Nova Uniao partner Jose Aldo declared that Renan Barao will be a top fighter in a few years, I for one wouldn’t disagree with Mr Aldo.

6. Patricky Freire

Promotion: Bellator
Age: 24
Record: 9-1
Weight Class: Lightweight
Team: Team Nogueira/XGym

Another Bellator prospect, twenty-four year old Patricky “Pitbull" Freire is coming off an incredible knockout victory over former submission of the year winner Toby Imada and has a solid record of 9-1 with 6 KO's, 1 Submission and 2 Decisions. Freire has dispatched two opponents with ease within a month and managed to qualify for Bellator’s Lightweight tournament final which i think he will win without breaking sweat. If Patricky is victorious in the tournament finale it will set up a August fight with Eddie Alvarez, a consensus top 3 lightweight. Win or lose, Patricky Freire will always be remembered for his flying knee left hook combination against Imada.

5. Patrico Freire

Promotion: Bellator
Age: 23
Record: 16-1
Weight Class: Featherweight
Team: Team Nogueira

Just like his brother Patricky, Patrico is making a name for himself in Bellator with a record of 16-1 with 5 K.O’s, 7 submissions and 3 decisions, the Bjj fighter has proven to be a one to watch. His lone loss came against the Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren in last years tournament, this year he is on a war path, overwhelming Georgi Karakhanyan at Bellator 37 eventually finishing with a powerful left hand followed by ground and pound. He will be rematching Wilson Reis, who he will most likely dominate on his way to a rematch with Joe Warren.

So there you have it, that's number 10 all the way down to 5. Tune in later in the week for numbers 4 to 1!

What's next for Ultimate Fight Night 24 winners?

2011-03-30T18:18:00.001+01:00

Phil Davis

Next Opponent: Winner of Kyle Kingbury/Fabio Maldonado

Instead of pushing Davis into the dangerous upper level of the light heavyweight fighters too soon the right move for UFC is to slowly build up his reputation in a similar way to Jon Jones.

Kyle Kingsbury is coming off a devastating 1st round k.o victory over Ricardo Romero and Fabio Maldonado is on a ten fight win streak, recently ending Tuf alumni James Mcsweeney’s stint in the octagon with a brutal tko. Both offer a good stylistic match-up for the still developing Davis.

It's a fight that could work for a early fall card giving Davis time to rest and recuperate.

Anthony Johnson

Next Opponent: John Howard

While it's not the step up in competition you would expect after beating a former title contender this would be a real grudge match.

These two hate each other, they were scheduled to fight at UFC on versus in 2010. Howard initially turned down the fight because he didn’t think he was ready to fight a top ten fighter so early in his Ufc tenure, this led Johnson to accuse Howard of being afraid and even calling him a cotton picker. Joe Silva needs to make this fight happen, in the words of Rampage Jackson there is going to be some “black on black" crime.

Amir Sadollah

Next Opponent: Winner Nathan Diaz/Rory MacDonald

Diaz is coming off a loss to Dong Hyun Kim, a fighter who also defeated Sadollah, while MacDonald is a future star who was minutes away from beating Carlos Condit before his gas tank hit empty.

Neither are contenders yet, but both are well known amongst the casual fan. This could make a good Spike prelim fight. Amir has failed twice upon facing higher level opponents so a win at this level is a must for the Ultimate Fighter Season 7 winner to take the next step and become a main card fighter.

Chan Sung Jung

Next Opponent: Manvel Gamburyan

The popular "Korean Zombie" will bring viewers no matter who he fights, but to get a true main card fight in the featherweight division a pairing with the former title challenger and ultimate fighter alumni would make sense.

“Manvel the Anvil” was on a tear through the division until he met the very gifted Jose Aldo, who KO'd him in the 2nd round. A win against Jung would get him back on track, he's good grappler with heavy hands, a slug fest could be the result of the match up.

This fight could end up being the high profile victory needed to propel Jung from cult hero to legitimate contender.

Who the hell is Hamid Akira Corassani?

2011-03-29T23:27:00.000+01:00

Recently i was idly browsing the internet and going through all my usual mma spots, I stumbled across a Youtube V-blog called The Akira show, what followed in the next Ten minutes was equal parts crazy and hysterical.

Akira is a fighter/journalist, and I had no idea of this when i was watching the video in question (A Ufc 128 behind the scenes). Most V-bloggers/journalists would jump at the opportunity to interview fighters like Jon Jones, Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez but instead Akira uses the opportunity to ask the fighters in question would they rather (a) Get attacked by a Great White Shark or (b) Massage a guys balls with coconut oil? Here are the replies..

It's as crazy as it sounds, but i must admit its a welcome change of pace to the usual "How do you rate your performance?" question, this shows a fun side to a lot of fighters who can come across as moody cave dwellers in more high brow interviews.

Speaking of cave dwellers Akira trains with Sirwan Kakai and Brad Pickett, they like to call their training camp "The Hobbit Camp" presumably because they are all in the 145lbs weight range, there is a hilarious video of those very guys teaming up to try and take on Strikeforce heavyweight Alistair Overeem which you can check out below.

Did you like these vids? Follow Akira on Youtube and check out http://www.akirashow.com/

The obligatory Strikeforce has been purchased by ZUFFA/UFC article.

2011-03-12T19:55:00.000Z

Your soul is mine!

As you can tell by the article header ZUFFA now own Strikeforce, this is definitely the biggest news since they acquired PRIDE if not bigger because of the complete stranglehold ZUFFA now has over mma across the globe.

With mma in Japan virtually dead (Sengoku and Dream both on their knees) the future seems to gleam brighter than Dana's bald head for the UFC. In Dana's exclusive interview with Ariel Helwani he states that Strikeforce will continue to be Strikeforce and that there will be no co-promotional "super fights" but i cant help but think that Strikeforce has 1 of 2 fate's; 1. The UFC wait until all the big name fighters contracts are up and acquire them essentially diluting the talent pool of Strikeforce until there is no one of worth left and the company virtually go bust or 2. They use Strikeforce as a minor league to develop talent and as a place to send UFC fighters on a losing streak.

It's hard to get across how i feel about this, on one hand It's great because we all get to see super fights down the line, the prospect of Melendez V Edgar, Diaz V Shields, Silva V Jacare, Fedor V anyone, Overeem V anyone just makes my head explode but on the other hand we lose all form of competition and that can lead to complacency and lack of memorable events.

Dana has said that these super fights wont happen but he is not really making himself clear, he has also said that when a fighter under the Strikeforce banner has finished their existing contract he may look to acquire them and that Strikeforce can do the same with all UFC fighters if needs be.

This raises the question on the future of Dan Henderson, Juice Barnett and Paul Daley's career's, what do these guys do if their contract's run out and Uncle Dana says bye bye? We know Dana isn't above such tactics so it is definitely a valid question. Will we see these guys fight for much less under the Bellator banner? It is possible but where will all the names go once they get cut?? There is virtually no place to go for a lot of fighters now and this is a worrying prospect.

And what of M-1 global?? I cant see ZUFFA approving they co-promote with SF anymore so this unloads another cluster fuck of questions involving Fedor.

All in all this has been a crazy day for mma, but check out my facebook for any updates as i will be sure to get them soon. Coker is the guy im wanting to hear more from at this point providing Bloodstain Lane hasn't tracked him down and murdered him.

MMA REEL FACEBOOK, LIKE US!

WORLD ON FIRE! ZUFFA/UFC PURCHASES STRIKEFORCE! (VIDEO)

2011-03-12T19:12:00.002Z

And just like that the whole horizon for MMA has changed dramatically, this is surreal.

Hopefully i'll be able to express my thoughts later, im mindfucked right now!

UFC 124: Live results and discussion.

2010-12-12T01:43:00.008Z

UFC 124 will be underway in a few hours and i'll be covering it from the main card onwards.

Koscheck will be looking to avenge his loss to current welterweight champion Georges Saint Pierre and while the odds are stacked against him he seems fairly determined, i reckon he'll get hammered but it's still an interesting matchup.

Alves vs Howard will be explosive as both guys want to stand and bang, Struve and McCorckle should be much of the same as both guys hate each other.

Anyway come back to the site at around 9pm est to check up on all the results as they happen. Be sure to refresh your browser often. Peace Bitches.

John Howard Vs Thiago Alves

This will most likely be fight of the night, both guys want to stand and trade so i cant wait for this, bring it on!

Impressions- Wow what a fight, both fighters came in to knock each others heads off and leave it all in the cage. Alves looked fresh and crisp throughout the fight with some excellent leg kicks displayed, he took down Howard on two occasions and controlled the fight there too.

Howard looked slow compared to Alves and was outclassed in every exchange, this is certainly the freshest we have seen Alves look in a long time.

Result: Thiago Alves, Unanimous Decision

Joe Stevenson Vs Mac Danzig

Arguably a do or die for both fighters, I'm pulling for Danzig here but realistically i think Stevenson should pull it off. Should be a great fight from two TUF winners.

Impressions- Not too much to say here, Stevenson came out aggressive and looked crisper and more determined but Danzig landed a perfect counter left to Stevensons jaw and knocked him out cold, holy shit!!

Result: Mac Danzig, KO

Jim Miller Vs Charles Oliveira

Looking forward to this matchup will be rooting for Miller.

Impressions- First things first, that Oliveira kid is looking like he will be a tough threat in years to come but it was Miller who showed his experience and pulled off a slick ankle lock early in the 1st, it was Oliveira's inexperience that allowed Miller to capitalize, he himself tried to go for a ankle lock which opened the door for Miller.

Result: Jim Miller, Rnd 1, Submission

Stefan Struve Vs Sean McCorkle

I really cant understand why this is the co main, i mean Howard and Alves makes more sense, anyway should be a great fight.

Impressions- McCorkle grabbed a hold of Struve early and landed a huge slam, he spent most of the first round in Struves guard but the Dutchman quickly reversed him and landed straight up in full mount, from there he landed some big punches and hammerfists making the referee call a stop to the fight.

Result: Stefan Struve, TKO, Rnd 1

Georges Saint Pierre Vs Josh Koscheck

So this is it, all of Kos' smarmy bullshit talk is going to be put to the test finally, i personally dont think he can beat GSP but then again i would laugh my ass off if he pulled off the upset. Cant wait for this fight.

Impressions- 1st round was interesting with GSP landing some nice jab's and a takedown, Kos did mostly a good job at stuffing his takedowns but throughout the fight only one thing was constant.. GSP's mean jab.

Kos never landed anything significant his biggest highlight was his takedown, but this fight was pretty much a one sided showcase of how well rounded the Canadian is. Please please please let him fight Anderson Silva, i think the spider has the tools to KO Pierre.

Result: Georges Saint Pierre, Unanimous Decision.

UFC 124: Video blow out!

2010-12-11T20:53:00.000Z

Here's a brief montage of interviews with the prelim guys.

Josh Koschek seems to be pretty spooked out in any interviews i've seen..

Georges Saint Pierre being his usual confident self.

Here's Howard and Alves on their fight, this is gonna be a proper war.

Joe Stevenson

Pulling for Danzig here but i don't know if he can realistically win the fight

Jim Miller

Charles Oliveira

Stefan Struve on Sean McCorkle

Sean McCorkle seems like a jackass, hopefully he gets put to sleep