Friday, July 30, 2010

New York Times Bestselling Author Forrest Griffin


You read that right. Possibly the most prolific author in MMA to date, Forrest Griffin is less than a week away from dropping his 2nd book "Be Ready When the Sh*t Goes Down" - A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse. The follow up to the New York Times Bestseller " "Got Fight?" should be chock full of hilarity and insight im sure.

Here is a book description from www.forrestgriffin.net:

Do you really need to buy this book? You gotta ask yourself one question: Are you going to be ready when the sh*t goes down? Here is a quick checklist:



1. Have you dug up your wife's rose garden and built a fallout shelter, equipped with a prison where you can lock up annoying family members?
2. Have you mapped out an escape route to your safe zone?
3. Is there a vehicle of death sitting in your garage?
4. Have you filled your go bag with all the needed instruments, including waterproof matches, postapocalyptic goggles, and at least one sexual party favor?
5. Have you learned how to milk various types of animals, including a giraffe?
As you can see, you need this book more than you even know. Without it, you're roadkill. Lucky for you, Forrest Griffin is the perfect apocalyptic chaperon. When he was in the womb, his mother had visions that the world would soon crumble, and Forrest would be the messiah of all mankind. He learned of these "visions" at the age of ten, and although they led him to believe that his mom had just been watching Mad Max and eating bad Mexican food, nevertheless he began his postapocalyptic training—a part of which involved his becoming a proud member of the Webelos, which is just one step below Boy Scout. And you know what the Boy Scout motto is. (Well, I hope you do, because Forrest doesn't have a clue). Another part involved hoarding ketchup packets, which he sucked down in the darkness of his room while listening to Nine Inch Nails. Hey, don't judge . . . hoarders are survivors. Just look at squirrels, they have been around longer than sharks.
If you want to survive the end of the world, and then avoid ending up in a government holding pen suffering from a bunch of diseases and listening to crying babies, you've got some skills to master. But don't worry—Forrest has you covered. From spotting the signs of the global downfall, to alienating your loved ones now so they don't come looking for you after, to hot-wiring a car to starting a religion in your own image, he provides you with all the hot knowledge you need to survive the downfall of civilization. Simply put, this is the most important book about the apocalypse that you will ever read by a UFC fighter from Georgia.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: Kaufman KO slams Modafferi

It seems these days if you win via Slam KO in the MMA world you're a shoo-in for Sportscenter top plays. First it was Gerald Harris taking advantage of Dave Branchs' mistake and slamming his way to a KO victory at UFC 116 earlier this month. Here we see Sarah Kaufman (12-0 MMA, 4-0 SF) do her thing at last weeks Strikeforce Challengers 9.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

On Tap : August 2010









The best month in MMA History so far? We shall see.

Also:

August 12: Bellator 24
August 13: Strikeforce Challengers 10
August 19: Bellator 25
August 26: Bellator 26

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Tito Ortiz vs. Matt Hamill added to UFC 121



Tito, Tito Ortiz, whatever his name is, it doesn’t matter...hes fighting Matt Hamill at UFC 121 according to Dana White and www.mmafighting.com

With injuries and his personal life being at the forefront of late , The Huntington Beach Bad Boy's last 5 fights span over 4 years. With losses to Forrest Griffin, Lyoto Machida, Chuck Liddell, a draw with Rashad Evans, and a victory against Ken Shamrock (his third) Tito's record during that time period is a paltry 1-3-1.

Matt Hamill on the other hand is on fire. Coming off a majority decision victory over Keith Jardine at the TUF Season 11 Finale, (Jardine was given his walking papers after the event) *The Hammer* is now riding a 4 fight win streak in the UFC. Ok fine , we all know what happened during the *Bones* Jones fight. That said, a win is a win and a win over Ortiz gets Hamill back into Top 10 opponent territory in the toughest division in the UFC.

'To talk about me is easy. Try to beat me' - Anderson Silva



www.ufc.com

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Anderson Silva plans to stay at Middleweight after bout with Sonnen


 Here are a few quotes from Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva recorded during a chat that took place yesterday via www.uol.com as reported by www.mmamania.com . Anderson discusses a variety of topics ranging from Steven Seagal, GSP, Randy Couture, and of course his upcoming title defense against Chael Sonnen.

 Anderson said that perhaps the fans will one day see him and Georges St. Pierre clash to find out who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

 The amazing striker was seen training with actor and Aikido master Steven Seagal recently. The Spider said "Yeah, the master taught me some techniques."

"It would be a pretension on my part to move up to perform at 205-pounds or even in the heavyweight division. I feel good in my category, happy with our outcomes and there will always be someone to challenge for the 185-pound belt."

I really never saw Anderson moving up to Light Heavyweight permanently for the simple reason that one of his best friends, and training partners Lyoto Machida should be in the mix in that division for a long time. Kind of the same reason GSP won't move up to Middleweight with Nate Marquardt still being in contention for a future title shot in that division.

Chael has called Silva some names but the Muay Thai expert hasn't lost his cool. He remarked that "(Sonnen) can say what he wants, after all U.S. is a free country. Of course he is a good fighter and this is the reason he is in the biggest event in the world."

Silva thinks it's great that Randy Couture wishes to fight him and says "It would be such an honor to face off against somebody that I got a great admiration either as a fighter or as a person. I respect him so much."

A Black belt under the Nogueira Brothers is like getting a toy in a happy meal.

MMA Standup Starring : Chael Sonnen

Team Black House Reprazent



*The Dragon* & *The Spider* share their thoughts with www.sherdog.com concerning Chael, Rampage, and Werdum's upset over Fedor.

A History of Silva vs. Sonnen Cont.


Since Chael is doing 99 percent of the promotion for this one ill make sure we visit Anderson, and one of his most popular friends for the next post. Here are some quotes pulled from www.heavy.com from a UFC live video chat after UFC 112. Enjoy.

“I was grateful, I ran out of Nyquil, I watched that fight, I went fast asleep I didn’t even have to sit through all 25 minutes of it. So I was grateful. You know who should really thank him is Matt Hughes. Matt Hughes put his hands down more times than a professional athlete has ever done in a fight, truly. Matt Hughes throws a jab, drops his hands. Backs up, drops his hands. Moves left, drops his hands. Moves right, drops his hands. Matt Hughes should be thanking Anderson, ‘Hey look, I did horrible tonight, you just took the weight off me, thanks bro.’” So you were not impressed with Hughes and his performance against Gracie? “Who was? Of course not. You probably forget he was on the card until I reminded you.”

“He’s a grown man with earrings. He’s a grown man with saggy pants, pink t-shirts and crooked hats. Go join a gang, don’t get in the UFC.

“People don’t care about him. He came out and said he’s gonna go heavyweight, no one cared. So he comes out and says well ‘I’m gonna go light heavyweight,’ no one cared. ‘Well I’m gonna retire.’ Good! Beat it, this is back page news, no one cares about you anyway. ‘Well I’m not gonna retire I’m gonna stick around.’ Or do that. Again, it doesn’t really matter, you’re a nuisance. So who cares, they go make the little action figures and the two little kids that bought em, are probably pretty upset, their parents probably thought it was Quinton Jackson when they bought it for them and the kids had a disappointing Christmas I would imagine.”

"Everybody else in the UFC is a bunch of cowards"

A History of Silva vs. Sonnen

Chael talks about the Anderson Silva confrontation during the UFC Fan Expo that took place back in March.

Rampage vs. Machida may happen after all



















Just when many were about to add Quinton *Rampage* Jackson to the short list of Machida dodgers, www.mmaweekly.com reports that a fight between the two Light Heavyweight contenders is indeed in the works.

Here is Rampage's tweet from yesterday concerning the future bout which may take place at UFC 123 : "almost ready 2 sign the bout agreement! i would tell yall who im gonna get down with,but i cant spell his name....hahaha"

UFC 120 : Bisping vs. Akiyama


With tickets for UFC 120 : Bisping vs Akiyama going on sale tomorrow , lets take a look at whats been announced of this card so far. This event takes place on SpikeTv October 16th and boasts no less than 7 fighters of British descent as it stands today.

• Michael Bisping (19-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC)
• Dan Hardy (23-7 MMA, 4-1 UFC) vs. Carlos Condit (25-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC)
• John Hathaway (14-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) vs. Mike Pyle (20-7-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC)
• Cheick Kongo (15-6-1 MMA, 8-4 UFC) vs. Travis Browne (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
• James Wilks (7-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) vs. Claude Patrick (12-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
• Cyrille Diabate (16-6 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (9-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC)
• James McSweeney (4-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) vs. Tom Blackledge (10-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
• Rob Broughton (14-5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) vs. Vinicius Quieroz (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC)

The Chael Sonnen Quote Machine


The UFC has spoiled us of late. We have a week and a half until UFC on Versus 2. Almost 3 weeks until the next PPV. Over a month between UFC Pay Per Views? Thank fuck for the Chael Sonnen Quote Machine. This guy does not stop. With more than enough material to go through from the past few months and what im sure will be only more as we lead up to August 7th, lets start covering the best trash talker of all time . Chael is on the big stage now with his upcoming title shot at Anderson Silva. He wins and everyone will be listening for a long time. He loses, well...this will the be last time his words will get this much attention. Lets enjoy it while it last . Here is a brief History of Sonnen quotes dating back to 2006 from http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=84058.

The Fighting Life (2006)

“It’s not too hard. Fighting takes up about as much time as anyone else’s hobby. Guys that play golf probably spend more time a day playing golf than I do on fighting. As far as athletically, it takes about 45 minutes to work out in the morning and about an hour and 30 minutes in the afternoon, and that’s it. Then you’ve got drive time, but other than that, you’re inside less than three hours a day, so you can fit it in as a hobby. I don’t have time for any other hobbies, but I certainly have time for plenty of other things.”

Full-Time Fighter? (2006)

“I went to the University of Oregon and I got a minor in business (Sonnen’s major was in sociology), and the very first day in Business 101, they tell you to have a job, you must provide a good or a service to the community. Fighting doesn’t provide either. I don’t want to leave my mark by the people that I beat up; I want to give back to society and I want to help people reach their goals. That’s what a job does. So it’s a hobby, not a job. There’s no way to spin it so that it’s not. And you’ve got a very short life expectancy in it, and for good reason – your body can only take it for so long and who wants to do it their whole life? But I have guys who act like it’s their full-time job and they can’t do anything else, and I’m scratching my head, going, ‘well, jeez, it’s three hours a day.’ (Laughs) If it’s all you want to do, just say that, but it’s not a full-time job.”

The Truth – Part I (2008)

“The only thing that I do that’s different than anyone else is I tell the truth. Fighters just lie and lie and lie. I don’t know if they’re lying to themselves or they’re just trying to do what they perceive is a good interview.”

The Lying Game (2008)

“I’m at the top gym in the world, and I’ve been to plenty of other gyms. I watched Randy Couture train for nine title fights, I’ve watched Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland train for title fights as well, and there’s nobody in the world who’s training more than three hours a day. But you’ve got these fighters who come out and lie – it takes so much time and they’re doing so much work, and I don’t know why they do that. Another thing they lie about is wanting to fight the best. ‘I want this guy at a hundred percent.’ Why? That’s not true. You don’t want the best. If they would hand you tomato cans, you would line up and fight ‘em one after the other. I just got asked yesterday, ‘do you hope Paulo’s a hundred percent? Do you hope he brings his ‘A’ game?’ No. I hope he wakes up with the flu, I hope he has to be helped to the ring because he has some injury and can hardly stand, and then I’ll clean him up. The last time I fought Paulo he was probably at 70 percent and he was a monster. Why would I want him at a hundred percent?”

On the Yushin Okami Fight (2009)

“You don’t want to get beat by anybody, but especially him. I gotta prepare for a guy and try to hype a fight with a guy that doesn’t even understand what hyping a fight means. I’m a one man band in this thing. I’m going at it alone, and when we get in the ring, if he backs up like he likes to always do, there’s just no end game here – there’s no way to win. So anyway, I’m just gonna go and beat the guy up because it’s the only thing that he and I can do together in friendship.”

On Chael Sonnen (2009)

“I will take on whoever, and a lot of guys say that because it’s got a nice ring to it, and then behind the scenes, when Joe Silva calls, all of a sudden their arm hurts, their knee hurts, or their shoulder’s sore. They need to get their tonsils removed or they need to play in a movie when they really don’t know how to act. Guys come up with a lot of reasons not to get in there, and I have a lot of reasons too. I’ve never felt good when it comes to fight. Not one time have I walked in the ring feeling good. But when that music comes on, I will make that walk every single time, regardless of the opponent. I never think about who’s across from me.”

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Jardine joins Shark Fights


Late last week it was announced on Http://www.keithjardine.net that Keith Jardine (15-8-1 MMA) will be joining the Shark Fights Promotion. His first opponent will be Trevor Prangley (22-6-1 MMA) at Shark Fights 13 on September 11th. Jardine of course was released late last month by the UFC. The Dean of Mean remains focused as evidenced on his blog expressing that his goal is to "..one day fight for the UFC Light Heavyweight title." Jardine continues on telling us that "Leaving the UFC as i did left a bad taste in my mouth." Lets hope that this is a step in the right direction for Jardine. I myself hope to see him back in the Octagon sooner rather than later.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Shields signs with UFC


It was only a matter of time before free agent and now former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields signed with the top MMA promotion. The question was whether he would debut at Middleweight or Welterweight. http://www.graciefighter.com reports that after careful consideration and consulting with the UFC it has been determined that Shields will go back to his original fighting weight of 170. The website also reports that Shield's debut opponent is one of the UFC's top contenders and will be announced shortly. Jake's opponent will most likely be Welterweight contender Martin Kampmann, seeing that he is the only top contender without an upcoming fight scheduled.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Cain's Turn


UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar (5-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has a date on October 23rd in Anaheim with the man many call the Future of the Heavyweight Division, Cain Velasquez (8-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC). This will be Lesnar's third title defense, and his second consecutive against an undefeated fighter. Velasquez earned his title shot back in February in the promotions first visit Down Under where he made quick work of former Pride & UFC Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. The patient Velasquez took a spot in line behind the winner of the Carwin vs. Mir Interim Heavyweight Championship Winner at UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy (which would be Carwin via fists to the head and face).

Velasquez sports 6 wins of the TKO variety, and 1 by KO in his MMA career. His only other bout was left to the judges, a UD victory at UFC 99 over Cheick Kongo in Cologne, Germany

Lytle vs. Serra Rematch at 119



4 time Fight of the Night winner Chris Lytle (29-17-5 MMA, 8-9 UFC) will look to avenge his TUF Season 4 Welterweight Finale against Matt Serra (11-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) at the promotions September 25th event at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Lytle is coming into the fight riding high on a 3 fight win streak, while Serra's last fight was a KO of the night victory that knocked Frank *Lower Back Tattoo Kind of Guy* Trigg out of the UFC.

source : http://www.mmajunkie.com

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Bisping vs. Akiyama headlines London's UFC 120


A Middleweight contest between Manchester's Michael Bisping (19-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) looks to be the Main Event of the evening for the October event that will air live on SpikeTV.

Bisping is coming off a unanimous decision victory of Dan Miller at UFC 114 while Akiyama came out on the wrong end of a triangle choke in a fight against Chris Leben earlier this month that won Fight of the Night. Both of Akiyama's UFC bouts have won Fight of the Night, the latter sharing the honors with Stephan Bonnar and Krzysztof Soszynski.

Here is the full rumored card:

• Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
• Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit
• Cheick Kongo vs. Travis Browne
• Rob Broughton vs. Vinicius Quieroz
• Alexander Gustafsson vs. Cyrille Diabate
• Spencer Fisher vs. Kurt Warburton
• James McSweeney vs. Tom Blackledge
• Dong Hyun Kim vs. John Hathaway

Source : http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk

DREAM.15 Results






• Kazuhiro Nakamura wins via UD over Karl Amoussou after 2 Rounds

• Mitsuhiro Ishida defeats Daiki Hata via UD after 2 Rounds

• Michihiro Omigawa submits Jong Young Sam via guillotine at 8:45 of the 1st Round

• Tatsuya Mizuno submits Melvin Manhoef via kimura at 7:23 of the 1st Round to advance to the Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Championship

• Gegard Mousasi submits Jake O'Brien via guillotine 31 seconds into the 1st round to advance to the Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Championship against Tatsuya Mizuno

• Gesias Cavalcante defeats Katsunori Kikuno via split decision after 2 Rounds

• Shinya Aoki defeats Tatsuya Kawajiri via ankle lock at 1:53 of Round 1 successfully defending his DREAM Lightweight Championship in the Main Event of the evening

*image from http://www.dreamoffical.com

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Noguiera Brothers headline 119


Antônio Rodrigo *Minotauro* Nogueira vs. Frank Mir 2 will headline UFC 119 in Indianapolis with the current Co- Main Event being Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Ryan Bader. This will be the second time brothers have appeared on the same fight card in UFC History. The first being earlier this year at UFC 108 in Vegas where both brothers came out on the losing end.

Big Nog vs Mir really has no title implications in the HW division but provides for an exciting fight for the fans. Lil Nog vs Bader on the other hand will shoot the winner right up into the Top 5 of the LHW rankings giving the winner no more than 1 more win over a top contender away from a title shot.


source: http://www.mmafighting.com

Monday, July 5, 2010

UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen trailer



Sonnen's doing all the talking so far for this one, and it's been very entertaining. Oregon's favorite Republican says he's going to bring the fight to the Spider in Oakland. What happened the last time someone tried to bring the fight to Anderson? *insert your Forrest Griffin gif here*. I'd put every dollar I make for the rest of my life on Silva making Sonnen look silly when they finally step into the cage on August 7th. Here is the rest of the card for the UFC's next PPV event .


Main Card:

• Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva (26-4 MMA, 11-0 UFC) vs. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC)

• Jon Fitch (22-3 MMA, 12-1 UFC) vs. Thiago Alves (16-6 MMA, 9-2 UFC)

• Clay Guida (26-11 MMA, 6-5 UFC) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (14-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC)

• Matt Hughes (44-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) vs. Ricardo Almeida (12-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC)

• Roy Nelson (15-4 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. Junior dos Santos (11-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) *Winner faces Lesnar vs. Velasquez winner for Heavyweight Championship

Prelim Card:

• Thiago Silva (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) vs. Tim Boetsch (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC)

• Dustin Hazelett (12-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) vs. Rick Story (10-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC)

• Stefan Struve (19-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) vs. Christian Morecraft (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)

• Johny Hendricks (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) vs. Charlie Brenneman (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC)

• Ben Saunders (8-2-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) vs. Dennis Hallman (42-13-2 MMA, 1-4 UFC)

• Rodney Wallace (9-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) vs. Stanislav Nedkov (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)

Bob Probert: 1965 - 2010


Bob Probert passed away today while boating with his family on Lake Saint Clair, Ontario. I know this is an MMA blog but for the first time we are going to make an exception. After all, say Probie was born ten years later, would he have found solace in mixed martial arts?

Being a fan of sport growing up in or around Detroit during the 1980's, and early 90's, it was hard not to get excited. When you were hanging out with your family, and or friends watching the game and decided to go into the other room you might get called back in a handful of times. Whether it be a highlight reel Barry Sanders touchdown run, *The Bad Boys* causing a ruckus, or the Roar of 84 all year long, Detroit had 4 stellar professional teams that were worth taking an interest in. When it comes down to it though, there was no bigger Detroit sports moment in any Wayne County house hold than when Bob Probert dropped the gloves, and engaged in combat on the ice.

Thank God for old Probie fight footage. Without it new generations of hockey fans would refuse to believe all the crazy stories we've been telling, and will continue to tell. Your History of Violence has made you a legend beyond Detroit , Chicago, and Ontario. Thanks for the memories.

Wanderlei accepts Leben's offer

Watch Wanderlei Says Chuck Shouldn't Retire Hardy Says Kos Can't Beat GSP on RawVegas.tv

In this video we join Wanderlei Silva at his birthday party which coincides with UFC 116. When asked about Chris Leben calling him out out after his victory earlier in the night, Wanderlei answers saying that Leben would be a great opponent for his next fight, and that he should be ready in 6-7 months due to his current injury. Sorry Sexyama.

Welterweight Dan Hardy is also on hand joining Wanderlei for the festivities. Hardy expresses his thoughts on fellow weight class mates GSP, Josh Koscheck & Jon Fitch.

Video from RawVegas.TV

Fighter Tweets


Wow chris Leben you are one crazy MOF!!! congrats.
10:54 PM Jul 3rd via Twitterrific

From @JoshKoscheck following Leben's 116 victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama

No one has appeared in more fights than TUF season 1 cast mates and enemies Chris Leben & Josh Koscheck since 2005. Koscheck being 13-4 in his UFC career and Leben 11-5.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Chris Leben Post Fight Quotes


"Afterward I was talking to my coaches, and I was like, 'So what was that, like the end of the second round?'" Leben told MMAjunkie.com . "He must have caught me in there because normally I remember fights like in slow-motion. I don't even remember the whole thing. I'm going to have to watch the tape."

"When I started to do the double-punch, I looked up at Akiyama, and he was smiling at me," Leben said. "I know he knew it, too. It was like, 'Yeah, we're in a fight. This is good.'"

"I rarely get taken down in the gym. I'm used to having world-class wrestlers shoot on me, and I can stuff them. His judo was more than I expected. I'm like, 'No judo guy can throw me. I'm not wearing a gi, and I'll punch him in his face.' Obviously, that wasn't the case."

It's so overwhelming," Leben said. "We train our whole lives. I laid in bed [Friday] night and cried because I want to win so bad. I don't want to let my coaches and my corner down so much. Everyone has put so much into me.

"The emotion afterward is mind-boggling. I can't explain it. There's nothing like winning a fight in the UFC. There's nothing like it in the world, period. ... It's been a long road, a somewhat bumpy one for me. This is huge. My career and my life are in better places right now than they've ever been."

"I do think a lot when I'm fighting, believe it or not," Leben said. "When I went for the armbar, after that I was like, 'He's letting me walk my legs up and leave them up there. This guy's going to let me triangle him.' That's when I decided I was going to go for the submission as opposed to just working to stand up.


Dana White weighs in:

"Chris Leben was literally knocked out standing straight up," UFC president Dana White said after the fight. "I've only seen that a couple of times. Usually when that happens, the guy has to go down. He was knocked out standing up, and in typical Chris Leben fashion, all of a sudden you just saw him snap out of it and start hammering away. He is so fun to watch fight."

Source: http://www.mmajunkie.com

Photo: http://www.bjpenn.com


UFC Heavyweight Division is Finally Legit



Dana White re confirmed what we all already knew but it looks like it may happen sooner than we though.


"I need to talk to Brock about it. I’m a big believer in, ‘Let’s get these guys right back in there as soon as we can" White said at the post fight presser concerning Cain Velasquez's upcoming date with Brock Lesnar.

What we didn't know that was revealed by White last night is that the winner of Junior Dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson at UFC 117 will get a shot against the fighter who comes out with the belt when Lesnar and Velasquez clash.


*Big Country* may be your new Heavyweight Champion in the near future folks. Stranger things have happened right?

Carwin's Thank You


I appreciate the outpouring of support and everyone who showed up at The Foundation Room last night after the fight. You guys know how to make a man feel like a winner even on his lowest of days. I really do want to thank #TeamCarwin. You guys pushed me up this mountain and many of you have
been with me for a long time. I will need your help to climb back to the top so I appreciate you standing by me.

The game plan last night was to be patient and let the fight come to you. When I had him in trouble the ref keep saying he was going to stop it and then towards the end of the 1st my body began to seize up. In between rounds I could not move my legs and had what felt like a whole body cramp. My cardio was fine but my body was not. What can you do? You have to stand up and face your opponent.

Heading into the second I knew I need to finish the fight or I was going to be in trouble. Much like the Champion he is I am sure Brock was thinking the same thing. I had zero take down defense as my legs were dead to me and the rest is as they say history.

Brock was a good guy through this entire fight. He did not talk a bunch of smack and he fought like a warrior. He did what he needed to do to keep his belt and that is what being a Champion is all about. I am going to have to claw my way back to the top but I wouldn't want it any other way. I know I belong
with the very best; all I need to do is prove it again.

Loosing is what happens on the way to winning. I will be back and better from the lessons learned in this fight.

Thank you to my Coaches, Sponsors, Manager, Family, Friends and Fans.

-Carwin

http://www.shane-carwin.com/profiles/blogs/thanks-for-all-the-support

Really excited to see who Joe Silva has for Shane next.

UFC 116 Results



Here are the full results with the post 116 fighter records and bonuses from The MMA event of the year so far that featured two very impressive comeback victories from Chris Leben & Brock Lesnar.




• Jon Madsen (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) UD victory over Karlos Vemola (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
• Daniel Roberts (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) split decision over Forrest Petz (18-8 MMA, 2-4 UFC)
• Gerald Harris (16-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) KO Slam's his way to victory over Dave Branch (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
• Kendall Grove (12-7 MMA, 6-5 UFC) split decision victory over Goran Reljic (8-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC)
• Ricardo Romero (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) submits Seth Petruzelli (12-5 MMA, 0-3 UFC) via armbar Round 2
• Brendan Schaub (6-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) TKO's Chris Tuchscherer (18-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in the 1st Round
• George Sotiropoulos (13-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) beats Kurt Pellegrino (15-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in UD fashion
• Stephan Bonnar (12-7 MMA, 6-6 UFC) beats Krzysztof Soszynski (19-10-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) via TKO in the 2nd Round
• Chris Lytle (29-17-5 MMA, 8-9 UFC) armbar submission victory over Matt Brown (11-9 MMA, 4-3 UFC) 2nd Round
• Chris Leben (21-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) triangle choke victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) with 20 seconds remaining in the fight
• Brock Lesnar (5-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) unifies the Heavyweight Title in his favor defeating Shane Carwin (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) via arm triangle choke Round 2

Fighter Bonuses : $75,000 each

Knockout of the Night : Gerald Harris
Submission of the Night : Brock Lesnar
Fight of the Night : Stephan Bonnar vs. Kryzystof Soszynski & Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

HOV-MMA Pick em:

UFC 116: 9-2
2010: 18-7

photo : Josh Hedges/ Getty Images

Lesnar overcomes Carwin Onslaught, Remains Champion


Brock Lesnar overcame a vicious first round assault by Shane Carwin Saturday night that could've very well been called as a tko victory during more than once by referee Josh Rosenthal. Shane spent the better part of the first round pummeling the shit out of Lesnar and Lesnar wanted no part of it. Brock layed against the case with his hands covering his head just waiting for it to end. That said, Brock never lost consciousness and hung in there letting Shane wear himself out throwing bomb after bomb after bomb unable to put Brock away.

Once the 2nd round began Brock's corner could tell that Shane had gassed himself out and Brock went in for an easy takedown eventually going into full mount and impressing everyone by moving into side control and tapping Shane out with an arm triangle choke.

Much to the fan's approval Brock took a more humble approach during the post fight interview thanking his family, his doctors and his trainers. Carwin had nothing but respect for Brock after the fight admitting that Brock "took that ground and pound like no one else" and explaining that "hes a fucking champion".

Next in line for Brock is the undefeated Cain Velasquez who has gotta be thinking right now " How the f**k am i gonna beat this freak of nature?

photo by Tracy Lee, Yahoo! Sports

*Chris Leben is a Zombie*


"Chris Leben is a Zombie" - Joe Rogan

If Yoshihiro Akiyama didn't know who Chris Leben was a couple weeks ago he certainly does now. Most people had Sexyama winning the first round dominating on the ground for much of the round. It was the 2nd round of the fight that brought everyone to their feet. Both fighters brought it here with Akiyama doing his best to stand and trade with Leben, turning the granite jawed fighter into a zombie who refused to defend himself. Taking strike after strike standing on spaghetti legs Leben kept wobbling and continuing to throw at Akiyama coming out of a second that in my eyes could've gone either way but probably would go to Akiyama considering the way he dazed Leben.

Leben pumping himself up before the 3rd round seemed to be shockingly the fighter out of the two who still had his wits about him while pumping himself and the crowd up for what had to be Fight of the Night. Both fighters met in the center of the ring and showed a mutual respect . Both men start the round trading shots , Akiyama is wobbling like a drunk. Leben is taken down after landing some leg kicks high and low. Even though on the bottom Leben is doing most of the work here, connecting with looping double punches from the bottom. Somehow Akiyama gets Leben into a position where he is standing on his head and Rogan claims Leben is about to tap for a second. Now *The Crippler* is on the bottom again and Akiyama gains mount. Leben throwing elbows from his back, he keeps punching with Akiyama looking for a knockout from the bottom. Somehow Leben gets Mr. Sexy into a triangle choke forcing him to tap and winning his 2nd fight in 2 weeks.

In full on catching his breath mode , Yoshihiro Akiymama was a man of few words after the fight while Leben of course was a man of many. *The Crippler* called out Akiyama's original opponent Wanderlei Silva requesting a future match up and even future coaching duties against him for a future Ulitmate Fighter season.

Photo by Tracy Lee, Yahoo! Sports

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Shogun undergoes 3rd knee surgery, 1st Title Defense on hold


Like his Chute Boxe Academy friend Wanderlei Silva, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio *Shogun* Rua appears to be on the shelf until March 2011 according to Dana White. While talking to reporters after his UFC 116 presser on Thursday White informed the group of this news and also dispelled the rumors of an earlier Tatame story that Quinton *Rampage* Jackson would fight Lil Nog at the upcoming UFC 119 event in Indy explaining that Rampage vs. Machida is still on the table.

Number #1 contender Rashad Evans on the other hand will have to wait patiently for his chance to win the belt for the 2nd time barring another interim situation.


http://www.bjpenn.com

HOV-MMA 116 Pick Em



The Pick Em segment of the site formerly known as Amateur Hour for UFC 116.

This event is full of potential fight of the night candidates.

Prelim Card:

• Jon Madsen (5-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. Karlos Vemola (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)

Madsen has a size advantage on Vemola and loves to lay on his opponents . The only way Vemola can win this fight would be by catching Madsen early on and putting him to sleep. Im taking Madsen by decision in a boring fight.

• Daniel Roberts (9-1-0 MMA, 0-1 UFC) vs. Forrest Petz (18-7 MMA, 2-3 UFC)

Stop the press. Forrest Petz's long awaited return to the UFC is finally upon us. Roberts by submission.

• Gerald Harris (15-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. Dave Branch (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)

Harris by violent TKO

• Kendall Grove (11-7 MMA, 6-4 UFC) vs. Goran Relijic (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC)

Both of these fighters are coming off losses and Grove is in desperate need of a win considering the former TUF winner has lost 2 of his last 3. Relijic by decision in this one.

Prelim SpikeTV Card:

• Seth Petruzelli (12-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) vs. Ricardo Romero (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC)

Romero should make quick work of Kimbo killer Petruzelli here with an early submission.

• Brendan Schaub (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (18-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC)

All 6 of Schaub's professional fights have ended in the first round. I'll take Schaub over Brock Jr. here by 1st round TKO.

PPV Main Card

• Chris Lytle (28-17-5 MMA, 7-9 UFC) vs. Matt Brown (11-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC)

4 time Fight of the Night winner Chris Lytle is gonna fight balls out as usual looking for any kind of bonus. After some exciting trades Lytle should tire out Brown and submit him in the 2nd Round.

• George Sotiropoulos (12-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) vs. Kurt *Batman* Pellegrino (15-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC)

Sotiropoulos by decision putting himself one more victory away from a title shot.


• Krzysztof Soszynski (19-9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) vs. Stephan Bonnar (11-7 MMA, 5-6 UFC)

An immediate rematch was given to Bonnar after the fight between the two at UFC 110 was awarded to Soszynski due to a cut Bonnar recieved from a headbutt. Bonnar got a raw deal in an exciting fight that he looked to have the edge in if it went to a decision. Even though i can swear i remember Dana White saying that Bonnar and Griffin have a lifetime pass in the UFC because due to the immense popularity of their Ultimate Finale and how good it was for the sport. Anything goes though in Dana White's UFC. 4 losses in a row would not look good for Bonnar, especially after Jardine just got the axe not too long ago. Neither of these guys really have crazy knockout power making this fight another FOTN candidate that should go the distance. One thing Bonnar does have though is more hunger and sense of urgency. Bonnar by decision

• Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Chris Leben (20-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC)

Wanderlei Silva stalker *Sexyama* and Frank Mir stalkee Brock Lesnar have one thing in common. Neither have fought since 8 days short of a year ago today which of course was on the stacked UFC 100 card . Akiyama beat American Alan Belcher in a very controversial decision but an impressive showing by Akiyama nonetheless that won both fighters FOTN honors.

Leben on the other hand is coming of a KOTN victory over Aaron Simpson as recent as 2 weeks ago tonight. *The Crippler* has never been knocked out and has the mental edge here considering that Akiyama has been training for the Brazilian Legend Silva who seems to be the only man he is interested in fighting. Leben by KO Round 2

• Heavyweight Champin Brock Lesnar (4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) vs. Interim Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC)

This bout will of course unify the UFC Heavyweight Championship and is by far the Biggest MMA match up of all time. The key here is how soon into the fight will Brock shoot? How good is Carwin's take down defense? Even though Carwin is an NCAA Division II Wrestling Champion the edge has gotta go to Brock and his fridge like upper body on the ground. If Brock gets sloppy I could see Shane catching him in a kneebar like Frank Mir did back at UFC 81 but Lesnar learned that lesson the hard way already. Lesnar has also been working with Peter Welch out of Boston on his boxing and Hall of Famer Randy Couture on what im assuming would be the clinch and dirty boxing. Lesnar also was quoted as regretting that he revealed he has been training some as a southpaw which may or may not just be more head games for Carwin to deal with. Anyway enough of this nonsense, since this is the prediction post I predict Carwin by first round ko punch to the chin when Brock goes in for a take down.



Leben-Akiyama weigh in photo from http://www.mmajunkie.com

Ariel Helwani interviews James Toney




James Toney breaks it down like only James Toney can.
From http://www.mmafighting.com

Friday, July 2, 2010

UFC 116 Weigh-In Results


Official weight-in results Live from the 7PM ET Broadcast on SpikeTv.

MGM Grand Garden Arena (Las Vegas, NV)
7-2-10

Prelim Card:



• Jon Madsen (254) vs. Karlos Vemola (222)
• Forrest Petz (170) vs. Daniel Roberts (169)
• Dave Branch (185) vs. Gerald Harris (185)
• Kendall Grove (184) vs. Goran Reljic (186)

Prelim SpikeTV Card:

• Seth Peruzelli (205) vs. Ricardo Romero (206)
• Brendan Schaub (238) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (255)

Main Card:

• Matt Brown (171) vs. Chris Lytle (170)
• Kurt Pellegrino (155) vs. George Sotiropoulos (156)
• Stephan Bonnar (205) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (205)
• Yoshihiro Akiyama (185) vs. Chris Leben (186)
• Brock Lesnar (265) vs. Shane Carwin (265)

DREAM.15


DREAM.15 will be the start of a 4 Man Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament. The event takes place on July 10th at the Saitama Super Arena. With typical rumors and late card additions it looks like things are just about set. Lets take a gander at who's fighting at next weekends event.

• Light Heavyweight Championship: Champion Shinya Aoki (23-5 MMA, 7-2 DREAM) vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2 MMA, 5-1 DREAM)

• Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Round 1 Bout: Melvin Manhoef (24-7-1 MMA, 2-2 DREAM) vs. Tatsuya Mizuno (7-5 MMA, 0-1 DREAM)

• Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Round 1 Bout: Gegard Mousasi (28-3-1 MMA, 5-0 DREAM) vs. Jake O' Brien (13-3 MMA, 0-0 DREAM)

• J.Z. Calvan (14-3-1 MMA, 0-2 DREAM) vs. Katsunori Kikuno (13-2-1 MMA, 2-1 DREAM)

• Kazuhiro Nakamura (14-10 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) vs. Karl Amoussou (11-2-2 MMA, 0-0 DREAM)

• Michihiro Omigawa (10-8-1 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) vs. Young Sam Jung (0-2 MMA, 0-0 DREAM)

• Mitsuhiro Ishida (18-6-1 MMA, 2-1 DREAM) vs. D.J. Taiki Daiki Hata (11-6-3 MMA, 1-1 DREAM)

Thursday, July 1, 2010

UFC 116 Countdown


" There's tons of great japanese fighters but i dont think he's one of them" - Leben on Akiyama

" Shane should be smart enough to understand that he's not good enough to beat Brock Lesnar." - Lesnar on Carwin's intelligence

" When they close that cage, and i see Brock across from me...I wanna tear him apart." - Carwin

" It's my time. It's not Shane Carwin's time. Sun comes up the sun goes down. Im still the Champion. " - Brock

" Your'e not gonna see spinning back kicks, your'e not gonna see all kinds of crazy flashy stuff like Mr. Sexy likes to do. Your'e gonna see a blue collar American go in there and get his job done." - Leben on Sexyama

" Brock's words mean nothing to me. Frank was a bigger, better, stronger version of Frank Mir than Brock Lesnar every fought." - Carwin on Lesnar implying that he had already scrambled Frank Mir's eggs

Lil Nog vs. Rampage in Indy?


With a win over Quinton Rampage Jackson (30-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC), Antônio Rogério Nogueira (19-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) would be taking a huge step towards the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship he has eyed since signing with the promotion. http://www.tatame.com reports this fight is agreed on by the two parties but unconfirmed by the UFC being all but signed. The Conseco Fieldhouse will be the venue for UFC 119 with other unconfirmed bout such as Matt Mitrione vs. Joey Beltran & Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens featured as well.