Besides the anticipation of St. Pierre vs. Hughes III, other good fights are coming up. Here are some related videos:
What's Jungle Kung-fu? Ask Sokoudjou:
Liddell vs. Wanderlei
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Dan's Quick Hits
The most exciting news and gossip:
1. UFC 81 (Sat., Feb. 2nd) will be known as the "Super Bowl Card" because it's the same weekend as the Super Bowl and "my sources" (Sherdog's podcast) claim that it may be on CBS for free (of course it'd be free if it's broadcast on national TV). This would be the biggest thing ever to happen to MMA in that it'll be free and on national TV. We don't who'll be the main event, but some of the card has already materialized:
Hvywt.
Frank Mir (10-3) vs. Brock Lesnar (1-0)
Brock Lesnar is the first guy to fight in the UFC from pro-wrestling. Before you dismiss him note this: he as a division I wreslter and defeated his first opponent in about one minute via arm bar. Frank Mir on the other hand was one the golden boy of the UFC heavyweight division but a terrible motorcycle accident put him out of the game for a few years and he has found mixed success coming back.
155 lbs.
Tyson Griffin (10-1) vs. Gleison Tibau (15-4)*
Tyson is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport. I absolutely love to watch him fight because he never gives up and has the ability to get out of submissions regardless of how hopeless things seem.
185 lbs.
Nate Marquardt (25-7-2) vs. Thales Leites (12-1)*
Both of these guys bring it but Nate is a true contender. His last fight was a title shot against The Spider which he lost via TKO. He just didn't have an answer for the most dominating striker in the game in Anderson Silva. Leites is no joke either and this will be a true battle of these middleweights!
2. The next fight card is FREE and will go down on Dec. 8th (Sat.) at 6PM on SPIKETV. It's the Ultimate Fighter Finale. Although we don't know who the finalists are, we do know that the main event is Roger Huerta vs. Clay Guida, two of the most exciting lightweight fighters in the game. Huerta is the guy we watched fight the first time we watched fights over at Matt's house (the night Gonzaga lost to Couture)...he was the guy who used the big screen display to land reverse elbows on his opponent. These guys are both game and it will be a war. If you want to watch this we me, you're welcome too! I'll probably watch it at my place or my pop's up in Chino Hills.
Ok, it's Thanksgiving and I shouldn't be on the net, so here's the rest of the schedule for the upcoming UFC events:
Ultimate Fighter® Team Serra vs Team Hughes Finale - 12/08/2007
R. Huerta
C. Guida
Date
12/08/2007
Time
9pm ET/PT
Event Type
Spike TV - The Ultimate Fighter Finale
UFC® 79 NEMESIS - 12/29/2007
M. Serra
M. Hughes
Date
12/29/2007
Time
7pm PT / 10pm ET
Event Type
PPV Live
UFC® 80: RAPID FIRE - 01/19/2008
B. Penn
J. Stevenson
Date
01/19/2008
Time
noon PT / 3pm ET / 20:00 GMT
Event Type
PPV Live
1. UFC 81 (Sat., Feb. 2nd) will be known as the "Super Bowl Card" because it's the same weekend as the Super Bowl and "my sources" (Sherdog's podcast) claim that it may be on CBS for free (of course it'd be free if it's broadcast on national TV). This would be the biggest thing ever to happen to MMA in that it'll be free and on national TV. We don't who'll be the main event, but some of the card has already materialized:
Hvywt.
Frank Mir (10-3) vs. Brock Lesnar (1-0)
Brock Lesnar is the first guy to fight in the UFC from pro-wrestling. Before you dismiss him note this: he as a division I wreslter and defeated his first opponent in about one minute via arm bar. Frank Mir on the other hand was one the golden boy of the UFC heavyweight division but a terrible motorcycle accident put him out of the game for a few years and he has found mixed success coming back.
155 lbs.
Tyson Griffin (10-1) vs. Gleison Tibau (15-4)*
Tyson is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport. I absolutely love to watch him fight because he never gives up and has the ability to get out of submissions regardless of how hopeless things seem.
185 lbs.
Nate Marquardt (25-7-2) vs. Thales Leites (12-1)*
Both of these guys bring it but Nate is a true contender. His last fight was a title shot against The Spider which he lost via TKO. He just didn't have an answer for the most dominating striker in the game in Anderson Silva. Leites is no joke either and this will be a true battle of these middleweights!
2. The next fight card is FREE and will go down on Dec. 8th (Sat.) at 6PM on SPIKETV. It's the Ultimate Fighter Finale. Although we don't know who the finalists are, we do know that the main event is Roger Huerta vs. Clay Guida, two of the most exciting lightweight fighters in the game. Huerta is the guy we watched fight the first time we watched fights over at Matt's house (the night Gonzaga lost to Couture)...he was the guy who used the big screen display to land reverse elbows on his opponent. These guys are both game and it will be a war. If you want to watch this we me, you're welcome too! I'll probably watch it at my place or my pop's up in Chino Hills.
Ok, it's Thanksgiving and I shouldn't be on the net, so here's the rest of the schedule for the upcoming UFC events:
Ultimate Fighter® Team Serra vs Team Hughes Finale - 12/08/2007
R. Huerta
C. Guida
Date
12/08/2007
Time
9pm ET/PT
Event Type
Spike TV - The Ultimate Fighter Finale
UFC® 79 NEMESIS - 12/29/2007
M. Serra
M. Hughes
Date
12/29/2007
Time
7pm PT / 10pm ET
Event Type
PPV Live
UFC® 80: RAPID FIRE - 01/19/2008
B. Penn
J. Stevenson
Date
01/19/2008
Time
noon PT / 3pm ET / 20:00 GMT
Event Type
PPV Live
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The BEAST vs. The SPIDER
Who's going to step up to Silva? After beating the top four guys in the division by either TKO, KO or submission, he essentially cleaned out the division. It's no secret that Dan "The Beast" Henderson, the guy who just took Rampage to a five round decision which he lost but looked good doing it, has fought at middle weight (indeed, he held both the LHW and MW belts in PRIDE before it was dissolved), but he made it very clear that he would like to stay at LHW. Apparently White talked him into doing what would obviously be a smart move on his part, namely to drop down to 185 to challenge Anderson "The Spider" Silva. He has all the tools to beat Silva who right now is making the case for being the best pound for pound fighter in MMA (although most give that title to Fedor or GSP). Bottom line is that for fans this is good medicine!
From mmamania.com:
From mmamania.com:
Day of reckoning: Henderson vs. Silva projected for UFC 82
There are main events, and there are MAIN EVENTS.
Dan “Hollywood” Henderson (22-6), after much resistance, has conceded to moving down a weight class to try and dethrone current UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva (20-4).
The bout is tentatively scheduled to headline UFC 82 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on March 1st.
The announcement was made during the post-fight press conference for UFC 78, which took place Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Henderson is coming off a disappointing loss against current light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 75. While the result may not have been what he wanted, the bout was a showcase of upper-level mixed martial arts.
At the time, Henderson was steadfast in his decision to remain at 205lbs.
In addition to knocking out Wanderlei Silva at PRIDE 33, Hendo is also only one of three people to hold victories over current UFC Heavyweight contender Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira.
He’ll need every ounce of that experience against “The Spider”, who has completely dominated the UFC middleweight division with five straight wins including four devastating (T)KO’s.
Silva is also considered by many to be the sport’s top pound-for-pound fighter and may solidify that ranking with a dominant performance over Henderson, one of the few remaining fighters seen as a viable threat to the middleweight title.
Things could get very interesting in 2008.
Stay tunedSaturday, November 17, 2007
UFC 78 in the books...
Big thanks to Matt for hosting us for UFC 78. Despite the fact that many of the fights weren't as exciting as we might have hoped in that they went the distance, the night was fun and there were a few stunning moments, including the (T)KO of Houston Alexander and the KO by Herman. Unfortunately the Fisher fight was less than stellar with Edgar putting on a wrestling/cardio clinic on the poor Spencer who didn't seem to have any answer for "The Answer" in terms of working off his back. The main event was exciting enough with Evans pulling of the split decision and the two fighters buried the hatchet by showing respect to one another after the fight.
The next event is on Dec. 29th, New Year's Eve (there's always a NYE fight) and then, after that, the free Ultimate Fight Night on SpikeTV will go down on Jan. 8th. Although the New Year's Eve Fight is questionable in terms of whether or not we'll be able to put that one together, the UFN on Jan 8th is a sure thing, so put it on your calendar.
Official results from mmaweekly.com:
The fight went the way most expected, Evans scoring with several takedowns and Bisping arguably getting the better of the stand-up game. After three rounds of back-and-forth action that slowed as the fight wore on, it was Rashad Evans that saw his hand raised in victory, albeit due to a split decision. Two judges scored the bout 29-28 for Evans, the third scoring it 29-28 for Bisping.
Both fighters talked a lot leading up to this bout and they had a heated exchange at the weigh-ins on Thursday afternoon, but as is usually the case, they showed much respect for each other after beating each other up for three rounds.
“I felt it went in my favor, but you’ve got to give credit to Michael Bisping,” said Evans following the bout. “My hat is off to him.”
He felt that it was his wrestling that edged the decision his way. “When it came down to it, I controlled the pace of the fight by being able to take him down.”
Asked his assessment of the fight, Bisping said, “I thought it was a very close fight. A lot of people thought I didn’t belong in here with him. I think I proved that I do belong here tonight.”
Like Evans, he thought his opponent’s takedowns were what made it decisive in the judges’ eyes. “Obviously the takedowns were the deciding factor. I’m not taking anything away from him; he did take me down. But I am happy with my wrestling and my takedown defense.”
Houston Alexander, who had spent less than a combined total of two minutes in the Octagon in winning his first two UFC bouts, had to go more than three minutes on Saturday night. It was three minutes that he’d surely like to have back though. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Thiago Silva made it a rough night for Alexander, mounting him and putting an end to his UFC unbeaten streak with a barrage of punches.
Silva upped his professional record to 12-0 with the TKO stoppage. He was grateful for the win afterwards saying, “My strategy going in was to fight him for three rounds, but thanks to God I was able to finish him.”
Karo Parisyan had to go all three rounds with a debuting Ryo Chonan, but he continually took the Japanese fighter down throughout and grounded and pounded him. No one will vote it fight of the night, but it was a dominating performance once again for the Armenian welterweight.
“I got the win, but it wasn’t my best showing,” said Parisyan of his performance. “I’m sorry, next time I will do better. He’s a tough guy.”
It took Ed Herman until the opening moments of the third round – after nearly succumbing to an armbar at the end of round two – but he knocked out Joe Doerksen with a left hook at the 39-second mark to capture his first win by knockout.
“That was beautiful to win like that,” said Herman after the fight. “That’s the first KO of my career … there it is baby!”
It wasn’t the most exciting fight of the night, but New Jersey native Frankie Edgar dominated Spencer Fisher before his home crowd. He took Fisher down at will and although he didn’t accumulate much damage, he was active with his ground and pound attack throughout, scoring a unanimous decision.
In a close fight that went back-and-forth, Thiago Alves came out on top as officials ruled that Chris Lytle could not continue after the second round. Lytle suffered a cut over his left eye in the first round and it gave rise to further concern in between rounds two and three as the fight was stopped.
A member of B.J. Penn’s team on season five of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Joe Lauzon made the move to Hilo, Hawaii to permanently join Penn’s team and it appears to be paying off. In little more than one minute into the first round, Lauzon tapped out the previously undefeated Jason Reinhardt with a rear naked choke.
After losing to Clay Guida in his first Octagon debut, Pride veteran Marcus Aurelio returned in impressive fashion, finishing off UFC veteran Luke Caudillo by TKO in the opening round.
In the night’s opening preliminary bout, Akihiro Gono did his best to shuck the perception that former Pride fighters can’t win in the UFC, defeating Tamdan McCrory via armbar midway through the second round.
UFC 78 RESULTS:
–Rashad Evans def. Michael Bisping by Split Decision, R3
–Thiago Silva def. Houston Alexander by TKO (Strikes) at 3:25, R1
–Karo Parisyan def. Ryo Chonan by Unanimous Decision, R3
–Ed Herman def. Joe Doerksen by KO (Punch) at 0:39, R3
–Frankie Edgar def. Spencer Fisher by Unanimous Decision, R3
–Thiago Alves def. Chris Lytle by TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage) at 5:00, R2
–Joe Lauzon def. Jason Reinhardt by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:14, R1
–Marcus Aurelio def. Luke Caudillo by TKO (Strikes) at 4:29, R1
–Akihiro Gono def. Tamdan McCrory by Submission (Armbar) at 3:19, R2
The next event is on Dec. 29th, New Year's Eve (there's always a NYE fight) and then, after that, the free Ultimate Fight Night on SpikeTV will go down on Jan. 8th. Although the New Year's Eve Fight is questionable in terms of whether or not we'll be able to put that one together, the UFN on Jan 8th is a sure thing, so put it on your calendar.
Official results from mmaweekly.com:
The fight went the way most expected, Evans scoring with several takedowns and Bisping arguably getting the better of the stand-up game. After three rounds of back-and-forth action that slowed as the fight wore on, it was Rashad Evans that saw his hand raised in victory, albeit due to a split decision. Two judges scored the bout 29-28 for Evans, the third scoring it 29-28 for Bisping.
Both fighters talked a lot leading up to this bout and they had a heated exchange at the weigh-ins on Thursday afternoon, but as is usually the case, they showed much respect for each other after beating each other up for three rounds.
“I felt it went in my favor, but you’ve got to give credit to Michael Bisping,” said Evans following the bout. “My hat is off to him.”
He felt that it was his wrestling that edged the decision his way. “When it came down to it, I controlled the pace of the fight by being able to take him down.”
Asked his assessment of the fight, Bisping said, “I thought it was a very close fight. A lot of people thought I didn’t belong in here with him. I think I proved that I do belong here tonight.”
Like Evans, he thought his opponent’s takedowns were what made it decisive in the judges’ eyes. “Obviously the takedowns were the deciding factor. I’m not taking anything away from him; he did take me down. But I am happy with my wrestling and my takedown defense.”
Houston Alexander, who had spent less than a combined total of two minutes in the Octagon in winning his first two UFC bouts, had to go more than three minutes on Saturday night. It was three minutes that he’d surely like to have back though. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Thiago Silva made it a rough night for Alexander, mounting him and putting an end to his UFC unbeaten streak with a barrage of punches.
Silva upped his professional record to 12-0 with the TKO stoppage. He was grateful for the win afterwards saying, “My strategy going in was to fight him for three rounds, but thanks to God I was able to finish him.”
Karo Parisyan had to go all three rounds with a debuting Ryo Chonan, but he continually took the Japanese fighter down throughout and grounded and pounded him. No one will vote it fight of the night, but it was a dominating performance once again for the Armenian welterweight.
“I got the win, but it wasn’t my best showing,” said Parisyan of his performance. “I’m sorry, next time I will do better. He’s a tough guy.”
It took Ed Herman until the opening moments of the third round – after nearly succumbing to an armbar at the end of round two – but he knocked out Joe Doerksen with a left hook at the 39-second mark to capture his first win by knockout.
“That was beautiful to win like that,” said Herman after the fight. “That’s the first KO of my career … there it is baby!”
It wasn’t the most exciting fight of the night, but New Jersey native Frankie Edgar dominated Spencer Fisher before his home crowd. He took Fisher down at will and although he didn’t accumulate much damage, he was active with his ground and pound attack throughout, scoring a unanimous decision.
In a close fight that went back-and-forth, Thiago Alves came out on top as officials ruled that Chris Lytle could not continue after the second round. Lytle suffered a cut over his left eye in the first round and it gave rise to further concern in between rounds two and three as the fight was stopped.
A member of B.J. Penn’s team on season five of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Joe Lauzon made the move to Hilo, Hawaii to permanently join Penn’s team and it appears to be paying off. In little more than one minute into the first round, Lauzon tapped out the previously undefeated Jason Reinhardt with a rear naked choke.
After losing to Clay Guida in his first Octagon debut, Pride veteran Marcus Aurelio returned in impressive fashion, finishing off UFC veteran Luke Caudillo by TKO in the opening round.
In the night’s opening preliminary bout, Akihiro Gono did his best to shuck the perception that former Pride fighters can’t win in the UFC, defeating Tamdan McCrory via armbar midway through the second round.
UFC 78 RESULTS:
–Rashad Evans def. Michael Bisping by Split Decision, R3
–Thiago Silva def. Houston Alexander by TKO (Strikes) at 3:25, R1
–Karo Parisyan def. Ryo Chonan by Unanimous Decision, R3
–Ed Herman def. Joe Doerksen by KO (Punch) at 0:39, R3
–Frankie Edgar def. Spencer Fisher by Unanimous Decision, R3
–Thiago Alves def. Chris Lytle by TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage) at 5:00, R2
–Joe Lauzon def. Jason Reinhardt by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:14, R1
–Marcus Aurelio def. Luke Caudillo by TKO (Strikes) at 4:29, R1
–Akihiro Gono def. Tamdan McCrory by Submission (Armbar) at 3:19, R2
Who is Sokoudjou?
He left Africa with dreams of becoming a pro fighter and only a couple of fights into his pro career he knocked out two of the best fighters in the world. He'll be fighting at UFC 79 against undefeated Machida. One could argue that the LHW division is now as deep as the welterweight division when you look at the top ten guys. Skip ahead to the action if you want (especially in the first video which has the full introductions of both fighters):
http://www.myvideo.de/watch/2299017&id=331
http://www.vsocial.com/video/?d=101234&id=1190
http://www.myvideo.de/watch/2299017&id=331
http://www.vsocial.com/video/?d=101234&id=1190
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
It's on...
What's up everybody? Hope you're all well. I have great news, we'll be watcing UFC 78: VALIDATION on SATURDAY NOV. 17th at 7:00 PM (not this Sat. but next) at Matt Yacubic's house (where we watched UFC 74 when Couture beat Gonzaga). He is not providing food, so we'll all pitch in five bucks or whatever just to cover the fight, so bring some food or fill up your gut before hand. If you don't know how to get there, just come to my place at 6:30 and we'll carpool down. Please RSVP via email: djtodd@gmail.com
CHECK OUT THE OFFICIAL SITE HERE FOR UFC 78
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CHECK OUT THE OFFICIAL SITE HERE FOR UFC 78
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