A Fighter's Stance

Anderson Silva Debuts at Light Heavyweight Against James Irvin July 19

2008-06-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

I will now be writing for the Bleacher Report. My first article can be found here:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/30420-UFC-Shows-Its-Might-Anderson-Silva-To-Squash-Competition-At-Light-Heavyweight-

In an attempt to bleed Affliction of its viewers on its inaugural event, July 19th, the UFC will air a live event for free on Spike TV. The Ultimate Fight Night 14 card will feature the headlining bout Anderson Silva vs James Irvin. The most intriguing part of this bout is that it will be at Light Heavyweight. The UFC will test it's middleweight champ at 205 lbs. This is just a test to see how he does at light heavy and will return to 185 to defend his title later in the year. If all goes well, a rumoured superfight between Anderson Silva and Chuck Liddell might become a reality!

Other fights on the card include:
Hermes Franca vs Frankie Edgar (Moved from UFC 87)
Jake O'brien vs Cain Valesquez

This card is being put together in only 5 weeks, so expect the fight announcements to come fast and furious.

I will continue to post the links to my Bleacher Report articles here on my blog and keep tabs on other blogs I enjoy reading.

For more info on Silva's move to light heavyweight, click the link above.

MMA Fact vs Fiction

2008-05-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

Dave Doyle from Yahoo!Sports wrote a very interesting article about the criticism MMA has, and still is, receiving from uneducated sports columnists. It is a brilliant article that I just had to share with you. It outlines many of the ficticious claims made against the sport of mixed martial arts by unprofessional media and fires back against each of these claims with the REAL FACTS!

I find it irritating that many of these supposed "professional" columnists/reporters use their columns to take jabs at the sport of MMA rather than reporting on the growth and success of the sport. I came across this very situation when I was in Montreal for UFC 83. One columnist for the Montreal Gazette covered the event and not once in the article did she mention how good the show was, the professionalism of the production and the athletes, the intelligence and skill of the athletes, or the success of the show. Nor did she comment on the incredible business the UFC brought to the local businesses in Montreal. The article had a sarcastic feel and indirectly slammed the sport of MMA. The columnist reported on the clothes that fans were sporting, she mentioned 5 construction workers who were in line to see the show, made sarcastic remarks about the music in the Bell Centre, made fun of the types of fans attending the show, and basically called the entire event a farce.

Many reporters don't have a choice of what sporting events they cover, they are told by their boss on what to cover. If columnists like this don't like what they cover, they should at least make an effort to understand what it is they are covering. Entering into this agreement with an uneducated, one-sided opinion is not how professional reporters do their work. This columnist should have done her homework, watched an MMA card or two, done a bit of research, talked to people affiliated with the event - fighters, coaches, CEO's, sponsors, etc.

It's frustrating to me that these criticisms are still taking place. MMA has come so far and has evolved into a legitimate sport and should be recognized as such. Dave Doyle does a great job of bringing the facts to the table against all the criticisms made against mixed martial arts.

The full article can be found here.

Half-Guard Heaven

2008-05-15T05:53:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was the first Jiu-Jitsu class I attended in 9 weeks. I broke my hand in early march and haven't been able to return to training due to the injury. March 6th was my last class and in this time I have done next to nothing in terms of training. Needless to say, I am a little out of shape.

In my absence from training, I also missed a seminar at the club from Pat Cooligan. He is the instructor at Team Renzo in Ottawa, who we are affiliated with. He is the only Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black-belt in Canada. Our club is very fortunate to have such a skilled practicioner as a friend of ours. Pat makes the trip to Sudbury twice a year, and we make the trip to Ottawa approximately the same amount. We are also fortunate enough to attend seminars by the man himself, Renzo Gracie.

During the seminar with Pat, the club went over a large number of half-guard techniques. Since I missed this seminar, I asked my instructor to run through some of these techniques during class on Tuesday. So here's a few techniques to use from half-guard.

First, a few basic rules of half-guard. Half-guard is when you have your legs triangling only one of your opponent's legs. The major rule here is to make sure you are underhooking your opponent's arm on the same side as the leg you have trapped. If you don't have this underhook, you are not in control. If you don't have the underhook, you have to fight to get it. There's nothing you can do without it. The underhook can't be sloppy either, make sure that your hand (we'll say the left one for this example) is underhooking his right arm and it is gripping his left shoulder. You should never be on your back, always on your side if you wish to mount any sort of offense. So, if you are underhooking with your left arm, you need to hip out and turn so that your left shoulder is off the mat. Pull your right shoulder back to be completely on your right side. Now with your right hand grip your opponent's left bicep or wrist. You need to control that arm. So this is what I consider to be half guard: On your side, trapping one of your opponent's legs, underhooking the arm on the same side, and controlling the other arm. In this position, YOU are the one winning the battle, not your opponent on top.

All these techniques begin from this position.

Escape To The Back

Hip out as much as you can to create space. You will have to release the triangle you are using to trap your opponent's leg.
With your left hand (that's underhooking) release the grip you have on the shoulder.
Hip out again and shoot your left hand forward (in the direction that the top of your heads are facing), over his right shoulder. This should push your opponent forward.
Now, he is on his belly, face down. You are on your side with your legs still in half guard.
Grip his left shoulder again and pull yourself onto his back.
Sink in your hooks.

Pretty simple, right? Try it out, it is very effective!

Half Butterfly Roll

Hip out to create space. (Opponent's right leg in your half guard again.)
Put in your left hook to create a half-butterfly-guard on your left side.
Remove your right hand from your opponent's wrist or bicep.
Swim your right arm in between your opponent's legs and hook his left leg.
Bring your opponent's left knee to your head by pulling your arm forward and placing your fist to your head. (Like you would if you were talking on the phone.)
Lift your opponent's right knee and suck your hips in to force your opponent on top of you, with his knee up. To keep his balance, he must plant his right foot on the mat. Your foot is now hooking at his right knee.
Remove your left arm to release the underhook.
Grab your opponent's right ankle with your left hand.
In one motion, pull on the ankle and push forward with your left shin. This causes your opponent's right knee to twist and forces him backwards. With your right arm still hooking your opponent's left leg, you can use it to push him over as you are coming up.
You are now in your opponent's half-guard!

Passing Half-Guard

The most largely used technique to pass your opponent's half-guard, is to lean forward, put pressure on your opponent's jaw, and with the leg that isn't trapped, hook one of your opponent's legs and pry your other leg free.

But that doesn't always work, whether it be because your opponent is trapping your leg too tightly or because you are losing your balance.

If this is the case, then there is a very simple way to pass.

In this example we'll say that your opponent has your right leg trapped.

Simply roll over your opponent's belly and end up on his left side.
Make sure that you control you opponent's right bicep during this motion. This is to prevent your opponent from rolling you over as you perform this move.
Plant your left foot to keep you balanced.
From here, pulling your leg out becomes much easier.
Use your available leg to push against your opponent's legs and pull your leg free. You will end up in side control using this method.

Simple enough? Sometimes the most simple techniques are the most effective.

Bell Centre Atmosphere at UFC 83 Was Insane!!!

2008-04-22T06:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 19th was the first time I ever attended a UFC event live. It lived up to everything I thought it would be and much, much, much more!!! SO MUCH MORE!!! I'll run you through my entire weekend there and give my thoughts on all of the fights!

I got up early Friday morning with four other friends, two of whom are my brother in-laws, but best friends nonetheless. Equipped with digital cameras, high definition video cameras, a rented minivan, DVD player, and five Section 106, Row L seats at the Bell Centre, we finally left Sudbury around 10:00-10:30am. We arrived in Montreal around 6:30pm on Friday.

Driving in Montreal must be an art that comes with years of practice. It is no easy feat as Montreal is a city jammed with one way streets, very low traffic lights that stand on the side of the road and not above it, weird intersections, and a lot of 'scenery' to look at. Scenery that could get a man in big trouble if travelling with a wife or girlfriend.

After circling our hotel two times, we were finally able to get to the street that would get us to the front entrance. It was clear right away that we were staying at the right hotel this weekend. The entrance to the hotel was buzzing with fight fans. Team Serra were standing against the railing on the stairs to the lobby entrance. When checking in, Michael Bisping and his girlfriend were checking in right in front of us. Perfect picture opportunity. He looked very scrawny!! This was due to him cutting weight to make the 185 lbs middleweight limit. I knew immediately that this was going to be a weekend to remember! This was the hotel that all the UFC fighters were staying at!!

We got into our room and got settled. We decided to hit up a big fishing store in Montreal so we headed to the elevator. When the doors opened to the elevator, Jason MacDonald was standing there eating an energy bar. Another picture opportunity! The entire lobby was buzzing all weekend. Packed with fans and fighters taking pictures! The atmosphere in the hotel was awesome!! You couldn't walk down the streets of Montreal without hearing the "GSP!" chant a few times! One office building downtown Montreal had a huge GSP banner in it's windows many floors up.

When we got back to the hotel, I noticed Kenny Florian in the lobby. He had his back to us as we entered. Me and my buddies immediately got a picture with him and talked briefly. It's actually a very nice picture of the group of us, taken by Kenny's friend. A picture that I am sure to have framed. We headed up to our room to get ready for a night out in Montreal. We then noticed David 'The Crow' Loiseau sitting on a couch in the lobby. More pictures!! On our way back out of the hotel, Arianny Celeste, the UFC ring girl, was standing with a friend in this insanely sexy corset. I was the only one who noticed her as we exited the elevator. I immediately grabbed my brother in law so we could get a picture. This is probably my favorite picture from the weekend.

Walking down the street to the bars, we met Travis Lutter walking the streets. The rules are a little different in the bars of Montreal is all I'm gonna say! Kenny Florian and Mark DellaGrotte were in the same strip club we were at Friday night! They were there right until closing and stood outside with us after. Even at 4 am the hotel lobby was jumping with fans! Simply unbelievable!

Friday, the pictures with fighters didn't stop. Me and my buddies took a walk in the underground mall in Montreal. Walking around in a very quiet part of the mall, who do we see talking on his cell phone, but Forrest Griffin. Once again, I was the first one to notice the fighter. We immediately grabbed our cameras for pictures but then decided against bugging him for pictures since he was on his phone. We didn't want to bug the guy. Aside from us, he was the only other person in this quiet hallway in the mall. We walked past him and waved and nodded at him. We could tell right away that he appreciated not having us harass him for pictures while he was on his phone. He took the time to interrupt his phone conversation to say "Have a good one guys!" We got to the end of the hallway and realized that the doors at the end were locked. So we walked back. On our way back, we noticed Forrest standing outside a little coffee shop inside the mall. This time we bugged him for pictures. He told us that he really appreciated it when we didn't bug him for pictures while he was on the phone and seemed happy to take a few pictures with us. All of the fighters we met so far were alot smaller than I thought they'd be. Shorter and skinner than I am and I weight around 185 lbs. Forrest, however, looked massive! I was the second smallest guy in my group and he made everyone look small. Even my brother in law and friend who both weigh around 210 looked small and short compared to Forrest.

One our way back to the hotel we were walking on the bridge heading back, when once again I noticed another fighter. Dan Henderson was at the lobby entrance taking pictures with fans outside. So we took off across the bridge and down the stairs to the hotel entrance. When we got close, his manager (I think this was his manager) said "Yes, he'll take a picture with you". So we shook his hand talked and took pictures. He is actually alot smaller than I thought he'd be. Of all the fighters, I think Dan's size was the one that surprised me the most. Short with skinny legs. But the back muscles and strength of that guy were scary. When he gripped us when taking pictures, you could tell that this guy could crush you with his fist if he wanted to. Even after taking pictures outside, he was stuck in the lobby taking pictures long after we already made our way back to our room.

We went out to eat before the fights. After eating we headed over to the Bell Centre. On our way there, we ran into Heath Herring on the street. Tall man. He had a mohawk, black jeans, cowboy boots, and some type of biker t-shirt on. He was on his cell phone so we didn't bother him. We just waved and nodded as we walked by, the same with did with Forrest Griffin.

We stood in line to get into the Bell Centre. I could tell right away that this was going to be a crowd to remember. Chants of "GSP! GSP!" roared from the time we stepped in line till we entered the arena...well the chants never really stopped. Anywhere we went in the Bell Centre there were chears for GSP. There were fans running through traffic with a giant Quebec flag screaming GSP! GSP! This was going to be haywire!!! It was already mayhem outside the Bell Centre and the fights hadn't even started yet!

When we got into the bell centre, Jonathan Goulet's entrance music was blaring out of the arena's sound system. I could see the octagon each time I walked past a section entrance. It looked AWESOME!!!! Everytime I walked past an entrance and looked in, I got more and more excited! The Goulet-Hironaka fight had just started when we sat down in our seats. This was the first fight of the pre-lims and already the arena was nearing capacity!!! INSANE!!! The roar of the crowd was already deafening and this was only the very first fight of the night!!! 11 fights in total on this card!! With each fight, the crowd got louder and louder. You would think that people would get tired of yelling, but that wasn't the case. My voice was practically gone well before they went live on Pay-Per-View!!!

I haven't seen the pay-per-view yet, but I could just imagine what Mike Goldberg was sayin to the camera and to Kenny Florian when the live portion of the event started. It was probably something like "This crowd is ELECTRIC!!" Or something like "The fans are bringing this arena down tonight!!!" I can't wait to see it on TV. Before they went live, Mike Goldberg and Kenny Florian were standing in front of the TV camera waiting to go live for the start of the pay-per-view, and Goldberg was dancing to the music playing in the arena. Pretty funny stuff...stuff you don't see on TV. Oh yeah, Bruce Buffer was doing that between the Franklin/Lutter fight and the St. Pierre/Serra fight. He was standing outside of the Octagon, but still on the platform, facing the crowd, dancing to the music. I wish I got it on tape...You don't get to see this stuff on TV.

There was about a half hour wait between the last pre-lim fight (Jason Day/Alan Belcher) and the live pay-per-view portion. The arena announcer came over the sound system and said "The main card will begin shortly, so do what you gotta do, but come back because we go live on pay-per-view at 10 o'clock!" That was also what was shown on the screens that surround the arena bowl "We go live on Pay-Per-View at 10PM" Again, just stuff you don't get to see on TV. Other things you don't get to see on TV are the stupid camera booms that are used to film the crowd and the fighters' entrances from above.

After the prelims, I could see Sam stout at the back of the floor seats near the rink boards. He just bought a round of beers for the guys in Rich Clementi's corner. They were all standing together talking and laughing. Gray Maynard (from Clementi's camp) was talking with Stout and they looked like best buds. All a show of respect between fighters and their camps.

When the live portion started, the crowd went bananas!!!! The roar was deafening...I know you hear that alot, but I mean it. It was borderline insanity!! The seats were shaking! We were in the lower bowl of the arena. We looked up at the people in the bowls above us and it was just pandemonium!!!!

The crowd never let up. Fight after fight after fight!! The noise level just got increasingly louder!!!

The Nate Quarry/Kalib Starnes fight provided a very interesting switch in crowd reaction and cheering. And rightfully so. Kalib Starnes didn't show up to fight. Quarry did. Starnes backpedalled the entire fight. Barely threw a punch or kick. He pretty much ran from Quarry the entire fight. At first I thought he was just feeling him out, trying to set his distance. But the longer it continued I realized that wasn't the case.

The crowd booed Quarry as they did any opponent to a Canadian. This was natural. We're in Canada so we all cheered for our Canadian fighters. Starnes was no different. We cheered him on during his entrance. Cheered like crazy to support our fellow Canadian. But those cheers immediately turned to boos...both for Starnes and Quarry, as it wasn't immediately clear who was causing these stalemates. But once the crowd realized that Quarry was indead trying to push the action and Starnes was running away, the crowd shifted in favour of Quarry. The boos began for Starnes. Quarry gained even more appreciation when he began mocking Starnes. The crowd erupted in laughter and cheers. Starnes was now hated and Quarry was our hero!!! By the end of the fight, there wasn't a single Starnes fan in the arena. You could have sworn that Quarry was from Canada by the way we cheered for him after the fight. He won us over that night! Starnes was booed out of the arena.

The crowd erupted again when Georges St. Pierre was shown on screen coming out to the arena. The cheers were deafening. But just when you thought this crowd couldn't possibly be any louder, there was an explosion of cheers and screams as GSP entered the arena!!! WOW!!! That crackling sound you hear in your ear when something is way too loud...yeah that happened to me long ago!! This noise level was damn near fatal!!! The cheers got louder yet when he stepped into the cage! Then Matt Serra came out. He was booed with a ferocity that I have never seen before. Unrelenting were us fans. We booed him with everything we had. And then the fight started.

The chanting never stopped!!! From the opening bell, relentless chants of "GSP!GSP!" and "OLE! OLE,OLE,OLE!!!" filled the arena. It was non-stop!! LOUD! Man, was it loud!!! My head was throbbing from the noise level. My voice was gone! I couldn't hear myself think! Everytime Georges took Serra down, passed his guard, threw a punch or a knee, the crowd erupted!!! Near the end of the fight, the crowd began chanting "F*** YOU, SERRA!!" 21,000 fans screaming in unison "F*** YOU, SERRA!!" This is when Georges began unleashing those knees to the body. I began screaming at the top of my lungs because I knew the fight was nearing it's end. I was screaming so loud that I was getting dizzy!!! As was the rest of the crowd!!! And when the ref called a stop to the fight, the thunder came!!!! The loudest outburst of cheers I have ever witnessed and ever been a part of erupted inside the Bell Centre!!!! The floor was shaking!!! The sound waves were enough to knock you on your ass!!! 21,390 fans erupted into a deafening roar the likes of which the UFC has never seen before!!! I thought the building was coming down!! I immediately had goosebumps and chills up the back of my neck!!! The atmosphere and the feeling of being a part of something so memorable is something I simply cannot describe in words. It was something that had to be experienced to be appreciated and understood. It was absolutely unbelievable!!! That was something that I doubt that I'll ever experience ever again and I'm just glad I was fortunate enough to be a part of it.

Best weekend of my life.

Tim Boetsch - The Replacement Killer

2008-02-13T06:36:00.001-08:00

Before UFC 81, many people - including myself - had never heard of Tim Boetsch before. The unknown fighter from Sunbury, Pennsylvania was a late replacement for Tomasz Drwal to take on David Heath in a light heavyweight matchup. Ten days notice was all that was given to Boetsch, but for a chance to fight in the UFC, it was not something he was about to turn down.

Apparently this man had a deep dark secret that we was dying to let out - he is a beast, a bull looking to run through whoever and whatever stands in his way.

His performance at UFC 81 was one of, if not THE most exciting of the night. Like I said before, I had never seen Tim Boetsch compete before this fight, but what I witnessed in his UFC debut was absolute dominance. I don't think I've ever seen a fighter use push kicks as an offensive tactic before and use it so effectively and so consistently.

Perhaps it was the lack of notice and lack of preparation for a fighter who was virtually unknown, but Heath's inability to defend against the push kicks is what eventually led to his knockout defeat. The one thing that was known about Boetsch was that he was a wrestler so I'm sure Heath prepared his game plan for that of a wrestler and not for a Jeet Kune Do student.

Well, Boetsch Jeet Kune Do'ed the snot out of Heath. With each push kick, Boetsch seemed to gain more confidence as he realized that Heath had no answers for the push kicks - a tactic used in many martial arts to create distance between you and your opponent when you find yourself in trouble. In the closing seconds of round one, Heath was able to close the distance on Boetsch but like I said, Tim Boetsch is a bull and would have none of Heath and tossed him on his head in a move reminiscent of the seniors at Wal-Mart during the year-end clearance sales.

Heath didn't put his hands out to protect himself from the throw and landed face first on the mat. Heath was knocked out on impact. The follow up barrage was just a formality and the fight was stopped at 4:52 of the first round.

With a performance like that, it didn't take long for the UFC to call on Boetsch once again to step back inside the Octagon.

Stephan Bonnar was to face Matt Hamill at UFC Fight Night on April 2nd in Colorado, but had to pull out due to injury. So enter Tim Boetsch. Fresh off his dominant victory over Heath, Boetsch will waste no time getting back into the Octagon to face Matt Hamill. Hamill is an excellent wrestler with alot of power and will have plenty of time to prepare for a fighter like Boetsch, a luxury that David Heath didn't have. It will be interesting to see how this fight plays out. It would be safe to say that Hamill will be looking to put Boetsch on his back and pound him out and that Boetsch will be looking to use those push kicks once again to keep Hamill from closing the distance to set up the takedown. Let's not forget that Boetsch, too, is a wrestler and might have good takedown defense. Hamill not only has great wrestling skills, but showed incredible improvement in his standup in his fight with Michael Bisping. I still know too little about Boetsch at this point to make any sort of prediction on what will happen in this fight, but either way it's still exciting to see Larry The Cable Guy, I mean Tim Boetsch, fight inside the Octagon.

I did some research on Tim Boetsch and here's a few things I've come up with:

- He is 7 - 1 in MMA.
- His only loss was a unanimous decision to Vladimir Matyushenko in the IFL.
- 5 of his 7 wins were in round 1.
- All of his wins came inside the distance.

Hamill will be a very tough test for Boetsch and we will find out on April 2nd whether or not his pummelling of David Heath was a fluke. If Boetsch upsets Hamill, then he might want to adopt the moniker "The Replacement Killer".

UFC 81 Produces No Losers In Its Heavyweight Matchups

2008-02-08T07:20:00.000-08:00

For the UFC heavyweights who competed in the main, and co-main events at the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas on Saturday, UFC 81 was their chance to fire back at the critics and make a statement. The UFC heavyweight division is strong!

After being unable to sign a deal with Fedor Emelianenko and losing its heavyweight champion Randy Couture, the UFC heavyweight division seemed to dwindle a little bit. Added to the loss of the top two heavyweights in the world, were very lackluster performances by Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia.

Not to mention all the PRIDE heavyweight imports were losing inside the Octagon. Many of the fighters who were considered the top heavyweights in Pride were having difficulty finding themselves in the win column inside the cage. The biggest dissapointment being Mirko Cro Cop - who was considered, in Pride, to be the most feared striker in all of MMA. But after an average performance in his UFC debut victory against Eddie Sanchez, Cro Cop received a rude welcome to the UFC when he was knocked out via head kick by Gabriel Gonzaga. Cro Cop went on to lose his next fight via decision in a poor performance against Cheick Kongo. The first Pride heavyweight to step into the Octagon, Heath Herring, lost in his UFC debut to Jake O'brien. Fabricio Werdum lost via decision to Andrei Arlovski in his UFC debut in what turned out to be a hellishly boring fight. Nogueira made his UFC debut against Herring last July and aside from being fairly unimpressive in that fight, he nearly had his head kicked off by Herring. If Herring hadn't let him up, Herring would have most certainly won the fight.

The UFC desperately needed its heavyweights to step up and put on some great performances.

And that they did.

Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Tim Sylvia, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira all put on great performances in their bouts at UFC 81.

The co-main event featured the much anticipated UFC debut of former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar as he took on former UFC Heavyweight champ Frank Mir.

There were some major questions that were answered in this fight.

Is Brock Lesnar the real deal? Absolutely. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can handle himself in there with top competition. He has the strongest ground and pound that I've ever seen. The man is a monster. He took Mir down in the opening 10 seconds of the fight. From there, he began a relentless onslaught that saw him dropping heavy, heavy bombs with the speed of a lightweight. He had Mir in big trouble early on, but was deducted a point and forced a standup after hitting Mir in the back of the head. After the fight was stood back up, Lesnar dropped Mir with a right hand and endup up in Mir's guard and began pounding away again. Mir attempted several arm bar submissions, but Lesnar was able to power out of them with relative ease. Lesnar stood up in Mir's guard and was caught with a kneebar and forced to tap out.

Is Mir still suffering from the effects of a motorcycle accident that nearly claimed his life? Definitely not. Fighting pretty much the entire fight on his back, he proved that he has the hip movement and mobility to be able to compete with the biggest and strongest in the division. The win reignites Mir's career and puts him back on track towards a title shot.

This was a win-win fight for both fighters. With the win, Mir proved that he's back and is ready to be one of the top heavyweights in the division once again. Lesnar showed incredible ability inside the cage. He showed that he is the strongest heavyweight in the UFC, he showed scary ground and pound, and even displayed the power he has in his standup with that right hand that sent Mir to the canvas.

The main event featured Sylvia vs Nogueira for the interim heavyweight championship.

Sylvia has become the man that the fans love to hate. He is booed with increased volume and regularity. Fans don't like him because of his awkward fighting style. He has become a very boring fighter to watch. After winning the title, he began fighting simply to not lose. Not to win. This survive-only style resulted in a number of very boring, very long 25 minute fights. Even in his win against Brandon Vera, he used his size to hold Vera against the fence and keep him there. This was the entire fight. He's also known for making excuses and being very cocky at times. This is why he has become a 6'8" target for criticism.

He wanted to make a statement and hopefully gain some respect from the fans. He did just that in his fight with Nogueira and in his post fight comments. He poured it on in this fight. He let his hands go and tried to finish the fight. He handed Nogueira a beating for most of the fight and nearly finished after knocking Minotauro down in the first. But anyone who knows Nogueira as a fighter, knows that this man can take a beating and still pull out the win. Sylvia ended up tapping out due to a guillotine choke in the third round after handing Nogueira a ten minute pummelling. At the post fight press conference, Sylvia showed both humility and humour in his comments. He joked with the press saying "I hate jiu jitsu". He gave respect for Nogueira acknowledging Nogueira as a legend in the sport and the number one heavyweight jiu jitsu practicioner. He event joked with Lesnar, poking fun at Lesnar's pre-fight comments saying "So he broke Tim Sylvia's arm, who cares. Who cares?! He almost broke you're leg!" With both fighters sitting next to each other, laughing, Sylvia ended his answers with "Brock's gonna go fishing, I'm gonna go hunting and kill some pigs, then we'll go back and work on our jiu jitsu." All of this made him more likeable. I for one, was disgusted watching Sylvia's previous fights, and didn't like him for his attitude. However, after this fight and the post-fight press conference, I have gained new respect for Tim Sylvia. If he keeps it up, I just might become a fan.

Nogueira squashed any notion that he was past his prime in this sport. He proved that he has the biggest heart of any fighter. This man takes punishment and keeps coming forward. He proved that any opponent he faces is going to have a very long night ahead of them if they think they're going to take that belt from him. He is the only fighter to hold a Pride belt and a UFC belt. Nogueira reminds me of Homer Simpson in the episode where Moe trains him to be a boxer. Homer's uncanny ability to take a beating was how he won his fights. He took a beating and when his opponent was tired, he just pushed him over for the win. OK, Nogueira isn't Homer Simpson, he can actually fight. But this is what I think of when I watch a fight like this where Nogueira takes a beating and pulls out the win at the end.

The heavyweight division has seemed to pick up steam after UFC 81. All four of these heavyweights came out winners and I can't wait to see these guys get back into the Octagon!

From WWE to UFC - Lesnar Makes His Debut

2008-01-29T10:11:00.000-08:00

The clock is ticking away for the biggest fighter debut in UFC history. WWE superstar Brock Lesnar will make his UFC debut this saturday in Las Vegas when he squares off against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir at UFC 81.

Lesnar was made famous during his three years in the WWE, where he became the WWE Undisputed champion. During his reign in the WWE, Lesnar - who was known as "The Next Big Thing" - had feuds with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and The Undertaker.

Although Lesnar is the first WWE superstar to make the transition to MMA, he's not the first to have toyed with the idea; Kurt Angle has also made it quite clear that he would like to give mixed martial arts a try. Angle talked a lot of smack about the fighters in MMA, and the UFC in particular, saying that the only fighter that he'd have trouble with is 'current UFC Heavyweight champion' Randy Couture. Apparently Angle had spoken with Dana White about making the move, but Dana discarded any idea of Angle coming to the UFC saying Angle would get smashed.

Professional wrestling and mixed martial arts are two very different sports. But don't let Lesnar's stint with the WWE fool you; Lesnar is a legit wrestler with some very real and very big accomplishments in amateur wrestling.

Lesnar won the 2000 NCAA wrestling championship as a heavyweight after placing second in 1999. Lesnar finished his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Champion, and the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion with a record of 106-5 overall in four years of college.

That's one track record that is hard to match by anyone. Let's not forget about the shear size of the man; Lesnar is 6' 3" and will have to cut weight to make the UFC Heavyweight division's 265 pound weight limit! He is enormous and frighteningly powerful! So, if there's any professional wrestler that can make the transition to MMA, it's Brock Lesnar.

Now that being said, Lesnar has only one MMA fight under his belt. His lone fight was last April at K-1 Dynamite! in Los Angeles where he blitzed his opponent, Min Soo Kim, in just over a minute. Lesnar immediately shot in for a takedown, gained full mount and from there, he pounded Min Soo Kim into submission.

The lack of experience creates big question marks for Lesnar. The UFC may be taking a huge risk with Lesnar. His fame alone is what got him a multi-fight deal with the UFC and with only about a minute of fight time, no one really knows what to expect from the former WWE superstar.

The UFC isn't giving Lesnar any gimme fights first either. They're throwing him right into the heavyweight mix for his first fight. His opponenent, Frank Mir, is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and is a very big man in his own right, standing 6'1" and weighing 240 pounds.

Mir won the UFC heavyweight title in 2004 by breaking Tim Silvia's arm via armbar in the first round.

This will be a very big test for Lesnar. Although, Mir has looked shaky in his first few fights back after a serious motorcycle accident put him on the sidelines for nearly two years, he looked in top form in his last fight submitting Antoni Hardonk in the first round.

It will be interesting to see how this fight plays out. It's fairly obvious that Lesnar won't try to stand and box with Mir, he'll look for the takedown from the opening bell. I'm not saying that Mir has great boxing skills, it's just that he has more experience with it than Lesnar. This is only Lesnar's second MMA fight and I don't expect him to stray too far from what he does best. Lesnar will look to make this a wrestling match where he will easily have the upper hand. There are very few fighters, if any, that have wrestling pedigree that Lesnar has.

Mir also doesn't have the greatest takedown defense, so I would assume that this fight will almost definitely go to the ground with Mir on his back. The thing here is that this is where Mir is most dangerous. Mir is very good at sinking in various submissions from his back. Lesnar is still very new to the Jiu Jitsu aspect of fighting and I think he may find himself in a bit of trouble in this position. He will no doubt be able to pin Mir on his back for as long as he likes, but will have to be very aware of Mir's submission attempts and look to avoid those at all costs.

This fight will end one of two ways: Mir by submission or Lesnar by decision. Mir by submission is pretty self explanatory; Lesnar takes Mir down, puts him on his back, and gets caught in a submission. Lesnar by decision because again, Lesnar takes Mir down, puts him on his back, keeps him there, and pounds out the decision win. I don't think Lesnar will be able to put Mir away while Mir's on his back because of the fact that Mir isn't just a BJJ Black Belt, he's an MMA BJJ Black Belt. Where alot of Jiu Jitsu black belts have a hard time implementing their game plan when getting punched in the face, Mir trains for that type of fighting/BJJ all the time. He his comfortable on his back while taking punches and can block very well from there.

I can't wait to see this fight. Sure, it has the potential to be a very boring fight, but there's too many questions that I need to have answered for me to miss this one.

From the Squared Circle to the Octagon, in just a few days, the fight world will find out whether or not Brock Lesnar really is "The Next Big Thing".

Great Card Likely for UFC's First Trip North of the Border

2008-01-14T09:13:00.000-08:00

Finally! It appears as though the UFC will really make the trip to Canada as rumours are swirling about a possible pay-per-view event to be held at the Bell Centre in Montreal on April 19th.

Normally I wouldn't get too excited about rumours of UFC heading to Canada since there have been numerous rumours over the last year and a half that never became reality. Yet, this rumour seems to be holding some truth to it.

Not only has Dana White announced a Canadian event in April (which he has done in the past), but there are several fights already in the works for the card, and also more importantly, April 19th at the Bell Centre is available.

So let's take a look at how the card is shaping up so far.

Main Event - Welterweight Championship Unification
Matt Serra vs Georges St. Pierre

Serra mentioned in a recent interview that he'd be healed and ready to go by April 19th. He also stated that he would have no problem fighting Georges St. Pierre in his hometown. This would be a big main event even if it weren't being held in Canada. The fact that this fight will be the main event of UFC's Canadian debut makes it extraordinary!

Georges St. Pierre looks like a completely different person than the one we saw in April of last year. After his knockout loss to Serra last April, St. Pierre switched training camps and hired a sports psychologist to help get his head on straight. The changes seem to have worked to perfection as GSP has gone on to win his last two fights in spectacular fashion. Georges is focused. A focused Georges St. Pierre is a fearsome Georges St. Pierre. He looks unstoppable.

In response to St. Pierre's dominant win over Matt Hughes at UFC 79, Marcus Davis pretty much spoke for all welterweights when he said "watching that was terrifying!"

He's right. There isn't a single welterweight who watched that performance and didn't think to himself "Oh crap!" St. Pierre made a huge statement and I expect that he will put on the same type of performance when he takes on Serra for the welterweight championship in front of his home crowd.

Serra has three ways to win this fight and all seem very unlikely; knockout, ground and pound, or submission. St. Pierre has demonstrated against all of the top wrestlers in the division that taking him down is a very difficult task for anyone. Serra's not the wrestler that Hughes, Koscheck, Trigg, and Sherk are so a takedown for Serra is very unlikely and that eliminates the ground and pound gameplan. Submission is a little more likely given that Serra is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and St. Pierre will more than likely put Serra on his back. The thing here is that St. Pierre is no pushover on the ground either; St. Pierre holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Brown belt is one level lower than black belt. So St. Pierre will be well aware of the submission attempts and I don't see him getting caught in anything. The other unlikely scenario is he gets caught on the receiving end of a knockout punch for the second time. This is something that I see as very unlikely. St. Pierre's striking is so crisp and clean that I don't see him making a mistake. I attended one of his seminars just weeks after his loss to Serra and he mentioned that, aside from his personal issues, he injured himself in training and was only able to get back to full training two weeks out. He said he trained too hard and that by the time fight night came, he was too stiff and sore. He was only able to throw punches and kicks in ones and couldn't muster the strength to throw combinations. His inability to throw combinations is what caused him to get caught with that punch. Don't count on this being the case next time around. St. Pierre looks loose and I don't see this happening again.

If St. Pierre beats Serra to win the UFC welterweight championship in his hometown of Montreal, the fans will erupt!! It will be one of the most spectacular moments in recent UFC memory.

Rich Franklin vs. Travis Lutter

These two were supposed to meet at UFC 82 in Columbus Ohio, but Franklin suffered an injury and had to pull out of the fight. Instead of giving Lutter another opponent, the fight was postponed until the April 19th date.

Franklin last fought for the middleweight title in October, but was stopped in spectacular fashion by Anderson Silva. Lutter hasn't fought since he, himself, lost to Silva last February. That fight was downgraded to a 3 round bout after Lutter failed to make weight. Lutter lost a lot of respect from the fans, the UFC, and Anderson Silva. He will be looking to get back on track with a win over Franklin. Franklin will be looking to do the same as he'll be looking to get back to his winning ways in the middleweight division.

Karo Parisyan vs. Thiago Alves

These are two competitors who are knocking on the welterweight championship doorstep. Parisyan is coming off a win over Ryo Chonan. Although, not exactly an exciting win, but a win nonetheless. Thiago Alves is currently on a 4 fight winning streak with no signs of stopping.

With Thiago's exciting Muay Thai style and Karo's desire to put on an exciting fight to make up for the last one, this fight should make for an exciting matchup.

Jason MacDonald vs. Joe Doerksen

The two Canadian middleweights met before in the TKO organization. MacDonald won via rear naked choke. MacDonald is coming off a loss to Yushin Okami and is hoping to get back into title contention with a win over Doerksen. Doerksen is looking to redeem himself after suffering a knockout loss to Ed Herman. A clash between two Canadians in Canada should make for an interesting opening bout.

The reason I say opening bout is because the card will also consist of the following fighter who, as of yet, has no opponent named.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. TBA

If Shogun is on the card, he'll most likely fight in the second last fight on the night. Even with his loss to Forrest Griffin, he is still a big name in the sport. There hasn't been an opponent named for Shogun yet, so lets run through the possibilities.

Keith Jardine is the most likely candidate to fight Shogun in Montreal. Both fighters have Forrest Griffin as a common opponent. Jardine beat Griffin by vicious technical knockout while Rua looked sluggish in his submission loss to Griffin.

Jardine is coming off the biggest win of his career against former UFC light heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell. The win puts him very close to a title shot. One more win should put him in the number one contender slot. Putting him against someone on a lower level than Chuck Liddell just wouldn't make sense, making Rua the most likely opponent. Rua is still considered one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world and he'd be looking to prove that against someone who beat the man that beat him.

Jardine has also been training with Georges St. Pierre and has made several trips to Montreal to train with him. All of this makes Jardine the prime candidate for an opponent for Rua.

Hector Ramirez in another name that might be tossed into the mix. Again, he and Rua share Griffin as a common opponent. Both fighters suffered a loss to Griffin. The UFC would be looking to put Shogun back into contention so they might not want to risk putting him against someone who could potentially beat him. Ramirez would be the perfect opponent in this sense, since he is not the threat that Griffin and Jardine are.

Don't expect to see Rua face Wanderlei, Machida, or Thiago Silva since they've all come from the same camp.

Also, other potential light heavyweight fighters already have fights near the April date so a fight with Rua won't be possible on the 19th. These fighters include Tito Ortiz (takes on Machida in May), Rashad Evans (fights Thiago Silva in May), and Houston Alexander who takes on James Irvin in March.

So the card so far looks as follows:

GSP vs. Serra (Welterweight Championship)
Shogun vs (Jardine or Ramirez)
Franklin vs Lutter
MacDonald vs Doerksen
----
Goulet vs TBA
Cote vs TBA
Stout vs TBA

I'll be in attendance for this event if it happens. When an official announcement is made about the event, I'll purchase a UFC Fight Club membership in hopes of getting VIP access at the event.

If anyone reading this has any information on the UFC Fight Club membership please fill me in. I've checked out the website and a few forums about it. Do you get to meet the fighters with the membership if you attend an event? Let me know.

Mount Submissions

2008-01-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

The mount position and having someone's back are the most dominant positions in Jiu Jitsu and MMA. If a fight stays in one of these positions long enough, eventually the fight will be over.

Sometimes, however, a fighter is able to defend himself very well in either of these positions. In MMA, if a fighter is able to defend himself well enough from the mount position, the ref will allow the fight to continue. If caught in the bottom position, a fighter immediately begins blocking strikes from the top with his hands and arms. Several people have been in the top position raining down punches but have been unable to finish the fight because the fighter on the bottom is defending so well. This only serves to tire the fighter in the top position.

In a fight, if Plan A doesn't work, you must always have a Plan B that you can resort to. The difference between a good Jiu Jitsu fighter and a great Jiu Jitsu fighter is the ability to transition quickly and smoothly between submissions. When one submission isn't working, switch to another, or another, or another.

So Plan A from the top position would be to finish the fight with strikes. If that doesn't work, here are some options for Plan B.

Americana

You are in mount position.

Opponent has his arms in tight with his forearms and hands blocking his face.

If you want to grab his right arm:

With your right hand (hand that is opposite the arm you are grabbing.)

Monkey grip his wrist.

Place your left hand on his elbow.

Put all of your weight on his wrist and elbow and push down on a 45 degree angle.

Plant his wrist to the mat.

Drop your right elbow to the mat beside his head while holding on to his wrist.

If his face is in the way, drop your elbow into his face and put all of your weight on your elbow so that he has no choice but to move his head.

With his arm at a 90 degree angle, move your left hand from the elbow and slide it under his arm and monkey grip your right wrist.

If you can’t fit your hand under his arm, slip it under his wrist. Everyone has a natural gap at their wrist which will allow you to swim your hand under his arm.

Bring his elbow down to his ribs.

Lift your left arm so that his elbow is being pushed to the sky.

Roll both of your wrists, turning your knuckles into the floor, to give you more torque.

Gift Wrap

You are in mount with your opponent blocking his face.

If one of his arms crosses his centre line (right arm for example.)

Place your left hand on his right elbow and your right hand on his right wrist.

Put all of your weight down on his arm, forcing it across his face.

As soon as his arm is across his face, quickly drop and put all of your weight on the back of his arm, making it very difficult for him to release his arm.

Take your left hand and slide it under his head and monkey grip his right wrist.

You now have him in the gift wrap position.

In one motion:

Pull on his right wrist and push with your left knee to turn him onto his left side.

Switch to modified mount position.

From here his face is exposed to punches and elbows with his left hand unable to do significant blocking.

From this position you can either roll to your right and take his back or you can keep on pulling on his arm as you did to turn him onto his side, but keep pulling until he is on his stomach and take his back from there.

Finishing a fight before it goes to a decision is always to a fighter's advantage. The more fights you are able to finish, the more the big organizations will take notice. Hopefully these techniques will help when you find yourself unable to finish an opponent from the most dominant position in MMA.

Floyd Sr. Says Son Would Make Huge Mistake Joining MMA

2008-01-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

I recently read an interview with Floyd Mayweather Sr. about his son's supposed interest in fighting in MMA. In the interview conducted by Percy Crawford of FightHype.com, Mayweather doesn't hold back on his thoughts about the possibility of his son joining MMA. I couldn't help but post about this interview because I couldn't stop laughing as I read the article.

"He needs to leave that shit alone. He’s going to get the same fucking thing Vince Phillips got; leg broke, arm broke or whatever. Vince Phillips got his arm broke. You can’t mess with that…that’s what they do. You can’t beat nobody at their own game."

"All of this he talking about right now, this martial arts shit, I’m telling you, he about to get broke the fuck up right now. I’m telling you, he could forget all of that stuff being cute and how you supposed to hit somebody with a check hook. Man, them motherfucker’s going to take that check hook motherfucker and squeeze your guts out. I’m just being real with you man."

"If he ever want to take a motherfuckin’ loss, you bout to take one right now motherfucker. Go ahead and try that. One of them motherfuckers grab you and bing, bing…hit the floor twice motherfucker and it’s over with."

"Lil Floyd about to get his ass tore up man. He ain’t about to whoop them motherfuckers. He can forget that shit!"

"Man, let me tell you something, they don’t even need a referee for this shit right here. They ain’t going to need a referee because he’s going to tap his own self out if he’s able."

"They going to break his fucking limbs. One of them motherfuckers hit him upside his fucking head and he may never be the same. I’m just telling the truth."

"He ain’t got to worry about retiring. When they get through with his ass, he will be retired. He will be retired fucking with them motherfuckers. They would love to fight him. This ain’t no fucking boxing; ain’t none of these motherfuckers scared of his ass. I’ll fight one of them motherfuckers if they just want to throw their guards up. I’m old and I’ll beat they ass, but when they start talking about that going to the ground, elbows and knees and all of that, man fuck that shit. I ain’t about to go in there. Them motherfuckers dangerous man. One thing about it, them guys can take a fucking punch man. Those guys will laugh at Lil Floyd when he hit them."

First off, let me make it clear that I do not believe that Floyd Mayweather Jr. will ever join MMA. It's a decision that I don't think makes any sense at all. If it's because he'll be offered $30M to fight, it still doesn't make sense because he'll make somewhere in the neighborhood of $25M to fight Cotto later this year.

Perhaps, Mayweather Jr. wants to fire back at those who say he wouldn't stand a chance against a Mixed Martial Artist. Perhaps he's doing it as a publicity stunt in order to jump start the MMA promotion that he's supposedly interested in creating. Who knows? But either way, this, to me, does not seem like a wise decision and I agree completely with Floyd Sr. about this.

Yet, I don't totally agree with Floyd Sr. in that his son would be completely annihilated inside a cage.

Here's what I think:

If the fight hits the ground, it's over. Floyd will be humiliated.

So if Mayweather is seriously thinking of transitioning into MMA, then he needs to train grappling for a solid year at least. Forget the boxing, he knows boxing. He's great at it. Maybe throw in 2 hours of boxing a week, just to keep him fresh. But the rest of the time he needs to spend 12 solid months of extensive training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and training takedown defense.

Hook him up with one of the Gracie's or with BJ Penn. He needs to have that trainer teach him the ins and outs of Jiu Jitsu. In one year, I believe he can become well enough with the basics of grappling to ensure that, if the fight does hit the ground, he can defend himself well enough that the referee stands the fighters up.

Don't expect Mayweather to be pulling off any submissions, however. Training ground defense will help him avoid being submitted or being the victim of vicious ground and pound.

Mayweather also needs to train hard at takedown defense. He needs to know when to expect the takedown and how to avoid it. He doesn't necessarily need to train for shooting in for takedowns, although, knowing how a takedown is executed might help him in identifying the signs of an attempted takedown and how to fight off a takedown.

Keeping the fight standing is, obviously, the game plan that Mayweather would be looking to execute. If he joins MMA, he instantly becomes the best boxer in the sport. He is very elusive and very accurate with his punches. Now being the best boxer in the sport doesn't exactly translate into the being the best striker.

Striking in MMA not only includes punches, but involves kicks, elbows and knees. I would assume that Mayweather wouldn't concentrate as much on the kickboxing aspect of the game since his number one priority is to avoid being taken down and to defend himself if the fight should end up on the mat. His standup already includes head and footwork that is unmatched by any athlete in MMA, and he also has hands that are second to none. So with his standup already looking sharp without kicks, I would imagine that kicking would be on the backburner in terms of training.

His opponents Plan A would be to take him down. If that doesn't work and Floyd can keep the fight standing, I believe he stands a very good chance of winning a fight in MMA. Now if Plan A doesn't work for his opponent, his opponent might look to Plan B and that would be to use kicks. Floyd wouldn't know how to deal with kicks. His legs haven't been conditions to take such a blow. Leg kicks, although they look harmless when they land on TV, are very very painful. They look harmless because the fighters' legs have been conditioned for such an impact through years of hard training. Being kicked in the quads hurts like hell. One kick, alone, can seize up your leg and prevent you from doing anything else significant. Getting kicked in the shin is another level of pain altogether.

In Muay Thai we are trained to check kicks as they come in. This means blocking the kick with your shin. In checking a kick, you flex your foot upwards so that it isn't pure shin bone that takes the brunt of the kick, but the muscle beside it. The muscle raised up over the shine bone, giving it some protection. Yet, no matter what you do it hurts. It hurts bad. Shin on shin can drop you. It will drop someone who isn't prepared for it. Mayweather would have to be conscious of this. If he faces someone who has decent kicks, he'll be in a world of hurt.

They would have to send Floyd into the fight against a tomato can and that just wouldn't make sense for a payout of $30M. For that kind of money, they would have to pit him against someone fairly well known, and that would spell disaster for Floyd.

This decision just doesn't make sense to me, and I don't think he'll go through with it.

Liddell and Silva Don't Disappoint

2007-12-31T05:55:00.001-08:00

WOW! What a fight!! What else can be said about the megafight that took place between Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell and Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva at UFC 79?

This was a fight 6 years in the making. It seems so long ago now when there existed two MMA superpowers UFC and Pride. At that time there also existed two of the most dominant 205 pound fighters in the world in the UFC's Chuck Liddell and Pride's Wanderlei Silva. With Pride fans claiming Silva to be the best 205 pound fighter in the world and UFC fans giving that title to Liddell, the question of who would win in a fight between the two desperately needed to be answered.

It had been the topic of many heated discussions between MMA fans and several attempts were made to answer that very question. One attempt in 2003 saw the UFC send Chuck Liddell to Japan to fight in Pride's Grand Prix Tournament in hopes that he would face Silva in the finals. Chuck was on his way to doing just that after knocking out Alistair Overeem in the quarterfinals. But Liddell ran into a roadblock in the form of current UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Liddell ended up losing that semi-final matchup by TKO and the dream fight had been scrapped. Jackson went on to lose to Silva in the final.

Then in 2006 during the Shamrock-Ortiz II event, Dana White brought out Wanderlei Silva and announced a fight between him and Liddell inside the Octagon. But the deal to bring Silva over to the UFC fell through and, once again, the Liddell-Silva fight had been shelved.

In 2007, there appeared to be some light at the end of the tunnel for fight fans. Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC bought out the financially troubled Pride FC organization. Along with the organization, Zuffa took over the existing Pride fighter contracts. Meaning, yes, Wanderlei could very well make an appearance inside the Octagon. The UFC signed him to a four fight deal and BAM! the fight of the decade was a mere formality. The fight was a done deal as long as Liddell could get past "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine.

No problem, right?

Wrong.

Liddell would put on a mediocre performance against Jardine en route to a 3 round split decision loss. The fight world was shocked! It had seemed as though the megafight was destined to exist only in our dreams and the question of who was the best 205 pound fighter would never be answered.

But what the fans want, the fans get. There isn't a single fight fan who cared whether or not Liddell won or lost to Jardine. We all wanted to see a fight between Liddell and Silva, win or lose. Since it was still very possible to hold this fight, the UFC decided it was now or never for this fight.

The fight that everyone had been waiting so long for was now a reality.

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell vs. Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva was on!

I got out of my chair the second Wanderlei was shown on screen walking out to the Octagon; I never sat back down. I could barely contain myself, as I'm sure most fight fans watching were doing the same. There was also that nagging idea in the back of my mind that this fight might not live up to the surreal expectations put upon it after years of hype. Luckily, that idea was shattered early as this fight was as explosive as anyone could have possibly imagined.

The first minute or so saw the fighters circling eachother with neither man engaging in anything significant in what was a show of respect by both fighters for eachother's knockout power. I could tell right away that this was a different Chuck Liddell, as Liddell demonstrated early on a tactic that he hasn't used in a long time and should use more often; kicks. Liddell threw several leg kicks early on to keep Silva at bay but the two soon engaged in battle.

Silva began swinging for the fences and landed several nice shots on Liddell, with Liddell returning the favor. Near the midway point of the first round, Liddell dazed Silva with a jab/right combination that backed the brazilian into the cage. Liddell would rush in only to get drilled by a few shots from Silva. The two exchanged bombs for the rest of the round.

The second round saw Silva charge out and begin firing with Liddell again returning the favour. Liddell would slip on the canvas but pop back up to exchange some more, but a right hand from Silva sent Liddell to the mat, in what looked like another slip, but hard to tell. Liddell would get right back to his feet, however. The two would then clinch against the fence in what I thought would be a bad spot for Liddell. Liddell proved me wrong by getting the better of that battle by landing two big elbows that cut Silva above the eye. After breaking away, the two exchanged again and clinched again. This time, we saw something that we very rarely see from Chuck Liddell; a takedown. Liddell would put Silva on his back and remained there until the round ended shortly after.

The third saw Silva again march forward, bruised and bloodied like a pure warrior. Liddell again shocked the crowd by shooting in for a takedown! He put Silva on his back only briefly, in what I perceived to be a tactic to ensure a points victory. With the points for the takedown, Liddell was then comfortable about fighting out the rest of the round. Liddell had thrown everything including the kitchen sink at Silva but Silva would not be knocked down and would not give up. Both men landed some very heavy shots, Liddell landing some big bombs that would have put most men to sleep, but not Silva. Silva proved to be somewhat of a freak in that respect. Liddell has knocked out many men with far less than what he was handing out to Silva, but Silva proved to be one hell of a competitor. Silva, too, landed some major shots that would have dropped a lesser man. Liddell, displaying his versatility, landed a spinning backfist that backpedalled the Brazilian. The two kept exchanging and again, Liddell got another takedown at the end of the fight.

Simply unbelievable!

These two fighters gave the fans exactly what they wanted to see. All those years of waiting were definitely worth it and although this makes it 3 losses in a row for Wanderlei, those three losses were to top quality fighters in Cro Cop, Henderson, and Liddell. Wanderlei showed his warrior spirit and, although he was knocked out in the first two losses, he proved that his chin can not be questioned. I was a fan of both men before this fight and am now a bigger fan of each after this performance! Liddell for showing the fans that he's more than just a 'one-punch' fighter and Silva for showing incredible heart and giving the fans what they wanted to see. It was a fight for the ages; an epic battle that will be served as a highlight reel for both men!

Liddell vs Silva II is only a matter of time!

Triangle Choke Escapes

2007-12-21T07:08:00.001-08:00

This past weekend I competed in a grappling tournament where I placed third in the middleweight division. Each match I lost, I lost due to triangle choke. The first match I lost was to a Judo fighter who ended up winning the division. After he got full mount on me, I managed to escape and get back to my feet, at which point I took him down with a single leg takedown. As soon as I put him on his back he caught me with one arm in and one arm out. I'll explain this concept shortly. He pulled my gi over my head like a hockey jersey, sucked me in, and sunk in the choke. There was nothing left for me to do but tap. The other match I lost was very similar. There was a lot of back and forth between me and him. At one point I had him in full mount and was setting up a triangle choke from mount, but he reversed position and we scrambled. I scrambled right into the triangle. I yelled out "Oh Crap!" and everyone laughed. I tried to fight the choke for as long as I could, but I was finished. Once again I had to tap.

In light of what happened, my coach went through two triangle choke escapes with me in our next class. These escapes should be automatic once your are caught in the triangle. I will describe these escapes and the concept of the triangle choke.

First off, my coach says that the best way to avoid the triangle is to not get caught in it. Sounds funny, I know, but it's the truth. Knowing the basic theory of the triangle choke will help you to prevent it from happening.

This brings me to the one arm in one arm out concept. A triangle choke is applied when you are on your back and your opponent is in your guard. The trick is to have one of his arms inside your legs and the other one outside. (One arm in - One arm out). With one of your opponent's arms between your legs, you can now set up the triangle.

Say you have your opponent's right arm between your legs. Wrap your right leg around your opponent's head so that your calf is pressing on the back of his neck and the inside of your thigh pressing against his left carotid artery. You then take your left leg and wrap it around your right foot. This locks in the triangle position. Bring your opponent's right arm and place it across your belly so that his hand points out to your right. This causes his shoulder to press against his right carotid artery. If you have it in tight, your right thigh and his right shoulder should now be pressing tightly against both his carotid arteries, cutting off the bloodflow to the brain. If he's hanging in there, you can tighten your lock and pull down on his head to make the choke more effective.

So again, the easiest way to avoid the triangle is to not get caught in it. Not getting caught in the triangle means never having one of your arms in between your opponents legs with one of your arms outside. So always follow this rule. ALWAYS. Either have both your arms inside your opponent's guard or have both arms outside the guard. Doing so will make it very difficult for your opponent to set up the triangle. If he can't trap one arm between his legs then he will move on to something else.

Now, sometimes you do get caught. So if you end up in the triangle position, here are two escapes to use:

Spinning Triangle Escape

Say your opponent has trapped your right arm.

Make a fist with your right hand and plant it on the floor on the right side of your opponent's head.
Stand up.
Place your right knee against your opponent's left hip.
With your left hand, reach around and grip your opponent's left hip.
In one motion, turn to your right, press in against your opponent's hip with your right knee and your left hand.
You should then spin to your opponent's left side and keep spinning around his head and over to his right. This will open his legs, releasing the triangle.
Once you are at his right side, you can drop and end up in side control.

Knee Grip Triangle Escape

Once again, we'll use the example with your opponent trapping your right arm.

With your right arm across your opponent's belly, take your right hand and grap his right knee.
Take your left hand and place it over your right hand, grabbing at the knee.
Drop his right knee to the floor.
In one motion, pull in on his knee with both hands and push against his calf with your shoulder. This will cause his knee to twist and force him to release the triangle.
You will end up back in his guard.

These are pretty simple escapes, but are very effective. They should only be used as a last resort. Remember, don't allow yourself to be caught in the triangle. Always keep both arms in or both arms out.

'Big' John McCarthy Belongs in the UFC Hall of Fame

2007-12-06T12:14:00.000-08:00

This Saturday at the Ultimate Fighter Finale in Las Vegas, longtime UFC official John McCarthy will say goodbye to the UFC. 'Big' John announced his retirement this week on his website.

Big John has become the face of the law in the Octagon. He has been an official since the very early days of the UFC, becoming a referee at UFC 2. Having officiated approximately 500 MMA bouts and always kicking things off with his trademark phrase "Let's get it on!", Big John has become more famous than most fighters in the UFC.

Since UFC 2, there has only been one event that he did not participate as a referee, and that was the most recent event; UFC 78 in New Jersey. This was because the Athletic Commission in New Jersey demanded that local referees oversee the bouts on the card.

The main event between Roger Huerta and Clay Guida will be the last time we ever see Big John raise the hand of a victorious fighter and the last time we hear the words "Let's Get it On" inside the Octagon.

Big John will move into his new job as a fight analyst for the Fight Network.

With his retirement, I say it's time that the UFC recognizes all that Big John has done for the organization and the sport of MMA. Send "Big" John McCarthy to the UFC Hall of Fame!

I was looking at his website earlier today and found a lot of interesting accomplishements that Big John has achieved. Here is the list of great things that Big John has done:

Officiated over 500 MMA fights worldwide
Masters Hall of Fame - Outstanding contribution to Mixed Martial Arts
American Grappling Association Black Belt Instructor
Member of the Los Angeles Police Department's Mixed Martial Arts Review Board
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt
Grapple Instructor for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
Self-Defense Instructor for the Los Angeles Police Department
Tactics Instructor for the Los Angeles Police Department
Key figure for writing the unified rules for the sport of mixed martial arts
Received a California State Resolution for accomplishments in Mixed Martial Arts safety and growth
Recognized as the premier referee in mixed martial arts

Big John has done so much for the sport of mixed martial arts. He has done so much to ensure the growth of the sport and the safety of the fighters. Other than the first and last UFC events, Big John McCarthy has officiated at every single UFC event ever held. There's not a fight fan in the world who hasn't heard the words "Let's Get it On!" and there's not a fight fan in the world who doesn't know who Big John McCarthy is. He has become one of the most recognizable figures in the sport of MMA; this along with all his contributions to the sport make him more than deserving of the honour of being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

He, along with current Hall of Famers Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, and Randy Couture, has made the sport what it is today.

Send "Big" John McCarthy to the UFC Hall of Fame!

Although one could easily watch Big John on the Fight Network, I will really miss the big guy taking care of business inside the Octagon. Things won't quite be the same without him.

MMA Tragedy

2007-12-03T07:58:00.000-08:00

Since MMA began its uphill battle to become a legitimate sanctioned sport in North America, it boasted a safety record that was hard to match by any sport. In sanctioned MMA, there has never been a death or serious injury. Until now.

On October 20th in Houston, Texas, Renegades Extreme Fighting held an event that included 12 matchups. The third match of the evening saw 35 year old Sam Vasquez take on 21 year old Vince Libardi in a featherweight battle.

In the third round of the bout, Libardi unleashed a flurry of punches that sent Vasquez to the mat. After collapsing in the cage, Vasquez then suffered a seizure and was rushed to the hospital.

His condition only worsened. He developed a large clot in his brain and underwent surgery just two weeks after being admitted. Five days later he suffered a massive stroke and was put into a drug induced coma.

Vasquez died on Friday.

MMA's clean safety record has now been marred by tragedy.

So what does this mean for MMA?

MMA's uphill battle to become sanctioned in every state and province in North America had appeared to be getting easier and easier as more and more states began embracing this new sport. But with these new developments, MMA's battle may have just hit the tip of the iceberg.

I'm sure that there will be an uproar caused because of this tragedy. There will be those who say that MMA is barbaric and that people are dying inside the ring. I'm sure Dana White and the UFC will address the concerns that the public may have about MMA and the safety of the fighters; as will all other MMA promotions. I believe that if MMA is to keep going with it's recent success it needs to blitz 'fighter safety' and 'safety track record'. MMA promoters need to get the word out fast and furious about the safety regulations that the sport of MMA has implemented. They need to have fighter testimonials as well as political references.

The sanctioning hearings held in each state will now, more than likely, include discussion regarding this particular MMA related death. There will be major concerns brought to the table during these hearings and with good reason. But I believe that the promoters of this sport have been doing all of the right things to make this a legitimate sport. I believe that they will continue to do everything in their power to ensure the safety of the fighters. This is only one step back among a hundred steps forward. This tragedy might have slowed the expansion of MMA, but it hasn't stopped it.

I don't know Sam Vasquez, but I'm sure he'd be right there in front of the panel telling them that MMA should stick around!

St. Pierre Steps in - UFC 79 Shaping up to Be The Year's Best

2007-11-27T08:40:00.000-08:00

What doesn't kill you can only make you stronger. This couldn't be more true in the case of UFC 79. Last week the UFC found itself on the receiving end of a knockout punch. Matt Serra had been forced to pull out of the main event at UFC 79 due to a back injury he suffered in training.

The end of the year pay-per-view events have been the UFC's bread and butter. It is usually a show stacked with great fights and big name fighters and is meant to cap off another year and kick off the next. UFC 79 already featured the superfight between the UFC's former 205 pound champion Chuck Liddell and PRIDE's former 205 pound champion Wanderlei Silva. This fight was considered by many, including myself, to be the best fight on the card.

However, the main event featuring Matt Serra vs Matt Hughes for the welterweight title had so much hype behind it that it, alone, could have powered the UFC 79 money making machine. Hughes and Serra have been seen for the last few months duking it out in a war of words and blogs on the Ultimate Fighter reality show. The millions who watch the show would watch UFC 79 just to see a season's worth of bickering come to a head in one hell of a grudge match.

But you hear this time and time again: "In MMA, anything can happen."

And for the umpteenth time this year, it has.

So the UFC found itself scrambling to get back to its feet after being knocked on its ass. The found themselves with countless questions. What do we do now? Do we headline UFC 79 with Liddell vs Silva? Does Hughes stay on the card? If so, who does he fight? Do we create an interim title? Those questions and more are what had the UFC begging for mercy. The UFC frantically called on a number of its welterweights to step up, but none would heed the call.

But thankfully, we Canadians are a crazy bunch of bastards.

Enter Georges St. Pierre.

After receiving news that Hughes needed an opponent at UFC 79, Georges St. Pierre made the call and demanded the fight. The UFC relayed the message to Hughes, Hughes made the decision and a new main event, stronger than the first, was made.

Hughes vs. St. Pierre III for the interim welterweight title!!

The UFC officials now carry around a smile from ear to ear as UFC 79 has gone from good to bad to simply amazing in just a few short days. UFC 79 is now possibly, at least on paper, the best UFC event this year. On top of the Liddell-Silva fight, a fight I've been waiting to see for years now, I also get to see my favourite fight in St. Pierre take on the man he won the title from for the interim title.

This also means that, if St. Pierre wins, he will most likely defend the title instead of fighting for it in Montreal. If this happens, then watch out UFC - Canadian fans are insane! We love our hockey and we love our MMA! If St. Pierre headlines an event in Montreal to defend the welterweight title, I'm gonna go out on a limb and guarantee that the crowd in Montreal will be the loudest crowd the UFC has ever seen. If you've ever been to a Montreal Canadiens game at the Bell Centre, you know as well as I do that earplugs are sometimes a requirement! And the fans in Montreal love MMA just as much as they love their hockey team.

The way the UFC can pull together great fights and call on fighters in such short notice is nothing less than remarkable. This is a big reason why I love this sport; the UFC does everything in its power to bring to the table great fights for the fans to see. You don't see a champion fighting tomato cans in the ring. When a fighter becomes champion, he fights nothing but the best that the organization has to offer. It is a very fan friendly approach to matchmaking and is a major reason why the UFC and MMA is becoming such a dominant sport. Not only do the matchmakers do a great job and putting the best against the best, but the fighters themselves demand to fight the best. St. Pierre demanded this fight, Hughes accepted the fight knowing that St. Pierre is the best fighter he could possibly be fighting. We also saw Forrest Griffin demand a fight with Shogun Rua! Randy Couture resigned partly due to the fact that he wouldn't be able to fight Fedor Emelianenko. MMA fighters are a completely different breed, they possess a certain level of respect, pride, and dignity that is hard to find in today's athletes.

The UFC suffered a setback, but they got back on their feet, and what didn't kill UFC 79, definitely made it stronger! I'm pumped!

Serra Out - What Now?

2007-11-23T05:59:00.000-08:00

With the string of setbacks the UFC has encountered this year, it seems only fitting to end the year with one that will have a ripple effect on the welterweight division well into 2008.

The current UFC 170lb champion, Matt Serra, has been forced to pull out of his December 29th title defense against Matt Hughes. Serra suffered a herniated disc in his back while training at his gym in Long Island. It is unknown how long Serra will be forced to the sidelines for, but I would imagine he'll be out for quite some time.

So now the matchup in December is no longer a title fight. The welterweight championship will be shelfed until either Serra returns or an interim title is put into the mix.

So who fights who at UFC 79?

Matt Hughes is currently still on the card, but has no opponent. If he remains on the card, there are a few fighters who could take the fight on short notice.

Jon Fitch. This guy is a tough fighter who has won all seven of his fights in the UFC. He was well on his way to a title shot possibly in late 2008. He scored a split decision victory in his last bout against Diego Sanchez and holds wins over the likes of Josh Burkman, Thiago Alves, and Kuniyoshi Hironaka. I had assumed that he would next fight either Josh Koscheck or the loser of the Serra-Hughes fight. If he fights Hughes on December 29th, even if he wins, he will still have to wait for his shot at the title since Georges St. Pierre is still next in line to the title. I will detail GSP-Fitch in just a bit.

Josh Koscheck. Although he lost his bout against St. Pierre in August, he still managed to take the former champ the distance with St. Pierre winning via unanimous decision. Koscheck is a very talented wrestler and could pose an interesting matchup for Hughes. Although this match has the potential to be a boring fight, it brings to the table an interesting threat to Hughes. If 'Kos' can stay off his back, I believe he can win this fight. His striking has greatly improved and in my opinion he would get the better of Hughes in a standup war. Also, a win over Hughes would send Koscheck back into contention. Even if he loses to Hughes and makes it back-to-back losses, he will have lost to the top two welterweights. Back to back losses to fighters of that calibre will do nothing to hurt his reputation as a fighter.

Georges St. Pierre. This would be interesting because I don't think this would be a fight that Hughes would want. If UFC matchmaker Joe Silva came knocking on GSP's door, it's questionable whether or not Georges would take the fight. This fight would do nothing for St. Pierre. He has nothing to gain by fighting Hughes right now. If he wins this fight, he would still be where he is right now...and that's waiting for his title shot. If he loses, then he would be dropped from title contention. He has nothing to gain and everything to lose by taking this fight. In the same respect, this is not a fight that Hughes wants either. Hughes knows that he cannot beat St. Pierre. If St. Pierre were to take this fight, I would assume that Hughes would go crying to Dana White and protest. Hughes doesn't have very many fights left in him, and if he loses to St. Pierre, he would drop from contention, putting that title shot even further into the distance. The way I had seen this thing playing out with Serra still in the mix, was that Hughes would fight Serra, win the title, and then lose it to St. Pierre, at which time he would announce his retirement. If he fights St. Pierre in December and loses, I would assume that would be the last we see of Hughes.

So what happens in 2008?

St. Pierre can't wait any longer to fight. Even if Serra hadn't been injured, he wouldn't be fighting until late March or early April. With the title fight not happening in December, it's likely (given that Serra recovers quickly) that there won't be a title fight until the time that GSP was supposed to get his shot. But since there is no title fight in December, GSP will not be the fighter challenging for the title at this time. Meaning, St. Pierre's shot at the title is being pushed back even further...at least 3 months after the March/April date. He simply can't wait that long to fight. So he WILL have to fight someone else in the meantime. This brings me back to the Jon Fitch-GSP comment I made earlier. It's possible that if GSP doesn't fight in December, that he'll fight Jon Fitch early 2008. This again, is a lose-lose situation for GSP, but there's no way around fighting someone else and waiting for a shot a the title. Fitch would have nothing to lose in taking this fight. If he loses, he's supposed to lose. If he wins, then he takes over St. Pierre's spot as next in line to the title.

There are a few possibilities that could be put in place, depending on how long Serra is out.

If Serra can fight by the March/April date. St. Pierre's best option would be to take the fight with Hughes in December. If he wins that fight, then the date he fights for the title will not change. He will then, hopefully, fight for the title in Montreal as planned.

If Serra's injury causes him to be sidelined for a lengthy period of time, an interim title can be put in place. If this happens, I assume that the interim title won't be in place until after December when we know for sure how long Serra will be out.

From here there are several scenarios.

St. Pierre doesn't fight Hughes at UFC 79. The winner of the Hughes-Replacement fight (Hughes vs Fitch?) will fight St. Pierre for the title in March/April.

St. Pierre fights Hughes at UFC 79. Koscheck and Fitch fight in early 2008 and the winner of that fight faces the winner of the GSP-Hughes fight for the interim title.

Lots of questions now loom in the wake of these recent developments, let's see what Dana White and the UFC can do.

Butterfly Guard Techniques

2007-11-21T09:10:00.000-08:00

In class on Monday we drilled some pretty cool techniques from the butterfly guard. We ran through two guard passes and one sweep.

Sweep:
Always keep your elbows in tight to your body.
- Buck up with your hips to create space between you and your opponent.
- Press against your opponent's face with both hands and use a straight arm.
- If you opponent is looking towards his left:
- Hip out to your left, so that you are facing your right.
- Plant your right hand on the floor at a 45 degree angle.
- Underhook your opponent's right arm with your left arm.
- Grab your opponent's belt,pants, or gi with your left hand.
- Slide your butt backwards to give you more support when being pushed over.
- Posture! Your chest should be against his shoulder, with your head up.
- In one motion:
- Remove your right hand from ground and trap opponent's left arm.
- Fall back on your right shoulder.
- Hook your opponent's right leg with your left foot.
- Kick out with your left foot.
- Turn over to your right.
You should end up in mount position. If your opponent catches your leg on the way over, you'll end up in half guard.

Pass:
If attacking your opponent's right leg:
- Your head should be down, tight to your opponent's chest.
- Elbows should be in tight and to the floor, grabbing what you can of your opponent's shoulders.
- Bring your left knee slightly to the right.
- Kick your right leg straight back.
- Slide your right leg back in, sliding it tightly against your left leg.
- This catches your opponent's right foot and releases your opponent's left leg.
- Both of your knees should now be pressed tightly into your opponent's right shin.

There are two passes from here:

Jumping Bridge To Side Control:
- Move your grips from your opponent's shoulders to his hips.
- Get a good grip on what you can of your opponent's hips. (Elbows in tight!)
- Jump straight up, using your legs to push up and your hip grips to create a headstand type move.
- Turn to your opponent's right side and land on your feet in a bridge formation.
- Your back should be on your opponent's chest.
- Make sure you still have your grips on your opponent's hips.
- From the bridge position, bring your right foot over and turn into side control.
- Switch your grips from the hips to underhook the head and arm of your opponent.

Shifting Around the Trapped Leg:
- Move your grips from your opponent's shoulders to his hips.
- With your right hand, let go of the hip and grab your opponent's trapped foot.
- In one motion:
- Pull on the foot, pulling towards your right.
- With your left hand still gripping the hip:
- Use your left elbow to push down and in on your opponents right leg (knee).
- This motion sucks the trapped leg in.
- With your opponent's right knee out of the way:
- Slide your left leg around your opponent's right leg.
- Switch your left grip from the hip to underhook your opponent's right arm.
- Pull on the foot one more time to slide your right knee around your opponent's right knee.
- You should end up in side control.

Couture and White to meet November 20th

2007-11-16T08:41:00.000-08:00

"Can't we all just get along?"

This was Couture's text message to Dana White, president of the UFC. Last week the UFC officially offered Couture a bout against Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira in February. Apparently, the text message was Couture's first response to the offer.

Couture resigned from the organization in early October due to several factors. The UFC had failed to sign free agent, and PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko. Couture had stated that, in this point of his career, a fight with Fedor was the only one that made sense to him and that he wanted to fight the best; Fedor is ranked No.1 as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. Aside from the failed negotiations with Fedor, Couture also stated that he was "tired of swimming upstream with the management of the UFC" and felt disrespected. The month of October saw back and forth press conferences held by both parties that only seemed to make the whole situation worse.

Couture and White agreed to meet over dinner on Tuesday, November 20th to discuss their situation.

I sincerely hope that Couture returns to the Octagon. He is, in my opinion, the greatest fighter in UFC history. He is the smartest fighter to compete in the UFC, and his ability to have his opponent beat even before he steps into the cage makes his fights very entertaining. Not to mention the fact that he is 44 years old and is the oldest fighter competing in the UFC and the oldest fighter to hold a UFC title. His story is incredible.

I know Randy wants to fight Fedor, and trust me, this is one fight I wouldn't miss for the world, but I would love to see him fight just a few more times. And who knows, maybe somewhere down the line, if Randy is still in the prime shape he's in now, a fight with Fedor may still happen.

Either way, the news of this meeting makes me very hopeful of "The Natural's" return to the Octagon. We'll just have to wait and see...

The UFC Turns 14

2007-11-13T10:47:00.000-08:00

"Come on over, you've gotta see this!" Those were the words that started it all for me and my love of fighting. Me and my dad drove over to my uncle's place where watching pay per view events was a regular thing; the only catch was that we had to watch them in spanish because we needed satellite codes to get the english. I had become accustomed to the "en espangol" versions of WWF pay per views, so I figured this wouldn't be much different. It didn't take long for me to realize that this was definitely not WWF and that this was something completely different.

It was two guys, no gloves, three rules, and the only way to win was by submission, knockout, or having your opponent's corner throw in the towel. It was brutal. But I loved it. I watched as this small fighter dominated each of his larger opponents. Since I was watching it in Spanish, I went by the name that was displayed on screen which was Royce Gracie. This is how I had come to know him; as Royce (Pronounced just as it's spelled). It wasn't until years later that I found out that it is actually prounounced 'Hoyce'.

This guy that I called 'Royce' used these submission moves to make his opponents quit. I was only 11 years old at the time and didn't pay much attention to what martial arts discipline he was trained in; I really only cared about watching two guys beat eachother up inside a cage. I hadn't been familiar with the term 'tapout' or 'submission' but I was captivated by the way he could beat larger men in a fight without throwing a punch. I was amazed and I was hooked from the very first show.

The date was November 12, 1993.

The show was held at the McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado.

On Monday, November 12, 2007, the UFC turned 14 years old. There have been a lot of changes to the organization since those early days of watching it in Spanish at my uncle's place.

The fighters now wear gloves, there are weight classes, rounds with 5 minute time limits, and a whole list of rules to ensure the safety of the fighters. The fighters don't train in one single discipline anymore, they train in a wide variety of martial arts including boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, judo, and jiu jitsu. This mixture of martial arts became known as MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) ; a sport that is being sanctioned in more and more states every year.

Dave Meltzer from Yahoo! Sports wrote an interesting article on the UFC's 14th birthday and details the first few UFC events.

You can check out his article here.

An Early UFC 2007 Review

2007-11-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

The year 2007 has been quite the rollercoaster for the UFC. This year has marked more ups and downs than a porno film and it's not finished yet. Dream matchups, upsets, and suspensions, oh my! I'll run through just a few of the major turning points in the UFC this year.

2006 ended with one of the most profitable pay-per-view events in its history with Liddell-Ortiz II. This, Dana White had hoped, would be just a taste of what the year 2007 would bring.

But, as Dana White says, in MMA anything can happen.

February, 2007 - UFC DEBUTS

At UFC 67, we saw the UFC debut of arguably the most feared striker in MMA; Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. If you had ever witnessed the awesomeness of Cro Cop in Pride, you, like many others, were very excited to see this guy compete in the UFC. Cro Cop did as he was expected and won the fight, but not in the impressive fashion that true fight fans had come to expect from this head hunting kickboxer. He won his bout in the 1st round by TKO against Eddie Sanchez.

This victory, it was hoped, would start Cro Cop's run for the title (which he was expected to eventually win).

UFC 67 was also the event at which, for the first time, an Ultimate Fighter winner would get a shot at a championship. The winner Travis Lutter, who won his division of the Ultimate Fighter by submitting Patrick Cote, took on Anderson "The Spider" Silva. This match would however be downgraded to a non-title fight after Lutter failed to make the 185 pound weight limit; he would tap out to Silva due to triangle choke.

We also saw the UFC debut of Quinton Jackson, who knocked out Marvin Eastman with a nice uppercut in the second round. This would be the beginning of the rise of "Rampage".

March, 2007 - HISTORY UNFOLDS

The main event at UFC 68 will go down in history as possibly the greatest moment in UFC history. The story line here: Randy Couture, at 43 years old, comes back from a year long retirement to challenge the much younger, taller, heavier champ Tim Silvia. It was a real life Rocky story unfolding before your very eyes. With the first punch thrown in the fight, Randy Couture knocked the 6'8", 265 lb monster down; at the same time, the sold out crowd in Columbus, Ohio rose as one...and didn't sit back down for the entire 25 minutes of the fight! Couture dominated Silvia for all 5 rounds of the fight to win the heavyweight title for an unprecented third time, and also became the first person to win 5 championships! (2 time light heavyweight, and 3 time heavyweight). He also became the oldest fighter to win a championship in MMA history. This was simply unbelievable and I'm sure the rights to this movie are going to be sold to the highest bidder!

April, 2007 - UPSETS!!

Major upset!! Matt Serra, the winner of the Ultimate Fighter's welterweight tournament, was to face welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre in February, but an injury forced GSP to pull out of the fight. The fight was postponed until UFC 69 in Houston, Texas. Matt Serra wasn't given much of a chance and considered a huge underdog going into his fight against the heavily favoured St. Pierre. But, as that nagging saying goes, "In MMA, anything can happen"; and it did. Serra caught St. Pierre with a right hook that stunned the champ. St. Pierre would not get a chance to recover. Serra charged forward and gave little breathing room to the troubled champion. Serra gained full mount on St. Pierre, and after a few unanswered punches, the fight was stopped and Serra had just shocked the world!

Just a few weeks later was UFC 70: Nations Collide. This event saw the main event headlined by Gabriel Gonzaga vs Mirko Cro Cop. Cro Cop was expected to win this fight hands down. Gonzaga was only meant to be the sacrificial lamb to be handed to Cro Cop so that Cro Cop could go on and win the heavyweight title. Dana White's plans were shattered when the fight world witnessed 'the kick heard round the world'! It was as horrific as it was ironic. Cro Cop who had become known for knocking out his opponents with deadly head kicks found himself tasting his own medicine. Gonzaga delivered a thunderous kick to the head that dropped the Croatian in disturbing fashion. Cro Cop's dead weight came crashing down on his ankle, leaving it twisted and distorted. Gonzaga barely had a chance to throw another punch on the unconsious Cro Cop before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight. With the kick, a new heavyweight title contender was named and big questions would loom over Cro Cop's contention.

May, 2007 - MAKING STATEMENTS

UFC 71 saw the much anticipated rematch between light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and recent PRIDE addition Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. These two first met in PRIDE during one of PRIDE's Grand Prix tournaments. Rampage would win that first bout after landing brutal forearms to Liddell's ribs. Liddell's corner threw in the towel and Liddell went back to the UFC without the tournament championship. But fast forward 3 years and Liddell had knocked out his last 7 opponents and was light heavyweight champion. Quinton Jackson had just been acquired by the UFC and knocked out his first UFC opponent in February. It didn't take long for Jackson to make one hell of a statement. Liddell, displaying one of boxings big no-nos, led with a left body shot. Jackson countered with a right hook that tagged Liddell on the chin and dropped the champ. Jackson followed with several unanswered blows and a new light heavyweight champion was crowned. UFC's poster boy had just lost in the first round.

This event also introduced Houston Alexander to the world; another fighter who was seemingly being thrown to the wolves. Keith Jardine was expected to walk through the unknown Alexander in a fight that was meant to help Jardine make his way to the title. Alexander proved to be no walk-through and after a 49 second dismantling of Jardine, a new light heavyweight star was born.

June, 2007 - FRANKLIN BACK IN TITLE CONTENTION

Not much to say about June of 2007. UFC 72: Victory might possibly be the worst UFC event in a long time. Besides Griffin vs Guida, this event was stuffed with long, boring fights. The main event was no different. Franklin vs Okami went to the judge's decision and Franklin walked away with a narrow unamous decision; winning 2 rounds to 1. With the win, Franklin is now in position to get his shot at the title against the man who took it from him, Anderson Silva (Assuming Silva defeats Nate Marquardt in July).

The Ultimate Fighter 5 finale was also held in June. Nate Diaz went on to become the lightweight winner against Manny Gamburyan and B.J. Penn put on a Jiu-Jitsu clinic in his dominant win over Jens Pulver. With the win, "The Prodigy" moved into the spot as number one contender to the lightweight title.

July, 2007 - STACKED OR JACKED?

UFC 73: Stacked saw two successful title defenses and a draw. Sean Sherk defended his lightweight title against Hermes Franca in a Unanimous Decision victory and Anderson Silva finished Marquardt in the first round to retain his middleweight title. Questions were also raised about Tito Ortiz's staying power as he put on a poor performance against TUF 2 winner Rashad Evans in a fight that ended in a draw. The two title defenses and the draw were not the headlining story of this event. After the steroid testing at UFC 73, it was revealed that both Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca tested positive for steroids. Hermes Franca didn't deny the charges, saying he was injured and didn't want to pull out of the fight on short notice, so he felt he had to take something in order to let him fight. Sherk, however, denied the charges and took his case to court. The hearing has been postponed until November. With the results still up in the air about Sherk's innocence, the lightweight title is stuck in limbo. If Sherk is proven guilty, he will face a year suspension and be stripped of the title; thus, leaving BJ Penn to sit and wait to hear of the status of the lightweight title and what opponent he might face and when.

August, 2007 - GSP RETURNS

In my opinion, this was the best UFC event in a long time, possibly ever. Every single fight on this card was amazing to watch. Stellar performances by all the fighters and a main card that featured the return of Georges St. Pierre and the heavyweight title bout between the ageless Randy Couture and 'The man who knocked out Cro Cop', Gabriel Gonzaga.

Georges St. Pierre answered a lot of questions that were lingering after his knockout loss to Matt Serra in April. He made major changes to his lifestyle and to his entourage and came in as focused as I've ever seen him. He was taking on a very talented wrestler in Josh Koscheck and most wondered if he could compete with such an accomplished and powerful wrestler. Not only did GSP compete, but he completely outwrestled the wrestler. In what surprised everyone, St. Pierre took Koscheck down almost imediately and pinned the wrestler on his back for most of the first round. The second round saw pretty much the same, with St. Pierre dominating the stand-up and taking Koscheck down at will. St. Pierre would spend alot of time in the second on top of Koscheck and attempting a kimura, but Koscheck proved he has good submission defense. The third round, again, saw St. Pierre dominating the standup with 'Superman punch' - leg kick combinations. St. Pierre won in impressive fashion via unanimous decision.

Randy Couture proved why he was the heavyweight Champion by overpowering the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blackbelt against the cage and using single leg takedowns to put Gonzaga on the mat. This fight was a war that saw Gonzaga break his nose after being taken down by Couture against the cage in the first round. Gonzaga showed tremendous heart as he fought with continued ferocity until the end. Gonzaga landed very heavy kicks; one, Couture blocked with his face, the other broke his arm. Couture went on to win via TKO after taking Gonzaga down and pounding him out from there.

September, 2007 - A September to Remember

Three live UFC events in one month. First was UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion. History was made as the world witnessed the first title unification bout in MMA history. UFC's 205 pound champion Quinton Jackson took on PRIDE's 205 pound champion Dan Henderson in a 25 minute war. Both fighters threw and ate some heavy bombs, with neither man going down. These were knockout punches that landed but without the knockout results. This was a great fight worthy of MMA's first title unification. Jackson retained his title via unanimous decision.

UFC Fight Night on September 19th saw Kenny Florian make a statement and put himself back in the lightweight title picture. He finished Din Thomas in the first round by rear naked choke. With names like BJ Penn, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta, Clay Quida, and Kurt Pelligrino in the mix, Florian might have to wait awhile before he gets another shot at lightweight gold.

Shockwaves rock the light heavyweight division after UFC 76. Chuck Liddell is defeated again!! This time by split decision in a lackluster performance against Keith Jardine. The loss leaves the former champ with back-to-back losses for the first time in his career and leaves the fight world with major questions about his future in MMA.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua made his UFC debut against Forrest Griffin. Griffin demanded this fight and most people thought he was crazy. Rua is considered by many to be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. But fatigue is an ugly beast. Rua faded away early on in the second round, dropping his hands and taking deep breaths through his mouth. With just a few seconds left in the final round, Griffin had Rua's back and sunk in a rear naked choke that caused the Brazilian to tap out. With the win, Griffin skyrockets up the light heavyweight ladder and possibly one win away from a title shot. With the loss, Rua has the UFC scrambling to reorganize its light heavyweight division. But with the recent signing of Wanderlei Silva, the light heavyweight division will see many interesting matchups.

October, 2007 - Middleweight Division in Disarray!

As Anderson Silva was stopped by the referee from doing any more damage to the downed Nate Marquardt at UFC 73 in July, the camera shoots over to an onlooking Rich Franklin. Franklin looked as if he were watching Jason Voorhees dismembering another helpless victim. It was a look of fear that didn't seem to leave Franklin's face until he woke up on the Octagon floor, staring at the lights after his rematch with Silva at UFC 77. Franklin had, once again, been knocked silly by the devastating striker Anderson Silva. With such a dominant win over such a dominant fighter, Anderson Silva exposed a huge gap in talent in the middleweight division. Silva proved that his is on a completely different level than any other fighter in the middleweight division. The loss poses Franklin with a serious problem; he can beat any other fighter in the division, but can't beat Silva. What's a fighter to do when stuck in this type of limbo. He'll beat any other opponent put in front of him, but any chance for another title shot is very unlikely unless the belt changes hands. So Franklin will continue on winning, but will likely never get the title back. For Franklin, a move back to light heavyweight may be his only option other than retirement.

October also saw Randy Couture resign from the UFC. Thus, vacating his heavyweight title. In addition to Couture's resignation, the UFC was unable to acquire Fedor Emelianenko. With the world's two best heavyweights out of the UFC picture, the UFC's heavyweight division has gotten a little rocky. There are few exceptional fighters at heavyweight in the UFC. Vera, Silvia, Kongo, Gonzaga, and Nogueira make up the short list of serious contenders at heavyweight. The UFC also announced it's recent signing of WWE star Brock Lesnar. Lesnar has only one MMA fight under his belt, but if the result of that fight is any indication of how Lesnar will perform in the UFC, the heavyweight division may be saved.

Upsets, PRIDE fighter debuts, the fall of a champion, the comeback of another, the return of a legend, the greatest moment in UFC history, title unification, resignation, turmoil in the Middleweight, Light Heavyweight, and Heavyweight divisions. 2007 has proved to be possibly the rockiest, yet most exciting year the UFC has ever seen....and it's not over yet...

UFC Not Coming to Canada in January Is A Good Thing

2007-10-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

Once again the Canadian dream is quashed. At least for now. The UFC will not be coming to Canada in January, as previously stated by Dana White; it will hold it's first event of 2008 in Newcastle, England at UFC 80.

To a lot of Canadian fight fans, this is devastating. The UFC has been continuously promising Canadians an event to be held in Montreal but these plans keep running into road blocks. The first event in Montreal was supposed to be in April 2007 where Georges St. Pierre was supposed to defend his Welterweight title against Matt Serra. This was not to be as Dana White couldn't secure a free Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal during hockey season.

St. Pierre would lose in his bout against Serra in Houston, Texas.

But word came that Dana White and the UFC were once again toiling at the idea of bringing the UFC to Montreal; this time in October for UFC 77. This, whether it be rumour or fact, would not become a reality. The reality here is that St. Pierre would almost definitely have to headline an event held in Montreal - pretty much in his backyard. St. Pierre, however, hadn't fought since April and making him wait 6 months to fight again just didn't make sense. That, and the fact that hockey season starts in October and the Bell Centre's Saturday nights were taken.

Instead, St. Pierre would have his next fight in August against Josh Koscheck at UFC 74 in Vegas and UFC 77 would be held in Cincinnati, Rich Franklin's hometown. St. Pierre went on to dominate Koscheck for 3 rounds to win via unanimous decision.

After the fight, St. Pierre grabbed the mic from Joe Rogan just like he did after his fight with BJ Penn and made the public request to Dana White to bring the UFC to Montreal. "My people will go crazy!", said St. Pierre. During the post-fight press conference, Dana White told reporters that, yes, the UFC will be definitely be coming to Canada in 2008. He said that the event would most likely be in January. He then said that a January event in Montreal would mean that St. Pierre would most likely NOT be on the card.

St. Pierre is slated to fight the winner of the Serra-Hughes fight in December for the Welterweight title. That fight being in December would mean that neither Hughes nor Serra would be ready for a fight in January.

When I heard that the UFC might be coming to Canada in January I thought to myself "NOOOOOOOOO!" St. Pierre is huge in the UFC and is the biggest thing to come out of Quebec since Patrick Roy. A UFC event held in Montreal just didn't make sense to me without St. Pierre in the main event, let alone not being on the card altogether!

UFC's canadian debut (in Montreal, nonetheless) without St. Pierre would be like eggs without bacon...it just wouldn't be right.

The UFC, I believe, realized this and abandoned the thought of bringing a live event to Montreal in January. Some people might be disappointed, but really this is for the best. This means that there is still a chance that St. Pierre will fight for the title in Montreal.

Dana White said that he needs to secure a free Saturday at the Bell Centre during hockey season. Well there are two Saturdays in March that are open to whoever wants them. March 8th and March 29th are free! I am aware that this means that St. Pierre will have waited seven months since his fight with Koscheck to fight another opponent, but seven months is do-able; Hughes hasn't fought since March and will have not fought for nine months by the time he fights for the title in December.

A title fight in March will have given the winner of the December fight enough time off to recover from that fight and prepare for the next. I'm sure St. Pierre would gladly wait seven months to fight for the title instead of fighting someone else in a non-title bout in the next few months and then wait another few months to get a shot at the title. And so would I.

If the UFC comes to Montreal in March with St. Pierre vs the Serra-Hughes winner as the main event, I will be there with bells on! DANA WHITE MAKE IT HAPPEN!!! MARCH 8th or MARCH 29th...MAKE IT HAPPEN!!

Liddell vs. Silva Finally a Reality

2007-10-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

It's a fight years in the making. It's the fight that fight fans around the world have been waiting for. The biggest fight in Mixed Martial Arts history: Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell vs "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva has been inked for December at UFC 79:Nemesis.

The question that some people have been asking themselves is "Does this fight still have the impact that it had a year ago?" Liddell, some people think, has lost his edge and seems to be on the downhill slope to retirement. He has lost his last two fights; first by knockout to Quinton Jackson and most recently lost via split decision in a lackluster performance against Keith Jardine. With two consecutive losses, one might think that this fight shouldn't even take place since Liddell hasn't performed too well as of late.

But then again, neither has Silva. Silva is also under the gun after he, too, has lost his last two fights - both by knockout, nonetheless; First he was knocked out by the signature Cro Cop headkick, and lastly by Dan Henderson.

With these two both coming off back-to-back losses, my answer to the question is "Damn right this fight has impact! Damn right this fight should happen!"

Most people said the same thing about Keith Jardine getting a shot at Liddell and not Alexander, and look what happened there. There's no doubt in my mind that Alexander would have pummelled Liddell but Jardine did well also and ended up winning the fight - even knocked the former champ down! So who's to say that Liddell shouldn't get a shot at Silva. Silva, too, has lost two fights in a row and that's the bottom line. This fight makes sense.

Not to mention the fact that there sometimes exceptions to the rules; this exception being that the hype behind this fight far exceeds the requirement to give deserving fighters their just dues. Don't get me wrong; I believe that if a fighter has worked hard, has worked his way up the ladder, and has given exciting performances, that he should be given the fight he deserves.

But lets face it, if this fight doesn't happen now it may never happen. For example, say Dana puts this fight off until both Liddell and Silva have fought other opponents first. Worst case scenario is Liddell loses to his opponent and Silva beats his. Then what? There's no way the UFC can pit Liddell against Silva with Liddell coming off 3 consecutive losses and Silva on his way back to the top. It wouldn't make sense to anyone. So now's the time.

The timing right now still makes this fight a dream come true. We are going to see the former UFC and former PRIDE 205 pound champions going at it after both have lost 2 in a row. If it doesn't make sense now, it never will.

It's a fight that's been promised over and over again but never came to fruition. Let's just hope that it hasn't been destiny that was preventing this fight; if so, destiny might rear it's ugly head again and have one of these fighters become injured and force them to pull out of the fight.

I think that this fight is going to be spectacular. Two of the fight game's best strikers going toe to toe for the first time! I get chills just thinking of it. I'm counting down the days until December 29th when these two will finally "GET IT ON!"

Silvia Back To His Unanimous Decision Ways

2007-10-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

"The winner by unanimous decision: Tim 'The Main-iac' Silvia!"

Is the CD skipping?

We've heard this many times before and it is exactly why Tim Silvia gets booed. He is not an exciting fighter. Sure he's finished opponents in the past, but he is slow and awkward and has been very boring to watch as of late. He said in a pre-fight interview that he wants to finish his opponents and that we'd see a different, more exciting Tim Silvia. For a guy who doesn't like to go to a decision, he has sure done it a lot lately.

If he would only let his hands go and use his kicks and knees in a more aggressive fashion, he could be one of the most exciting fighters to watch.

Right from the get-go Silvia clinched with Vera and pushed him into the cage. This was basically the entire fight. A lot of hugging and kissing and calling each other George. Vera seemed to be very frustrated at the way the fight was going; you could tell he wanted to get some distance and drop bombs, but Silvia would have none of it. Silvia seemed content to press Vera into the cage and pretty much lean on him the entire fight. Vera unable to move the monster that is Silvia, was stuck in this position, and as much as he wanted to stand and trade with Silvia, he couldn't get the big man off of him. Frustrating not only for him but frustrating for everyone watching. There is not a single person in the world who wanted to see these two hug it out against the cage for the entire fight.

Silvia doesn't impress me with his fighting skills. He is so dominant because he is so big. He's tall and heavy. His reach is enormous and there's few fighters who can deal with those traits. If he were a smaller man, Tim Silvia would not be at the top of the heavyweight division.

After the win, Silvia called out Cheick Kongo. This, in my opinion, was simply because he does not want to fight Minotauro. Silvia knows that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is one of the best heavyweights in the world and would rather beat up Kongo on the ground than be beaten around by Nogeuira in a very Couture-esque fashion. Before Silvia's fight with Vera, there was much talk about the winner of the fight facing Nogeuira for the vacant heavyweight title. Tim most likely heard about this and decided it would be in his best interest to win a fight against a guy like Kongo who has no ground game. He wants to hype up a fight between him and Kongo to the point that the UFC decides it might be a good idea. Tim Silvia will beat Cheick Kongo, there's no doubt in my mind. Silvia will only finish Kongo if he takes him down and pounds him out. If the fight is left standing, it will be much like Silvia vs Vera or Kongo vs Cro Cop. Either way, I don't like the prospect of this fight. This is Tim's way of saving his own ass so that he doesn't go 1-2 in his last 3 fights; although I don't believe that that type of record would push Tim Silvia out of the UFC, it would severely hurt his chance for another shot at that title he craves so badly.

Vera, on the other hand, will fight anyone the UFC puts in front of him; his opponent at UFC 77 for example. Vera is the real deal. If Vera hadn't broken his left hand in the first round of the fight, he could have quite possibly won that fight. I believe he took round 2; broken hand and all. Round 3 I gave to Silvia, but Vera didn't throw much in the third. He seemed tentative and a little concerned about throwing combinations. Had he been able to fight without the worries of a broken hand, he most likely would have taken round 3. For a guy who's been out of the fight scene for nearly a year, he showed no signs of rust. Vera will be back very soon and will be, in the words of Tim Silvia, "someone to be reckoned with".

Vera vs. Gonzaga in the future? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Silva the Sniper

2007-10-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

It may have took a little longer this time around, but the UFC Middleweight Championship bout was an instant replay of the one that took place just over a year ago.

Silva, once again, dominated Rich Franklin in very impressive fashion. This guy is unbelievable. Silva has left no doubt in my mind that he is the deadliest striker in the UFC. His strikes are as accurate as a shot taken by a sniper and are just as deadly. He connected with pin point accuracy with everything in his arsenal; punches, knees, kicks, spinning backfists, spin kicks, etc...Silva threw everything but the kitchen sink at Franklin and made short work of the former champ.

Franklin fought off the attempted clinch early on and faired OK during the first minute of the match; this due to the fact that Silva's first strike came nearly 55 seconds after the opening bell. Franklin worked his kicks and used a good double jab to keep Silva from teeing off; however, Silva was a lion waiting in the grass to make his move. Silva started throwing some punches and went for the clinch. Franklin fought this off quite well and when the two were battling it out against the cage, Franklin scored a takedown. Silva wasn't on his back long though and soon was back to his feet. Once "The Spider" was up and standing again, he began to unload in spectacular fashion and dropped the former champ at the bell.

Franklin had to be carried to his corner and at this point anyone watching the fight knew that it was only a matter of time. By the look in Franklin's eyes, you could see that he, too, knew he was finished.

He came out firing, though, in the second. This aggressive push didn't last long as Silva once again opened his bag of tricks and unleashed a ferocious barrage of strikes that crumpled Franklin. After a couple of shots to the downed Franklin, Big John stopped the fight and Silva remained the champ.

With such a decisive win, one must ask "Is there anyone out there who can even compete with Silva?" Silva is on a totally different level than any other fighter in the 185 pound class. The UFC's middleweight division has lost its appeal now that it only consists of Silva beating Franklin and Franklin beating everyone else.

There is one other fighter who might give Silva a run for his money and that's Dan Henderson, the PRIDE 185 pound champion. Henderson, however, would rather fight at light heavyweight which doesn't cause me any grief because there are a lot of interesting fights that could potentially take place with Henderson at Light Heavyweight. Although, I would eventually like to see him come down to middleweight for a fight with Silva and another title unification bout.

The second loss to Silva poses Rich Franklin with a huge problem; he can beat anyone in the division other than Silva. So what does a fighter do when he can beat everyone else but can't beat the champ? The only decision I can see Franklin making is to move back up to Light Heavyweight. This division is stacked with talent and there is no shortage of great oppenents for Franklin to fight. Silva is just a terrible style matchup for Franklin and is simply just better than Rich. Although, this move will leave the middleweight division with even less legitimate fighers, I believe that there is nowhere else for Franklin to go.

Silva is also posed with a problem; there is no one who can even be considered a challenge for him. With no threats to his title, he may become a 2-fight-a-year fighter or even worse, 1 fight a year. So until Georges St. Pierre wins the Welterweight title, dominates the division for a few more years and decides to move up to middleweight, Anderson Silva, like Franklin, is in limbo.

As long as no new legitimate contenders come out of the wood work, Anderson Silva will dominate this division for a very long time and will no doubt become bored and begin searching for a decent challenge. In my opinion his only option will also be to move up to Light Heavyweight. This would be the icing on the cake for a division that's already stacked with talent. Could you imagine Anderson Silva vs Chuck Liddell, or Anderson Silva vs Shogun, Silva vs. Alexander, Silva vs. Silva??

This would, however, leave the middleweight division completely empty of elite fighters, but would at least give the rest of the division a shot at a title, and would make for more interesting fights at middleweight.

The result of the main event at UFC 77 has left the middleweight division in disarray and has left the rest of the fighters in the division rethinking their career plans.

UFC's Heavyweight Division Dwindling

2007-10-12T05:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of you have heard by now that Randy Couture is, once again, retiring. The announcement of his retirement comes a day after it was announced that Fedor had signed with Russia's M-1 organization. The dream matchup that the fight world was praying for will no longer become a reality. Couture vs Emelianenko exists now only in our imagination.

With the UFC's heavyweight division without MMA's top two heavyweights, we are left with heavyweight questions.

There are few top heavyweights left in this division and several of those fighters have big question marks beside their names.

I'll begin with Arlovski. The "Pit Bull" hasn't fought since April 21 and, as of yet, has no fights lined up in the near future. His fight against Fabricio Werdum wasn't exactly Fight of the Year material; Arlovski fought very tentatively and used leg kicks as his weapon of choice. I have no doubt that the fearsome striker that is Arlovski still exists, but he hasn't shown his face in quite some time.

This brings me to Tim Silvia. In his last five fights, has has only stopped one opponent; the other four fights went to the judges' decision with his last fight coming as a loss to Randy Couture. Tim Silvia has also fought very tentatively in his last few fights. Throwing a lot of jabs but nothing significant. If Tim Silvia comes back a hungry fighter on October 20th, then watch out...but if not, he'll be booed back to the hotel once again and will leave Dana White seriously thinking of whether or not to resign him.

There's also Nogueira. This guy is tough and is a serious threat to the vacant UFC Heavyweight title. That being said, he nearly got his head kicked off by Heath Herring in his UFC debut. Heath Herring is another top heavyweight on my list, but he needs to pull off a few exciting wins to be considered as a contender to the title.

Cro Cop is the biggest bust in UFC history. He is 1-2 in the Octagon thus far. His lone victory coming in the form of an unimpressive TKO against Eddie Sanchez, who, basically ran away from Cro Cop the entire time. Cro Cop's future is one of the biggest problems on Dana White's plate. What is the UFC to do with a fighter with a huge salary like Cro Cop, but who is only deemed worthy of prelim fights?

Cheick Kongo can be considered a threat to the title if he works nothing but wrestling and Jiu Jitsu for 6 solid months. Nothing else. No fights, no kickboxing. Just grappling and submissions. He can be an exciting fighter if he becomes more aggressive, lets his hands and feet go, pushes the action and throws combinations. If he can do these things, then we have a serious contender on our hands. If not, then he's just another kickboxer who doesn't have confidence in his standup because he has no ground game to back it up.

Brandon Vera is possibly the real deal; something UFC fans are going to find out October 20th when he takes on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Silvia. He is 8-0 and 4-0 in the UFC with only one of his UFC fights going past the first round (Beating Fabiano Scherner by TKO in the second round). If he beats Tim Silvia then Brandon Vera should be considered for the vacant title. Vera hasn't fought since November of last year, which leaves him questionable. Will his win over a questionable Frank Mir be seen as merely a result of Mir's motorcycle accident or will he move to the top of the food chain with a win over "The Main-iac"?

Gabriel Gonzaga is probably the baddest dude in this division. Although he lost to Randy Couture, he is, in my opinion, still the top contender for this title. Ridiculous kicks and great Jiu Jitsu, this guy will be champion one day - Guaranteed. Although, I think Randy would have won that fight either way, Gonzaga broke his nose in the first round when taken down by a high single by Couture; this took a lot of the life out of Gonzaga. Now, that being said, Gonzaga fought like an animal with a broken nose and landed some very powerful kicks - one of which broke Couture's arm. Besides Gonzaga, there are very few others who can be considered for the championship.

What I would like to see is Gonzaga take on Big Nog and have that winner fight the winner of Silvia vs Vera for the vacant title. I would hope that the UFC holds Gonzaga vs. Nogueira in December and have the Championship matchup maybe in March 2008.

I don't know the length of Fedor's contract with M-1, but I still hope that one day he makes the move to the UFC. And unless the UFC brings in Josh Barnett and possibly Brock Lesnar, the UFC Heavyweight division is going to go right back to where it was...boring.