I was contemplating on whether or not to post this, but I felt it was a story worth telling. 

My father and I have been huge UFC fans for awhile. Me and him started Jiu-Jitsu in the at around the same time and it was there we first heard about the UFC. Intrigued, we went to our local Blockbuster and rented the VHS and we became hooked.   A few years later The Ultimate Fighter debuted and we then even became bigger fans of the UFC and started to buy the PPVs and I started going on the MMA sites.  My brother, who is 3 years younger was never really into it.  He found it "gay" because two men with no shirts were laying on each other.  Not understanding, what was going on.  This would go on for a few years until he started to admit he enjoyed the Ultimate Knockout specials but he couldnt stand it otherwise. 

Then he heard about UFC Undisputed.  My brother is into video games a bit and has a nack for picking up games quick and becoming real good at them.  He thought the game would be like the Boxing Fight Night series which he was obsessed with.  He got real amped for the demo to come out for Undisputed and became obsessed with the game right away and becoming amazed about how different MMA is from Boxing.  WHen the game came out, he went through 4 career modes in a week becoming hooked with the game but little did I know the sport.

Soon, he would start asking me questions about the MMA.  He'd ask about different techniques, fighters and who the hell Fedor was (after facing him so many times online).  Now he watches all the Unleashed to get caught up with the sport and he's been taking a few of my DVD's and watching them too.  He can't get enough of MMA and is counting down the days to 100. 

I know this is just one example of the video game being able to attract new fans but I think it says alot.  My brother hated MMA, thought it was stupid and gay, but since the game came out he is slowly becoming a diehard.  I'm sure this isn't the only case of this happening.  I think it shows UFC Undisputed has the ability to attract new fans and maybe make MMA the biggest sport in the country.

If this in the wrong spot or doesn't belong here I apologize.

With today's release of UFC Undisputed this site has been filled with excitement about how great this game is.  I myself have bee playing on my brothers Xbox until the PS3 finally release their demo for the game. 

I believe you are able to play online in the demo mode which is nice because I'm sure over the next month it might get a little stale playing against the computer with the sane two characters.  My idea was for people who want to play online with other MMA fans to put down their gamer tags so people within the BE community can face each other.

My Ps3 name is hottublifeguard5 (SNL skit with Jim Carrey as host) and if i play on 360  i go on my brothers name Dr Pepper MD 23.  I dont think its a bad idea and plus it promotes some competetion in the website.

....it does.  MMAJunkie is reporting that the boxing match betwee Sylvia and Mercer will be held in a MMA cage.

 

The previously announced "Adrenaline III: Sylvia vs. Mercer" headline boxing match between former MMA champion Tim Sylvia and boxing champ Ray Mercer will be held in a mixed-martial-arts cage, Adrenaline MMA CEO Monte Cox confirmed in a Thursday press conference in Birmingham, Ala.

 

"It just makes sense on so many levels, and it adds another twist to the main event," Cox stated in reference to the cage.

Cox moved the fight to Alabama after the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board refused to approve the fight, which was initially targeted for Atlantic City. Alabama does not have a regulatory commission to sanction the fight, but as MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently reported, Cox insisted the NJSAC's decision was not the reason for selecting the new locale. The longtime promoter instead said a "big sponsor" was the reason for the change.

 

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MMAJunkie has the story

 

According to a report from Fight Hype.com, UFC middleweights Ricardo Almeida (10-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) and Kendall Grove (10-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) have verbally agreed to meet at the event.

UFC 101 is expected to take place Aug. 8 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, headlined by a lightweight title fight between current champ B.J. Penn and challenger Kenny Florian.

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MMAMadness

According to sources close to the event, Manny Gamburyan (8-4) is likely to make his WEC debut on the main card of WEC 41 verses John Franchi (5-0) in Sacramento, Calif. at ARCO Arena.

Franchi defeated Mike Budnik on March 1st via split decision on the WEC 39 undercard in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Gamburyan comes off two UFC losses, most recently to Thiago Tavares at UFC 94 via unanimous decision.

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Royce Gracie in an interview with Bubba the love sponge says he can beat GSP.  To clarify and make sure we're all on the same page the GSP stands for Georges St. Pierre and not something else that would be much more believable/reasonable. 

“I can still do it. Of course,” he said. Asked if he would need a tune-up fight first before fighting St. Pierre, the answer was an emphatic no.

“From GSP to Fedor, it doesn’t matter, been there done that. I’m a fighter, I don’t need a tune-up  -you calling me old and out of shape now?” he laughed.

“About two months ago I just ran 41 miles. I’m just getting in shape for him - he cannot outrun me!”

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Originally reported by Fiveouncesofpain.com article by mmamania.com

Apparently there is still some fight left in “The T-Shirt Guys” over at Affliction Entertainment.

Five Ounces of Pain is reporting that Affliction is taking a page out of the UFC counter programming handbook and contemplating a third mixed martial arts event this summer for Saturday, July 11 — the same day as the much anticipated UFC 100.

According to the report, Affliction would consider hosting the event on network or basic cable television to avoid the very difficult task of trying to lure away potential PPV buys from Zuffa.

And the UFC is no stranger to counter programming.

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I don't remember who does the "MMA Has Jumped the Shark" articles here - I think it is Luke Thomas - but add this to the list.

Boy, what a travesty this show was.

These two teen girls who seem like they belong on the station's Super Sweet 16 show want to become "Mixed Martial Artists." They no longer want to be viewed by their classmates as the stereotypical girly girls who love to shop, text and gossip. The girls believe that if they train MMA their peers will start to respect them.

Time comes to meet their coach who is going to be training them for the next two months. This got me intrigued because I was wondering who they were going to get to be their trainer. I was expecting to see "Mayhem" walking through that door due to his relationship with MTV. Wrong. This woman with her head shaved comes through, they say her name and I don't recognize it. It turns out this woman is a Tae Kwon Do instructor. While i respect the art, Tae Kwon Do has little to no value in MMA. Joe Rogan, himself a decorated Tae Kwon Do champion, has stated that there is maybe one or two things that translate to MMA.

So then I'm like "maybe this is just one coach and they are going to bring in others." Wrong again. The whole time the girls practice strictly TKD. That's right: these girls who want to become Mixed Martial Artists do not practice grappling, BJJ, Muay Thai, or boxing. The big payoff at the end is the girls sparring each other with tournament-style scoring. The match ends in a tie and the way the tie is decided to be broken is by whoever breaks a board first.

Not surprisingly, MTV completely missed the mark on this, totally misrepresenting the sport. And I thought hearing that the Jonas Brothers "ultimate fight" each other to settle their differences was bad.

Spike TV today announced an open tryout for the upcoming 10th season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

In stark contrast to past open calls, "The Ultimate Fighter 10," will be casting fighters in the middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, according to the release.

The past two seasons (including the soon-to-debut "TUF 9") have featured 32 cast members competing in two different weight classes. Specifics on how the three weight-class system will affect the 10th season's casting levels were not announced.

The April 6 tryout takes place at the Marriott Seattle Airport Hotel in Seattle, Wash. Fighter registration begins at 8 a.m. PT, and the tryouts begin at 10 a.m. Fighters are expecting to dress appropriately and bring the proper gear to participate in both striking and grappling sessions.

It is unknown at this time if additional tryouts will be held.

While past seasons of "The Ultimate Fighter" have featured competitors without professional experience, including "TUF 7" winner Amir Sadollah, the release states that, "Participants must have a professional MMA record."

No coaches have been announced for the show, which will again be hosted by UFC President Dana White. Specific filming and air dates are also still unknown.

"TUF," which debuted in early 2005, will kick off its ninth season in April. The groundbreaking reality series, which was the catalyst for MMA's recent popularity explosion, has launched the UFC careers of more than 100 fighters, and even resulted in the crowning of two UFC champions.

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"Human Cockfighting", "barbaric", and "haven for white trash" are a few of the negative sterotypes that were associated with the sport that we all love.  These stereotypes are what is keeping MMA out of my homestate of New York.  But e out of all of these stereotypes my favorite is that it is "much more dangerous then any other contact sport".  Really?  Interesting because last time i checked with the exception being Sam Vasquez there have been no deaths caused from MMA or any serious injuries.  Lets take a look at other sports that are deemed fine by the state of New York.

Boxing and MSG almost go hand in hand and is part of the reason why MSG is viewed as the mecca of all sporting venues.  Bob Reilly has stated one of the reasons he disapproves MMA is that when a fighter gets knocked down to a strike he's allowed to get hit while on the ground inflicting more damage.  Good ol' Bobbo spewing nonsense and saying things that he has no proof about.  Studies have shown that is in fact safer to take 2 or 3 punches after getting knocked down in comparision to boxing where when a boxer gets knocked down he is given 10 seconds to get up and continue fighting.  So instead of getting hit right after being knocked silly a boxer can get up and take shots in the head for another couple rounds.  Also, in boxing a fighter takes way more shots to the head, which causes swelling the brain and that leads to depression and dementia.

While we are the note of brain injuries, it seems like every time I turn on ESPN another former NFL player has killed himself because of depression.  Football is the most brutal combat sport there is.  There is an injury every play, whether it is small or big.  Also, the sport has a very high rate of concussions which as I previously stated leads to these many cases of dementia and depression.  (For more info on football related concussions read this http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090127165938.htm) Not only is there serious head trauma the rest of the body is affected.  i remember watching a video a few years back of the this old Raiders center who because his back was so bad he had to go through twenty minutes just to put on a fair of socks.  LEts not forget players who break their necks playing the game (Bengals LB David Pollack), but i guess that is not violent.  In New York State itself, the state afraid that to have this violent sport of MMA, had Kevin Everett PARALYZED playing the game.  Also in New York State Anquan Boldin had his face broken by a hit by Eric Smith that caused him to have facial reconstructive surgery.  But somehow this is ok when MMA isn't in New York.

Hockey too has had it's incidents.  In New York a few years back, then Islander Alexei Yashin was cut with a blade and nearly bled to death.  Getting cut with the blade has happened numerous times but no ones ever called for anything to be changed.  Outside New York, Todd bertuzzi dirt bagged it up and slammed Steve Moore face first in the ground.  Donald Brashear got hit in the head by a hockey stick and was knocked out.  Also not too long ago a minor league hockey player was killed during a fight on ice.

I love all of these sports and this criticism towards New York State for failing to realize that these sports are more violent then MMA.  Bob Reilly and the rest of New York lawmakers should do some research on the sport before they make this decision.  I didn't even get into how much MMA (UFC especially would help the NEw York economy but that is a different discussion.  Hope this was a worthy read

Looks like Matt Arroyo  is the latest fighter to be cut by the UFC.  Season 6 of the Ultimate Fighter is really shaping up to be the worst one when it comes to producing talent.  FiveOuncesOfPain has the story:

Despite his status as a talented welterweight prospect, potential alone was not enough to keep Matt Arroyo employed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has confirmed that the Rob Kahn-trained fighter was released from the promotion soon after his split decision loss to Dan Cramer during last month’s UFC 94 event. The bout served as Cramer’s professional debut.

Arroyo, a jiu-jitsu black belt who gained national notoriety after appearing on the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter, fell to 0-2 in his last two bouts following the defeat against Cramer. The initial loss of his current two fight losing streak took place this June during the live finale for the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Facing TUF 7 veteran Matt Brown in a rematch from a Renegade Fighting Championships bout that took place in November of 2006, Arroyo fell to 0-2 lifetime against the Team Jorge Gurgel member following a TKO at 3:40 of round 2.

Arroyo departs the UFC with a 1-2 lifetime record inside of the Octagon with a first round armbar submission victory over John Kolosci from the live finale of TUF 6 also to his credit.

He joins a confirmed list of recent releases by the UFC that includes Nate Mohr, Rich Clementi, Luigi Fioravanti, Eddie Sanchez, Christian Wellisch, Reese Andy, and Derek Downey.