Certain things are like clockwork in the mixed martial arts blogosphere. MMA Junkie will break news and Bloody Elbow will run it through the SEO ringer; positive steroids tests will be met with equal parts outrage and mocking of the outrage; Ryan will promise us all something amazing and fail to deliver (I did get my Team Modafferi and Human Cockfighting t-shirts, though); and Josh Gross will get antsy in the middle of winter and attempt to relive Sherdog's battle with the UFC while he was at their helm.

Dear readers, you know I am a powerfully lazy writer, frequently led astray by such petty "real life" concerns as supervised probation, college courses and a job. I believe the last time I put my fingers against a keyboard (when not bullshitting on Twitter or documenting why someone is late on their mortgage) was immediately following the UFC's debut on Fox - an event that was widely clamored for among the MMA media for years before being largely pooh-poohed when it actually happened. I've had similar (read: identical) droughts of productivity (or are they spurts of uselessness?) before, but I'm learning that they're ok during the end of years ending in a 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9.

Immediately following the sparsely-bought UFC 108 PPV headlined by Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva - an utterly cursed card that conjured images of Papa Shango with a UFC-emblazoned skull across the Interwebs - Gross wrote this piece about how this singular event signaled the death knell for Zuffa's no-co-promotion policy (a.k.a their entire business model). To be fair, at the time, Fedor still loomed as an undefeated* #1 fighter outside of Zuffa's grasp (not so much anymore) and the waves from his signing with Strikeforce were still being measured. However, the reactionary aspect of the piece - one poorly-bought PPV = co-promotion forever - compelled me to come to this very site and disagree. That propelled me to Watch Kalib Run's podcast, the front pages of a few SBN sites and a ballot with USA Today. If the trajectory from this piece is similar, I'll be the Republican nominee in 2012 (I respectfully decline).

Today's timing is more weird than reactionary for the piece. The actual material, however, is just short of embarrassing. I feel genuinely sorry for Outside the Lines (one of the few quality offerings from ESPN) and John Barr having their names attached to it. Here's the link. Not only are the actual named sources for disgruntled fighters/managers few and far between, they're essentially limited to Rob Maysey, who is a completely unimpeachable and objective source of such informatio... oh wait, he runs the "Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association," a powerfully weird site that's largely under construction and lists its most recent activity - by Maysey or anyone else - at over eleven months ago, despite claiming over 1,800 (largely avatar-less) members. Hmm.

I go on at Fightlinker. If you haven't yet, give Untethered MMA a shot - this week, Mike Fagan and I were joined by Forrest Lynn. Also available on iTunes.

via i268.photobucket.com

(Props to Fightlinker reader iamphoenix for the image),

-First point: I didn't notice a number at the end of this event's name. Are numbering systems kaput? Will we see a Versus-style "just name it after the headliners" theme in the future? That seems unlikely, as it's been confirmed that every Fox card going forward will air two fights (and clock in at 90 minutes - fingers crossed for at least the possiblity of more fights making air). Just do the damn numbers - either integrate them with the PPV ones or start anew with Fox. You didn't spend all of these years conditioning us to dick with that now, did you?

-Second point: see the picture above. Nothing short of a flat-out slobberknocker would have satisfied the hardcores, who looked forward to this day in the same way that morons anticipate the Second Coming. This isn't pro wrestling: scripting what happens is a one-way ticket to oblivion and the federal pen. You put the best fighters in the world against each other again and again and you record what happens.

-Dana White has caught some flack for doing the same thing he always does after a card (ie, offer half-assed analysis of the main event while loudly proclaiming that he doesn't know what he's talking about). This time, he questioned why Cain was content to stand at distance with JDS instead of using his wrestling to try to secure an advantage. Well, news flash, everyone: so was Cain. He said after the fight that the game plan was to pressure and get in close, and that he just didn't execute what they had practiced. In addition to offering a more compelling fight and answering more questions (STILL don't know how JDS reacts to elite-level wrestling), doing so would have saved us another round of indignant blog posts in reaction to the most mundane of repetitive occurances.

You should come to Fightlinker and read the rest.  C'mon.

(Today, I feel nice.  No linkies.  I hope you guys visit Head Kick Legend anyway.  We have new up-and-coming writers, Brent Ducharme is flat-out indispensable for kickboxing news, and David Castillo is putting up high quality work on the science of the sport.  Make us a regular stop and you won't regret it.)

As grating as it was sitting at a bar, watching a card that occurred within miles of my new job, it seems that enjoyed the card a good deal more than most of my blogging brethren.  Perhaps it's because I'm used to world-class athletes performing less than optimally in the thin Colorado air (perhaps David Castillo could write a detailed, well-researched, elaborate article that makes his compatriots look bad and his readers feel stupid), or the fact that I didn't hate either of the participants in the main event.  More on why in the bullet-point things.

• I loved this crowd - mostly.  I'm sure the late start to the Facebook fights (did we ever get a why on that, by the way?), but there were a lot of seats filled early and the audience was active and engaged for the duration.  Junior Assuncao didn't earn himself any fans by shrugging off boos after his Jeff Dunham-like Anderson Silva impression during the first round, and his domination over the rest of the fight wasn't enough to sway the tide.  I do hate it when crowds boo the action - that I didn't like.  But at least they were there early and provided nice auditory accompaniments to the prelims.  Plus, we weren't Chicago.  Bonus.
• James Te Huna's destruction of Ricardo Romero's flailing take down attempts was the most dominant performance of the Facebook fights, but in terms of impressiveness, it's hard not to give the nod to Takeya Mizugaki defeating Cole Escovedo.  Since coming out of nowhere to give Miguel Torres his toughest fight at the time (and most awesome fight to date), Mizugaki has been maddeningly inconsistent, trading a win for a loss regularly.  While the blather from the booth can normally be discounted as fight and fighter hyping, Joe Rogan's commentary on the integration of kicks and elbows fit in perfectly with the fight in progress.  Takeya beat a better opponent, so he's who impressed me the most leading into the Spike fights.
• Tim Boestch is a beast, and I'm proud to finally be able to rank him in his new home at 185.  Nick Ring isn't a bad fighter at all, and will probably stick around for a while, but I'm much more excited to see how The Barbarian fares.  Those judo tosses were pure beauty, and he looks huge at middleweight.  Losing to Phil Davis might be the best thing that ever happened to him.
• I'm pretty good and Goddamn "meh" when it comes to Tony Ferguson, but he looked good.  The real focus is how Aaron Riley was able to get his testicles through the Octagon door.  Greasegate II, if you ask me.
• It's amazing what a difference the right weight class can make.  After a wayward experiment at welterweight (motivated at least in part by an aversion to cutting weight), Nate Diaz looked fantastic in his return to 155 as he avenged his brother's THC NC against Takanori Gomi.  After showing a flash of the old Fireball Kid by knocking out Tyson Griffin, Gomi reverted to his Fireball Thirtysomething ways, even getting outwrestled by Nick Diaz's little brother.  I think that ship has sailed, JMMA fans.
• Ok, now for the heavyweight fights that everyone hated.  I actually didn't think Rob Broughton looked that terrible.  Is he as good as Travis Browne?  No, and that should have been clear to everyone as soon as Browne held his own against de facto gatekeeper Cheick Kongo en route to a draw.  However, Broughton was tough enough to make it long and ugly, and crafty enough on the ground to escape Browne's full mount twice (and other crappy positions on other occasions).  I don't think he's terrible, at all.
• I get to rank Mark Hunt on my ballot this month!  In 2011!  That's amazing!  I don't, for the live of me, know why Ben Rothwell didn't employ the "shoot, sit and stay" game plan that worked so swimmingly against Gilbert Yvel - he got the take down when he wanted it - but I think I can speak for everyone at HKL when I say I'm glad he didn't.  Via MiddleEasy's Twitter account: "Mark Hunt's record in the UFC is better than Fedor's record in Strikeforce."  I look forward to Ben Rothwell's next "I'm better than ever" speech.
• Matt Hughes said the perfect things after his fight.  To paraphrase, he'll take a fight that is interesting, competitive and lucrative, but he's done competing for a title in the welterweight division.  That's perfectly OK, and the UFC has the leeway, legitimacy and leverage to make room on cards for "legacy fights" or "cool shit" or whatever you'd like to call what Matt Hughes does next.  Koscheck is Koscheck and is merely biding time at that weight class, since he's 0-2 vs the champ and no one wants to see that fight again ever - particularly Josh Koscheck's left eye, but to be fair, it didn't have to see most of the second fight anyway.
• Only Internet weirdos hate Jon Jones, and the fact that they make up a larger proportion of a UFC crowd than they do at every other place on Earth at the time doesn't change that fact.  First of all, he's a KID.  He's younger than the know-nothing whippersnappers that write for such MMA blogs as... um... all of them.  He's in the spotlight, making millions, holding the belt, doing the press junkets and - oh yeah - putting on flat-out amazing fights using his phenomenal skills every time out.  Every time he fights, it's against better fights, and every time he fights, he looks better.  In back to back fights, a 23 year old has made Shogun Rua tap to strikes and RNC'ed Rampage Jackson.  I can't stop you from letting his interviews and press conference mannerisms cloud that, but I can sure as hell pity you.

via www.mmapunch.com

In front of a crowd that was universally panned on Twitter, Strikeforce hosted the semifinal bouts of their wayward heavyweight Grand Prix and a title tilt between Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Luke Rockhold.  In addition, Maximo Blanco battled Pat Healy and Feijao Calvancante introduced Yoel Romero to the hexagon.  Finally, I'm a little rusty at writing introductions to bullet-point blog posts.

• I recently purchased an HDTV, and being able to watch both the prelims and main card of a Strikeforce event in HD was a nice treat.  As much as I appreciate being able to see every UFC prelim on Facebook, I hope Zuffa is able to show more and more fights in HD as their avenues for distribution continue to increase and diversify.  As much as I dislike Kenny Rice, he and Bas Rutten were vastly preferable to...
• ...the worst announcing trio duo in the history of televised sports, as we were mercifully spared listening to Gus Johnson by an on-point-as-usual Pat Miletich.  Mauro Ranallo's pathetic attempts to banter with Josh Barnett notwithstanding, Frank Shamrock proved to be even more useless than previously thought.  He was unable to respond to direct, basic questions from Mauro (with Pat having to jump in and fill the knowledge-less void on at least one occasion) and betrayed an insanely basic lack of understanding of the Unified Rules when he asked whether knees to the body on the ground were legal.  This was immediately after expressing befuddlement at the previous round, when Maximo Blanco (not "Maximum Blanka" as Frank/ would have you believe) landed a series of clearly illegal kicks to a grounded Pat Healy.  A new low for Frank tonight, and that's saying something.
• As dumbfounded as I was by the 50-45 card announced in the immediate aftermath of tonight's middleweight title fight, Fight Metric's report on the action makes clear that the rounds Luke Rockhold lost were much, much closer than the rounds he won.  However, scoring the first round for Rockhold when Jacare was able to hit three take down attempts is a bridge too far.  In the coming weeks, I will be attempting to organize a sort of rapid-fire response to bad judge's scorecards, with concerted e-mail and Twitter campaigns directed at the athletic commissions that give judges the cards in the first place.  Be it remedial training, film dissection or dismissal, blatantly incorrect scorecards need to be punished as they happen in the court of public opinion.
• I do believe that King Mo answered Showtime's text poll in emphatic fashion.  The ability to dictate where the bout takes place - and for how long - is absolutely paramount.  I don't know what's next for Roger Gracie.

Mark Nolan - Getty ImagesMore photos »

6 months ago: SYDNEY AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 22: Chris Lytle (R) does some glove work during an Open Workout ahead of UFC Sydney 127 at Star City on February 22 2011 in Sydney Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

• I don't think, after last night's prelims, that anyone will be complaining about the continued presence of Jason Reinhardt or Alex Cacares on the UFC's roster.  Both were handily defeated for the second straight time, both in the second round, and neither should be around after the round of cuts for this event are announced.
• While the "Volkmann for President" t-shirt probably won't be catching on anytime soon (on The MMA Hour this week, Volkmann revealed that he was unaware of the death of Saddam Hussein, telling Ariel Helwani that he was confusing the former Iraqi dictator with Osama bin Laden.  Well done, Bush administration's campaign of misleading propaganda!), Christmas still dominated Danny Castillo en route to a UD victory.  Jacob consistently threatened Castillo with subs while showing that not EVERY WEC lightweight was/is amazing (more on this later).
• While it appears that Donald Cerrone has bigger fish to fry, Cole Miller should still look into making 145.
• I was really, really wrong about Karlos Vemola.  Ronny Markes made his wrestling look Czech and my prediction for the fight look foolish.  As a sop to those of you that don't enjoy me talking about picks all of the time, I'll leave that discussion here - I went 10-2, with my misses being Vemola and that one on the main card that everyone and their sister messed up.
• You can't not root for Ed Herman after the injuries that he's had and the layoff they contributed to.  The time off has apparently done wonders for his submission game, as he relentlessly attacked Kyle "Good Thing I'm Australian" Noke until eventually sinking an inverted heel hook during the first frame.  Impressive performance, looking forward to seeing him again, war Colorado.
• I tweeted Dana as Joseph Benavidez vs Eddie Wineland was introduced by Mike Goldberg as "the former champion against who many say could be the next champion."  You just can't bill a fight that way and then simultaneously argue that it should have been on the prelims.  Fun scrap that should've been on TV.
• I'm seriously considering sending Jared Hamman a fruit basket in exchange for annihilating CB Dollaway.

Below the fold (no really, there's a fold this time), the main card, gushing about Donald Cerrone and paying insufficient tribute to Chris Lytle (while mocking the blatant hypocrisy of Dan Hardy).

via www.gamblerspalace.com

(This probably would have been a more competitive fight.  But not by much.)

My serial procrastination, uncommonly busy employment schedule and inability to stare at glowing rectangles within a few hours of a whiskey hangover tend to afford me the luxury of reading what others have written about an event before putting my thoughts into text.  In other words, I'm late again.  Sorry, everyone.  Once my legalities are resolved and my semester is underway, I'll be giving you more to hate and mock.  I promise.

• Most of the Facebook prelims weren't very good.  Natal looked decent when interested (which was infrequent at best), Mike Brown gassed pretty hard after a dominant first while proving that Nam Phan has a lot to learn, Hendricks and Pierce fought a relatively entertaining war of attrition (that I feel was correctly judged, even though I picked Pierce) and Ivan Menjivar's performance can't be celebrated because he came in fat.  I wasn't very happy, but I did go 3-1 on my picks there (damn you and your magnificent beard, Hendricks!).
• The Spike ones, however, were thoroughly enjoyable, and not only if you were smart enough to pick Alexander Gustafsson to beat Matt Hamill.  Even if you were still enthralled by Hamill's seemingly forgotten wrestling past and enamored by his story, one couldn't help but be impressed by the way the Mauler (great nickname, by the way) eviscerated the Hammer by using his range and making Matt pay for his halfhearted take down attempts.  That kid has a future at 205, and his loss to Phil Davis is nothing to be ashamed of.  I think Rich Franklin made the right call when he turned down this particular opponent.
• Kenny Florian getting a title shot over Chad Mendes is bullshit.  Yes, he descended down from 155 after losing to Gray Maynard and promptly defeated a solid top 10 contender in Diego Nunes.  Inexplicably, beating the #8 FW in the world means, for Florian, a #4 spot in the USA Today rankings and a title shot against consensus #1 Jose Aldo.  Meanwhile, Mendes - who is 6-0 in Zuffa since 2010 with wins over Eric Koch, Michihiro Omigawa, Javier Vasquez and Cub Swanson - dominates Rani Yahya (fresh off of a decision victory over Brown, the former champion) and is now stuck in the all-too-familiar "wait for a title shot or fight again?" conundrum that's created by either a) injuries or b) crappy matchmaking.  In this case, I'd advise Mendes to take some time off.  Nobody's going to leap frog him as the #1 contender in the interim.
• Rory MacDonald's a helluva fighter.  It's dumb to say that anyone is the next GSP or Anderson Silva, much as it's dumb to say anyone is the next John Elway or Mickey Mantle.  He's got a lot to prove, but with Pyle and Diaz down, Rory has two legitimate wins under his belt at an absurdly young age.  He's shown great grappling, an evolving striking game (he's made strides since the Condit fight) and a killer instinct that finished Pyle's night early.  Pyle didn't even have a bad game plan - MacDonald just blew it up.
• I'm semi-intrigued by Costantinos Philippou, but he's got to work on his gas tank and pray he doesn't fight a wrestler at any point... ever.  I was having a lot of fun when Alessio Sakara and Jorge Rivera were both riding 3 fight winning streaks, but those days are long, long gone.  Middleweight could use some new blood, especially ridiculously unproven blood, like that which courses through Hector Lombard's veins.
• Mike Fagan was way off base when he wrote this piece over at Bloody Elbow.  My revulsion to Dennis Hallman's ring attire was due completely to functionality (as evidenced by a picture linked to in Fagan's piece), shamelessness and the general asshattery that comes with wearing a Speedo in public.  Homophobia is a serious problem, in America and in MMA - serious enough that the accusation should not be thrown about willy-nilly when it's completely unrelated to the task at hand.  I was rooting for Brian Ebersole because I picked him (this fight made me 7-2, with my other screw-up being Rivera), but I started rooting for him more when I saw Hallman's ridiculous get up, and I don't have a homophobic bone in my body.  Severe overreach by a guy that I normally enjoy reading.

Okay.  So I get that you already saw me squabbling with Fagan (for the record, we both love you very, very much, it's just that Mommy and Daddy yell at each other sometimes.  It's not your fault, honey!).  Still, though, you should drop by Head Kick Legend and check out the rest.  Brent Ducharme has a bunch of videos with face kicking and stuff, David Castillo on how "the brain" is "important", and Austin Martin going through writer puberty.  It's all very, very exciting.  Join us, won't you?

via cdn0.sbnation.com

Who's the winningest fighter in UFC middleweight history?  "Jesus," you might be muttering to yourself, "what a stupid question.  Maybe it's the undefeated holder of the longest title reign in UFC history?  The guy that, whether he's clowning around for 25 minutes, front-kicking his opponents into oblivion in the first, or getting flat-out dominated before pulling off a beautiful Hail Mary submission in the fifth, always seems to come out on top?  Yeah, I'm going to go with the same fighter that tops most P4P lists and destroyed a former LHW champion in his second bout at the weight class - Anderson Silva.  Subo, you're done it again."

Here, we're going to define winningest as "the most wins" (Anderson's 1.000 win percentage in the UFC is both absurd and unassailable).  By that metric?  Andy's second.  And first place belongs to "The Crippler".

Yes, Chris Leben, he of TUF infamy and zombie combat lore.  While any comparison between Leben and Silva normally begins and ends with Anderson's shellacking of the former in 49 seconds, both men stand atop the division's history - and two of the sport's defining statistics, wins and knockouts - with Leben slightly edging out the champion in both categories (Leben has 12 wins at 185 in the UFC to Silva's 11, and 7 KO/TKO finishes to Anderson's 6).  Yes, Anderson's dominant performances over James Irvin and Forrest Griffin aren't included in this metric, but the fact remains that no one in UFC history has had their hand raised after a middleweight bout more than Chris Leben.

Over at HeadKickLegend - now under the watchful eye of Brent Ducharme, which is a name you need to learn if you give any kind of a shit about kickboxing - I go on to analyze Leben's potential place in the division if he can beat Mark Munoz, rip on the British (ie, KJ Gould) for bitching about that fight, and do some other stuff.  But really, I want to hear what you guys think about rematches in MMA.  They happen ALL THE TIME in kickboxing.  Yay?  Nay?

Well, folks, I'm in downtown Denver right now at the 16th Street Mall because the public Wi-Fi is more reliable (read: functional) than the Wi-Fi available at the former Braun's Bar & Grill.  That's where the press conference (timed to precede tickets becoming available on Friday) for UFC 135 just took place, right outside of the Pepsi Center that will host the event.  Headlined by Jon Jones versus Rampage Jackson for the UFC light heavyweight championship, both fighters joined Dana White for a question and answer session, with both the media and the more than 100 fans that waited for an hour outside the venue.  Here's what I was able to gather from the event:

• Bones and Rampage were both early to the event and gave interviews to the media before the actual presser began.  Both were in the same room with no clear animosity - more on this later.
• If you're ever down in the dumps about your looks, do yourself a favor and hang out with the media.  It does wonders for your self-esteem.
• I didn't recognize any "mainstream" MMA journalists in the media section, but that has a lot to do with my complete inability to recognize Ron Kruck from about five feet away.  I'm not sure whether I should be proud or ashamed of that.
• Lest you think that the UFC despises all non-Iole writers equally: today's press packet included pieces by Sergio Non of USA Today, Mike Chiappetta of MMA Fighting ad Maggie Hendricks from Yahoo.  The packet seems designed to provide actual facts to those that aren't really into the sport for when they're putting together their coverage.
• Today is Jon Jones' 24th birthday (leading him to repeatedly tell Dana "stop calling me 'kid', I'm 24 now"), which means that three of the UFC's current champions (Jones, Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo) are younger than I am. /kills self
• Both fighters shrugged off the significance of their bout representing the first UFC title fight in history with two African American fighters (Rampage/Rashad being the first headlining bout with that distinction).  Rampage said "it's 2011" in response, while Jones claimed a post-racial, Colbertesque color-blindness.
• Kruck asked Rampage if he felt the need to "teach the kid a lesson" and represent for the "old guard."  Jones chimed in that, at the age of 24, he wasn't an infant, while Rampage asked how 33 was considered old.  Rampage: "You're talking like I'm Randy Couture's decrepit ass."  Both had a lot of fun with this question.
  
• Rampage claimed that Jon Jones was probably the least experienced champion in UFC history, and that his experience would be the difference in the fight.  Jones then kindly reminded Rampage of a guy named Brock Lesnar.
• Dana is asked by local media (sigh) when they're coming back to Denver.  Dana: "We haven't come yet!"  Rampage runs off the podium laughing and repeats the line a couple of times throughout the presser.
• Rampage is doing most of the talking now: claims that Jones beat a rusty Shogun, which lead to this exchange:

Jones: There's always going to be excuses.

Rampage:  I know.  I always have a few when I lose.

Jones:  Are you thinking of some right now?

Rampage:  Don't need to, man.  You're going to need a bunch, though.

The rest is at HKL, and is (I dare say) better than this.

via cdn2.sbnation.com

I've been deeply puzzled by MMA fans ever since I became one, and this last week has only reinforced my confusion.  For now, I'm going to pass over the phenomenon whereby a loathed, xenophobic wrestler coming off of a money laundering conviction and positive testosterone test during a title fight (Chael Sonnen) is matched up against a striker with no criminal record and a Silver Star (Brian Stann) and is then somehow heavily rooted for by the people that loathed him in the first place.  No, today I feel compelled to say something about those that are calling for Wanderlei Silva, 1-1 in his first two fights at middleweight and coming off a massive layoff, to retire.

It was prompted by the quickest (and, arguably, most brutal) loss of the Axe Murderer's career, as he fell to Chris Leben within the first minute last Saturday.  Now, clearly, we're meant to forget (or at least fail to forgive) that Wandy hadn't fought in nearly a year and a half since besting Michael Bisping at UFC 110 last February in Australia.  Let's not focus on the fact that Wanderlei is one of only two men to best Bisping at 185, and, as Bisping solidly beat Leben, finds himself in a rather charming Silva>Bisping>Leben>Silva loop (speaking of which - bring back Fight Lines, Mike Fagan).  Indeed, rather than focus on the sheer quality of Wanderlei's opponents - Cro Cop before Gonzaga stole his soul, Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell before Rashad stole his soul, Rampage in a bout that showed how truly tiny Silva was at 205, and Rich Franklin - let's just note that he's 4-6 in his last ten and resign him to the dustbin of history.

It's also troublesome to realize that we don't know the man's finances, prospects for employment after fighting, current obligations/liabilities or the sheer amount of money he stands to gain if he continues trying to compete in MMA.  So let's not.  Let's just pretend that none of those things matter, at least not to us.  Let's focus on our memories, our tightly held preconceptions of Wanderlei Silva, and demand he doesn't sully or change them by doing what he loves to do for a living for a single second longer than WE feel is warranted.  That sounds like a plan, right?  I mean, who does he think he is, determining his legacy for himself?

That sounds too aggressive.  Let me ask you this, dear reader: When you think of Michael Jordan, do you remember him as a Chicago Bull or a Washington Wizard?

Over at Head Kick Legend, I run down a list of legendary athletes that "held on too long" and whether or not it impacted what fans remember about them.  Please keep in mind that we have no knowledge whatsoever that Wanderlei's health is currently being impacted negatively by continuing to fight.

Over at Head Kick Legend, I discuss where Ryan Bader and Tito Ortiz go from here, refuse to talk about Leben/Silva, advocate again for Siver/Guillard and propose Carlos Condit's next opponent.  No #storyjump this time, kiddies - you'll have to click page down once in order to see what you can't see here.  A thousand apologies, you whiny things.

via www.5thround.com

(Yeah, this card had some issues.)

• I didn't make picks for this card.  Thank Christ I didn't.
• Rick Story is the new archetype of the perils that befall a company man.  Being eager to please your boss is one thing when you've been contracted to write about a fight card despite your intoxication (hint, hint) or when you sacrifice a weekend to help the office catch up.  It's another when you involve your body in MMA competitions twice in 22 days.  Not everyone can be Chris Leben, who filled in for an injured Wandy and defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama a mere two weeks after competing.  That is the exception, not the rule.  The rule is "get a full camp in before you fight."
• I'm not abandoning or burying Story (or Thiago Alves, who, let's not forget, Story beat earlier this month) after this bout.  He took the fight on short notice, then found out his opponent was being switched (from a big striker making his WW debut to a seasoned wrestler familiar with the cut) at the VERY last minute.  He was supposed to win, but I'm thinking this was us laughing off the Spaniard more than us overrating Story.  I bet he comes out and looks great in his next fight.
• I don't know what the fuck to do with Charlie Brenneman.  I can't not put him top ten.  This is where I really hope people understand how rankings work - me putting Brenneman over a fighter doesn't mean I think I would beat him, it means his resume is superior to the guy he beat.  After beating Story, there are few better resumes at the weight class.  He has to be over Story and will be in the top ten, but that's a function of Story's ranking after beating Alves, not how I think he'd stack up against the rest of the division.
• Rampage Jackson acting like an ass to Ariel Helwani is quickly losing its charm.
• Big Orange's indecisiveness ended up resulting in a terrific knockout for Cheick Kongo, but it was still bad.  If Pat Barry stops punching and jogs off with his hands in the air after Mirg puts his hands on his back, what happens?  Does he restart the fight?  Good on him for allowing the fight to continue - Kongo never stopped defending - but man.  He almost messed it up.
• Pat Barry didn't even get a FOTN bonus to take to the unemployment line.  That sucks.  If he sticks around, that merely proves how shallow HW truly is.  He may end up being Mirko Cro Cop's final victory.

(No word on whether the check bounced.)

• Alistair Overeem gets hit.  A lot.  It happened against Tyrone Spong during his run to the K-1 GP title last year, but Spong is a really, really good kickboxer with a bright future.  Fabricio Werdum is... Fabricio Werdum.  Watching Overeem eat shots - unanswered, at times - from the guy that Junior dos Santos melted in the 1st round didn't exactly imbue me with confidence that he'll hold his own against the UFC heavyweights currently ranked above him.  If anything, Overeem/Mir intrigues me much more now than it did 24 hours ago.
• I can't imagine that what we saw was Werdum's original game plan.  Of course, not allowing Alistair to get comfortable on the feet had to be a concern, but you don't prepare to miss almost all of your take down attempts and tempt the referee to take a point away because of your lackadaisical approach to getting up when summoned by him.  Trickeration a la Fedor?  Maybe - but it should have been abandoned when it wasn't working AND when Werdum was showing some life in the stand-up battle.
• Junior dos Santos vs Cain Velasquez will crown the #1 HW on Earth in MMA, and the winner of that bout will have that title until it is taken from him by someone.  The winner of the GP (assuming it's completed as scheduled) could walk into a #1 contender's slot when they come to the UFC - and they inevitably will - but they won't have a claim to the #1 spot in any reasonable observer's mind.
• I took one single thing from the Rogers/Barnett fight, and that is that Andrei Arlovski needs to retire.  A second point to gather might be that Fedor had a really crappy night against Rogers.  Can we stop pretending that Brett Rogers is a top ten heavyweight now?  You need more than size and a puncher's chance to hold down that spot, even in the shallow HW division.  Barnett is still a black eye on the sport and shouldn't be licensed by any athletic commission that's worth a damn.  Perhaps "Strikeforce: South Carolina" is right around the bend, but I hope it isn't.  Let some wayward UFC HW contender take Barnett's spot against Kharitonov.  Please.  I beseech thee, AC's - don't be like Texas.
• I was powerfully incorrect about Noons/Masvidal.  Masvidal's striking was more than adequate to contend with Noons, and his wrestling and submission grappling were/are vastly superior.  That being said, Gilbert Melendez deserves a better opponent his next time out than Jorge Masvidal.  Going from Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri to the winner of this bout is a step down, when Gil needs a step up if he ever hopes to be ranked higher.  If Nick Diaz was lifted from SF without so much as a "thank you" card to Showtime, why is Melendez in limbo?  Bring him over ASAP and start him off with Guida.
• Chad Griggs is super fun to watch against mediocre fighters, and will probably be super fun to watch against quality ones, even if it's entertaining for fans of his opponent.  Valentijn Overeem just isn't very good at MMA, and Ray Sefo (at this age, in 2011) is worse.  Here's what I don't get - they were both alternates going in, and now I imagine only Griggs is.  Do you have Griggs fight Cormier now for Super Ultimate Alternate rights?  I'm down for that...
• ...because I'm pretty much the opposite of sold on Cormier.  Bought on Cormier?  That doesn't sound right, but I'm sure not sold.  I thought he would embarrass Monson and put him away in the first.  I like the progression of his hands, but I think he'll be in trouble if he tries to box with Griggs.  Is he so in love with his stand up that he'll catch one?  Or can Cormier revert to his wrestling roots in times of trouble?  I like this fight.
• I didn't catch the first round of Wilcox/JZ (I curse not having HD), so I can't say who was winning before the eye poke that resulted in a no-contest.  I can only assume the poke was unintentional.  Sigh.  I like Wilcox and I've always felt that JZ was tragically overrated, and now neither of those things can be proven or disproven.  Unless SF has some secret cadre of LWs that I'm unaware of, they should make the rematch.
• Gus Johnson looks surprisingly human without make-up.
• Mauro Ranallo is beyond parody at this point.
• For the love of God, get Pat Miletich in the booth to replace one or all of the Worst Announcing Trio in Sports.
• I will be pouncing on the opening line for Bigfoot/Overeem, with both feet, on Silva's side.  I'm confident that, however the line opens, Bigfoot will start as an underdog and the action will FLOOD to his side in the early betting rounds.  Whereas Werdum caught Fedor in a triangle that the latter pretty much leaped into, Bigfoot put a sustained beating on Fedor for 10 minutes, landing shots standing, taking punches and then controlling the former #1 HW on the ground.  I think Overeem's going to have his hands full.

via cdn0.sbnation.com

Artwork via Anton Tabuena at Bloody Elbow.  Nicely done, as usual.

Well, I guess I can write some more.  Mad props to Matthew Roth, our currently incommunicado leader, and Brent Brookhouse over at BE - I always looked at live blogging as something anyone can do, but it's a grind.  I don't know how I did tonight because, despite thousands of views, we don't have a single comment on anything.  Feedback is key, people.  I WILL say that it's infinitely more difficult than I thought it would be, especially splitting your screen between stream and post.  And the editing.  Oh, God, the constant editing.  Well, onto the reflections.

• What.  A.  Card!  Maybe it's just amplified by the recent stinkers we've all endured (some with more stoicism than others), but man, does it feel nice when a good night of fights comes together.  You had technical striking, sloppy ass brawl striking, quality grappling matches, divisional relevance (always a favorite of mine) and blood.  No matter what your "thing" is (unless your "thing" is being an Yves Edwards fan), it got tickled by something on the card tonight.  By the way, I could really get used to this "six hours of MMA" thing.  It's like a Japanese megacard without the God damned intermission.
• For all the crying I've done (and will do) about the perils of live blogging, if you're ever going to begin doing it, do it on a night where you're 12-0 in picks.  When you even get the decisions right that most people disagree with (more on my scoring of Elkins/Omigawa and how stupid everyone thinks I am after the jump), that's a good evening.
• I'll get to the individual fights one by one below, but overall, there needs to be some kind of way to shame judges into cleaning up.  If the AC's aren't going to do it, than professional whiners such as myself need to step up and mobilize the court of public opinion into action.  Almost every decision tonight, while correct (in my view), were marred by an indefensible scorecard on a round by round basis.  The fact that these egregious errors happened to fall on the same side of the ledger as the other two judges should in no way mitigate their atrociousness.  Bad judging is bad judging, and I want to hear some answers from some judges before they travel to yet another locale and judge yet another UFC fight without so much as explaining how they do their job.
• It's always nice to hear a good "Boston sucks!" chant, no matter the context (unless it's being chanted by Yankees fans.  I'd root for Satan's Army over the New York Yankees).

via www.onzuka.com

As someone that was deeply affected by the financial crisis of September 2008, it's difficult for me to be objective when it comes to employment. While others are more than happy to call for the dismissal of athletes in each and every sport, there's a large part of me that's deeply uncomfortable with rooting for someone to lose their job. Certainly, performance has to matter, and the UFC prides itself on being home to the best mixed martial artists the planet has to offer - still, however, you'll rarely catch me complaining about a fighter giving another opportunity to make as much money as he or she can within their short athletic window for doing so.

Unless, of course, that fighter is named Josh Barnett.

Barnett is a unique situation in MMA - in all of sports, actually.  An undeniably talented grappler, Barnett quickly rose through the heavyweight ranks, culminating in an upset "victory" over Randy Couture at UFC 36 that made him the youngest UFC HW champion in history.  Victory is in quotation marks, of course, because following the bout, Barnett's urine sample tested positive for three separate banned substances, and he was subsequently stripped of the title - the win, however, remains on Barnett's resume, as does Couture's loss in that bout, for a reason that no one has ever satisfactorily explained to me.  The NSAC's failure to properly adjust the record books in this case is even more puzzling when one realizes that Barnett had already been caught by the NSAC for using steroids, but the commission did not have a punitive policy in place for such violations at the time.

Following Barnett's first publicized positive steroid test (second overall), he absconded to Japan, taking a couple of smaller bouts before moving up to PRIDE for the duration of that promotion's existence.  Now, since PRIDE simultaneously wasn't overseen by an athletic commission and didn't really give a damn about the safety of its fighters, we don't know what was coursing through Barnett's veins - or, to be fair, that of his opponents - but what we do know is that he went 0-3 against Cro Cop, lost his rematch with Nogueira on NYE 2006 (Barnett's most recent and possibly final bout against a top ten heavyweight) and passed an NSAC drug test to be licensed for PRIDE's short-lived USA jaunt.  Ironically, in Barnett's first officially sanctioned MMA bout in four years, it was his opponent - the immortal Pawel Nastula - that popped for steroids.

PRIDE's death left Barnett without a world class employer, and he signed a non-exclusive contract with World Victory Road.  When it became clear that neither he nor PRIDE champion Fedor Emelianenko would be going to the UFC (and that UFC champion Randy Couture would be returning to the organization after attempting to retire/leave), Affliction CEO Tom Atencio decided to incorporate Barnett into his three-card monty and planned to have the two fight in his promotion's final event.  Barnett held up his end of the bargain, avenging a previous KO loss to Pedro Rizzo at Affliction: Banned and TKOing Gilbert Yvel at the second event (which, originally, was headlined by a possible Barnett fight against Andre Arlovski; Andre instead had his soul stolen by Fedor at the top of that card).  Everything seemed set for Affliction: Trilogy, arguably the most anticipated card of 2009 (after UFC 100), to give Fedor/Barnett to those that had salivated over it for years.

That, of course, didn't happen.

After the jump, Barnett's third strike - and why it should render him incapable of competing in sanctioned mixed martial arts bouts for the duration of his career.

via mmapayout.com

(I just noticed that their new logo was a hexagon... another ode to the past.)

Denial is a funny thing.  Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, people still manage to cling to the most absurd, disprovable fantasies.  Direct contradiction, perversely, only reinforces previously held notions.  Friends become enemies, wise people become fools, trust becomes suspicion - all because the world at large adheres to a different version of reality than we do. We make excuses - there's still a chance, my actions should be what they are regardless of probability, it worked once before - but, ultimately, what we're doing is refusing to acknowledge reality.

And that reality is, has been and shall remain that co-promotion in mixed martial arts is dead.

Sure, it had some moments.  Who didn't marvel at Chuck Liddell's shocking loss to Rampage Jackson en route to a much-desired champion v champion bout against Wanderlei Silva?  Both the Fedor lovers and haters were treated to something suited to their palate via co-promotion's wily ways, and the method of splitting a card's participants (and profits) between two different promotions will again surface when Fedor faces Dan Henderson in Illinois.  So yeah - there are fights in MMA history that wouldn't have happened when they did without co-promotion.  Granted.

Let's not forget that Wanderlei was never sent to the UFC per Sakakibara's agreement with Dana White, or that Fedor has yet to set foot in the Octagon due to M-1 Global's insistence on co-promoting every Fedor fight card.  Let's remember that Chuck v Wandy only occurred following Zuffa's purchase of PRIDE, and roughly three years later than it should have.  The best, deepest, most viewed and most relevant MMA match-ups of all time have taken place within the last half-decade, and they have taken place solely because of the lack of promotional/outside interference (Showtime having veto power over previous Strikeforce match-ups proposed by Rich Chou, for example) that plagued the sport for years and still plagues boxing today.

Over at Head Kick Legend, I talk a little more shit about boxing, quote Cesar Gracie and explain why I believe this is finally the end of the hardcore MMA fan's precious.  I know I've sounded like a broken record on this - but I was right, and hopefully I never have to say it again.

via upload.wikimedia.org

Another Saturday UFC PPV, another wide round of criticism for almost everyone involved in the event.  It's really puzzling that I, traditionally the cynic amongst my circle, seem to draw the most optimistic/positive conclusions from an event where 50% of the participants (in non-draw bouts) lose.  More perplexing still, however, is the negativity that gets attached to those on the positive side of that ledger.  Waiting a few hours after an MMA card really allows you to see when and where you disagree with the consensus that emerges among bloggers everywhere.

Then, you can explicate those disagreements.

• My expectations for Rampage Jackson were severely impacted when he basically said that he wanted to get his leg out of the MMA bear trap just as soon as Hollywood made it fiscally feasible to do so.  Because of that, I had big questions about his motivation for his fight, his desire to recapture the 205 belt and whether or not he was taking Matt Hamill seriously.  Well, he was.  His take down defense (while not exactly tricked or tested by Hamill) looked solid, he didn't gas, and he fought a smart fight.  It was the same thing he did against Machida - implement a game plan and execute it to perfection - but this time, he gets a round of boos from writers everywhere that feel he "sullied his name" by winning his second consecutive headlining bout.  The guy gets a title shot if he's healthy - I'd say his star is in a pretty good place right now.
• Matt Hamill is a heartwarming story of the ability to persevere and succeed that will never sniff a UFC belt.
• Joe Rogan needs to shut the fuck up.  I enjoy the man's commentary (and approximately 150 seconds of his 60 minutes stand up routine), but here's a simple list: don't tell the doctors when to let a fight continue and don't tell fighters what weight class to fight at.  Big Country would have to live on that Cast Away island with Wilson the volleyball for a year to make 205 lbs.  When you say that Mir/Nelson looks like "an actual heavyweight versus a guy that just loves food", you're not just dumping on Nelson - you're also dumping on Mir, both for taking the fight and being unable to finish it quickly.  It's just a stupid, mean, counterproductive thing to say during a fight.  Shut the fuck up.
• Roy Nelson's pretty fat.  He's also lost two straight fights.  Total bum, right?  Not even UFC worthy.  Well, not unless you consider that his last two losses - with yesterday's coming off of a fairly epic layoff - came to the current #1 contender and a former UFC HW champion.  It seems that Roy was as surprised by Mir's take downs and strength as the rest of us were, and for the first time I've ever witnessed, Nelson gassed before the end of the bout.  Whereas some seem content to dismiss Roy Nelson as a never-was, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt (even though he made me look dumb) and chalk this performance up to ring rust.
• Frank Mir was also in that bout, and I don't have any issues with his performance.  He's clearly fallen in love with MT knees to the head, and he probably hit Roy with about a half-dozen of the sort that put Mirko Cro Cop to sleep.  He also dusted off his Nevada high school wrestling and dictated where the bout took place, making that '03 Grappler's Quest bout seem like an anomaly in the process.  This win puts Mir at 5, looking into the UFC's Big Four at HW - Velasquez, Dos Santos, Lesnar and Carwin - and while he may never again defeat anyone in that quartet, he's still one of the best heavyweights in the world today.

Come on over to Head Kick Legend to read more about Rick Story, Demetrious Johnson (hint: he won) and a joke at Joe Rogan's expense.

Actual SBN artwork caption: "Fitch molding Penn's tombstone with his fists."

Jon Fitch deserves a title shot more than anyone you know.  The man is a ridiculous 13-1-1 in the Octagon, with the sole marks in either non-win column coming to Georges St Pierre and BJ Penn.  Fitch was the first man since Royce Gracie to begin his UFC career with an eight fight winning streak and holds two wins over consensus top five welterweight Thiago Alves.  Diego Sanchez, Mike Pierce, Paulo Thiago - all impressive 170ers, on the wrong end of Fitchcisions since Jon's brutal loss to GSP at UFC 97.

Jon Fitch deserves a title shot more than anyone you know, and he deserves one about 50 times more than Nick Diaz does.

While hardcore MMA fans, grappling enthusiasts, and those that savor the tears of fans entirely too committed to a fighter's success or failure can appreciate Jon Fitch for what he does, it's understandable that casual MMA fans aren't exactly thrilled to see his brand of fighting.  Hell, his Wikipedia page even lists his style as "Grinding", although I imagine BJ Penn would opt for more colorful language following the 10-8 that Fitch bestowed upon his face whilst perched in BJ's infamous guard.  But casual MMA fans, more than anything, need to know that they are watching a sport - not a competition to see who can stand and bang the most.  This isn't Gladiator - winning the crowd is secondary to winning the fight - and Jon Fitch is among the best in the world at winning the fight.  Keeping him toiling while rewarding Nick Diaz with a title shot would send all the wrong messages to prospective fans.

After the jump, thoughts on why my Fitch/Diaz works - and why it's not being discussed.

via cdn2.sbnation.com

UFC welterweight Rumble Johnson, immediately after fighting someone whose striking didn't concern him.

Those of you that stick exclusively to SBN sites for your MMA news, we thank you for your fealty - and wish to inform you that you are ridiculously spoiled when it comes to the comments you read on our sites.  I started as a lowly BE commenter back in 2008 while at an insanely boring job at a conference call center that ran calls for Goldman Sachs, IBM, Citigroup and my beloved UFC.  The moderators there are harsh dicta... I mean, reasonable and civil people that have done a fantastic job in establishing and defining their community.  Here at HKL, you get a little more leeway (unless you decide to, say, link to my Facebook page and put words in my mouth even after being corrected), and I'm pretty sure you can kill a guy over at MMAMania as long as you don't bring race into it, but even there, the quality of dialogue and thought is far, far better than the old-timey MMA websites.

Don't believe me?  I'm not even going to make a Sherdog joke here - rather, I direct you to MMAJunkie.com: provider of breaking MMA news and a breathtakingly awful comments section.  The "Sunday Junkie", a rather admirable repository of submissions from the readers, represents an exception to the rule that Junkie comment sections are riddled with fallacious logic, PRIDEneverdieitis (I'm lobbying for this to be recognized as an actual disease) and constant kvetching about "lay and prayers" ruining the sport.  Names like "REALFIGHTERFAN" (as opposed to those of us who root for non-fighters in fights... wait, that doesn't make any sense!) post without ridicule.  I've always been of the mindset that money is equally green, regardless of whether it's held by a moron or a genius, and there are more morons than geniuses out there - but I have to object when their stupid, shortsighted, selfish, stunted perspectives seek to punish fighters for doing their job.

(In case you're curious: a professional mixed martial artist's job is not to entertain you.  It is to defeat his/her opponent, stay healthy, make weight and test clean.  Wide receivers catch footballs, second basemen turn double plays, and fighters strive to defeat whomever is opposite them on any given night.  Any entertainment you glean from it is, for lack of a better word, incidental.)

After the jump, quotes from an actual fighter that does actual fighting for a living, a smattering of whiny reactions to them, and the danger of placating those voices for both the fighters and the sport as a whole.

In less than a week, K-1 superstar Badr Hari will make his return to the world of kickboxing after an extended layoff which was borne of troubles both in and outside the ring. Our series highlighting important moments in the career of Badr Hari continues with Hari's in-ring transgressions, beginning with his blatant fouling of Remy Bonjasky at the 2008 K-1 World Grand Prix.

By the end of 2008, Badr Hari had established himself as one of the most dangerous strikers actively competing.  Three years into his K-1 career, Hari had earned the distinction of being K-1's inaugural heavyweight belt holder by defeating Yusuke Fujimoto in Hawaii in 2007.  He went on to avenge an earlier loss at the hands of Peter Graham, eventually earning his way into his first World GP that December.  Hari advanced to the quarterfinals before being bested by Remy Bonjasky by decision.

Remy Bonjasky is a rather tragic story these days - I consider myself lucky that I got into combat sports (more MMA than kickboxing, obviously) in time to see The Flying Gentleman do his thing.  Remy, at 35 years of age, was inactive for the whole of 2010 after undergoing eye surgery and opened a large gym up in Almere, a new and growing city in the Netherlands (Remy is originally from Paramaribo, Suriname, as are Tyrone Spong and a number of other humans that could induce polio by kicking your leg).  Before contemplating retirement, participating on the Dutch version (or, as Bas would tell you, the best version) of "Skating with the Stars" or sleeping with so many prominent Japanese models that Wikipedia felt it necessary to create a list, however, Bonjasky was widely recognized as one of best kickboxers on Earth.

Bonjasky's K-1 career began well before Hari made his debut with the organization, as Remy, having participated in the very first It's Showtime card way back in 1999 (at 23 years of age), made his debut with K-1 in 2001, losing his inaugural bout.  Despite this setback, Remy took on the then-murderous Ray Sefo later in 2001, defeating him via corner stoppage.  Bonjasky really hit his stride beginning in 2003, when he won his first of three World GP titles.  He's defeated Badr Hari, Gokhan Saki, Errol Zimmerman, Alistair Overeem, Stefan Leko and Ernesto Hoost (before Hoost turned 40, no less).  If it weren't for my eternal love for Semmy Schilt - and Remy's 0-3 record against the Supersized Samurai - I'd be tempted to call Bonjasky the best HW kickboxer of the last decade.

So in 2008, Hari and Bonjasky are competing to be King Shit of Fuck Mountain, and Fuck Mountain just happened to be the 2008 K-1 World Grand Prix.  The two met in the finals, Hari after having bested Hong Man Choi, Peter Aertsand Errol Zimmerman, and Bonjasky fresh off of defeating Junichi Sawayashiki, Jerome Le Banner and Gokhan Saki.  The bout represented Hari's first shot at a GP title - never mind the ridiculous >100kg belt he was gifted the previous year - and Bonjasky's third GP final.

After the jump, the fight itself.

For all intents and purposes, Greg Jackson should be on Cloud Nine right now.  Head trainer at perhaps the most prestigious gym in all of mixed martial arts, Jackson and his fighters have enjoyed a ridiculously successful streak since the beginning of 2010.  Georges St. Pierre has defended his welterweight title, most recently against former Strikeforce MW champion Jake Shields last Saturday at UFC 129.  His premiere heavyweight,Shane Carwin, successfully bested Frank Mir for an interim championship before falling just short against Brock Lesnar in July; at the same time, TUF runner-up Brendan Schaub has gone undefeated since losing to Roy Nelson.  In the lightweight division, Jackson has rising/resurrected contenders in Melvin Guillard (currently holding the deed to Evan Dunham's soul while preparing for Shane Roller) and Clay Guida, not to mention is up-until-now successful mentoring of Donald Cerrone and his transition from the WEC to the UFC.  And I haven't even gotten to Nate Marquardt's transition from successful middleweight to 170er, Brian Stann's ascension to contender status, Rashad Evans' successful return to the cage against Rampage Jackson... and his newly crowned champion at 205.

However, the Jackson narrative begins to unravel when we come to those final examples (and, as we'll see later, potentially in some of the earlier ones).  Rashad had earned a title shot by defeating Rampage at UFC 114 and elected to wait for the injured champ, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, to come back healthy.  When the fight was finally approaching, the injury bug (which, frankly, should have had its fill of Rua by now) latched onto Evans instead, creating a void in the main event for UFC 128.  Enter Jon Jones.

Jones, an undefeated prospect that had joined Jackson's in 2009, was slated to face off against fellow unblemished young gun Ryan Bader (fresh off of a victory over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira) a mere six weeks prior to Evan's scheduled title shot.  Jones choked Bader out in the second round of their bout at UFC 126 and pretty much avoided being scathed during the process.  Immediately after the bout, Joe Rogan informed Bones that the spot opposite Shogun in a month and a half was his for the taking.  Jones immediately accepted.

After capturing the belt in dominating fashion, Jones was repeatedly badgered about the possibility of honoring Rashad's promised title shot.  Not one to deny a friend what is his (and being of the mindset that champions don't get to veto challengers), Jones announced that he would be willing to take the fight.  While Evans accepted, he then went on a tirade against Jackson (with whom Rashad holds a close bond), claiming that Jones was brought onto the team against his wishes and that he was being betrayed in favor of the flavor of the month.  This lead Jackson, in an effort to protect his gym's unique brand, to fire back to MMAFighting:

"I love Rashad to death," he told MMA Fighting this week. "I'm not sure why he's angry at me. I guess I can see from a perspective, that isn't really the way it is, why he's angry, but I don't have any animosity towards him. I've always tried to help him out. I was with him right after he won that reality show all the way to his world title. I'm not sure what it is." ...

"The thing with Rashad is, he said he was okay with Jon coming on the team. I felt that Jon did the wrong thing by saying he would fight Rashad. But once they signed to fight, I'm staying out of it. I'm not choosing Rashad over Jon Jones or Jon Jones over Rashad; I'm staying out of the entire thing. Everybody signed on to [Jon] being on the team. It wasn't like I brought him on with these evil intentions. I bring a lot of training partners on to the team who are in the same weight class. For instance, Donald Cerrone, Melvin Guillard, Clay Guida – all these guys are in the same division."

As of now, the situation between Evans and Jackson remains, at least in public, at a standstill.  It's still unknown how many members of Jackson's camp will be assisting Evans in his preparation, but it does not appear (as Jackson would clearly prefer) that the number will be or is zero.  Keith Jardine, a pioneering member of the Jackson camp, had this to say when the split originally occurred in March:

You know, I haven't thought about it too much, but no question I would be supporting Rashad," Jardine said. "He's one of my closest friends in the world. I have a lot of loyalty and friendship with him." ...

"It'll never be the same, you know? This gym, when the UFC broke out in 2005, was built on me, Rashad, Nate Marquardt, Joey Villasenor and Diego Sanchez...It all started from that interview that Jon did talking about the possibility of fighting with Rashad [with Ariel Helwani on Versus:]," Jardine said. "That's just something that doesn't need to be said. Of course they could have been made to fight, and they both knew it. But for Jon to go out and say that made Rashad look like a punk, and that's kind of what happened to start it all. It was already sensitive, so it blew up after that."

In fact, even some of Jackson's affiliates (and, frequently, a fellow corner man) have publicly distanced themselves from his stance against teammates ever fighting.

After the jump, a flashback to HKL's profile of Trevor Wittman and how his stance differs from Jackson's.

via rdtwot.files.wordpress.com

(That kind of stuff isn't supposed to work at the highest levels.  It just isn't.)

What.  A.  Card.  Even though the Facebook fights had a distinct "Canada vs USA" vibe, it too delivered some gems.  That's the first time since UFC 100 I've finished watching an event and said "man, I wish I was there."  I'm going to make you scroll down to get my thoughts on the main event, however.  Oh, and hey - we got him!

• I met Pablo Garza shortly after WEC 51 in Broomfield, Colorado.  He was an incredibly late (5 days notice) replacement to face Zhang Tie Quan after losing to Michael Johnson on the first episode of TUF: GSP v Koscheck.  He told me that night that, because he took the fight on such short notice, he would be given another shot at 145.  Since then - and, of course, the UFC/WEC merger - Garza has scored two first round wins, one by a beautiful flying knee and another last night, subbing Yves Jabouin via flying triangle.  Since that night in Broomfield, Garza is 2-0 in the UFC and has collected a rather absurd $159,000 in (official) bonuses.  And they told me the merger wasn't good for the little guys.
• John Makdessi is a bad man.  While he was probably fortunate that his wrestler opponent decided to go strike-happy instead of trying to grind, he sure did make Watson pay for that unfortunate game plan choice.  The best part of giving him a couple more fights to develop?  They'll probably end in epic fashion.
• I love Jason MacDonald.  His grappletastic bout against Demian Maia is still one of my favorite displays of MMA ground work to show new fans - hey look, it's on the ground and it's not boring!  That was the first time I truly appreciated the spectacle of this epic stadium crowd - J-Mac spun around and blew a kiss with both hands to his countrymen, looking to be in sheer awe of what surrounded him.  That has to be a moment that he will never forget.
• I'm a little confused by what Ivan Menjivar is trying to accomplish with this comeback, but as long as he keeps shattering people's noses with close-range elbow strikes (nobody's told him they're only used for generating cuts and stalling), I wish him the best of luck.
• Somehow, our picks didn't get posted (cough Roth cough), but I'll admit that Claude Patrick made me look dumb.  Ninja couldn't get his kimura, and while it was a fun fight, it showed how far Daniel Roberts has to go before he's a serious threat in the division.
• Jake Ellenberger, replacing the testicularly-challenged Brian Foster on short notice, absolutely pasted Sean Pierson in the first round with a beautifully timed left hook.  This undercard featured two 170ers that a) I'm very big on and b) got jobbed against Carlos Condit: Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald.  I think either one (or both) will be in a position to take on anyone at welterweight within a couple of years.
• Nate Diaz got absolutely mugged by Rory MacDonald.  Whatever Rory got paid for the fight, go ahead and add Nate's lunch money to it.  I'd like to implore everyone to avoid the Chris Benoit references when talking about Rory's suplex clinic.  Instead, use Kazuyuki Miyata.  I'm of the opinion that Rory would do the same thing to Nate's brother - as would Rick Story, Johny Hendricks... man, 170's future looks bright.

Now, on to the main card.

via upload.wikimedia.org

(HHH holding the WCW and WWE championships at Wrestlemania X8.  Don't look for this scene to repeat itself with the SF/UFC belts.)

On March 17, 2002, the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario was host to its first WrestleMania since 1990.  Traditionally the company's (and pro wrestling's, though by this time the two were becoming synonymous) largest PPV spectacle of the year, WrestleMania X8 took on a special significance that year.  The WWE (X8 marked their final event under their long-time "WWF" acronym) had just seen the end of its "Invasion" storyline following its absorption of WCW (and fellow regional competitor ECW) the previous year, which culminated in a massive unification/nullification of the disparate championship belts floating around after the purchase.  In fact, WrestleMania X8 ended with HHH holding both the WCW and WWF Heavyweight belts, only to have both belts melded into a singular undisputed belt later that year.

When the WWE purchased WCW, many fans that preferred Ted Turner's brand of sports entertainment were positively turned off.  It wasn't simply a too little airtime for their favorites to be on TV/PPV consistently (despite the WWE's efforts to maintain WCW as its own promotion on a timeslot on TNN, better known now as Spike TV), either - some fans simply preferred the pageantry, production, story lines, announcing and matchmaking preferences of WCW to the WWE.  Given that professional wrestling isn't a competitive athletic enterprise, this both made eminent sense and presented a unique challenge to the industry that it's still grappling with today.

...If you'd please.  The cursed #storyjump should work this time.  I'm a fan of this piece.

Last week, the UFC signed free agent/former Strikeforce MW title contender Jason "Mayhem" Miller to a multifight contract.  0-1 in the UFC (don't be misled - that sole blemish came in a welterweight bout against Georges St Pierre), Mayhem is currently slated to face off against Aaron Simpson at UFC 132 on July 2nd.

While important, the Mayhem signing doesn't directly contravene Zuffa's official "business as usual" mantra when it comes to how its two MMA promotions operate.  Miller was a free agent, his Strikeforce contract having expired at some point since his last official bout with the promotion on the infamous Nashville card.  The brawl following Jake Shieldsdefeating Dan Henderson - precipitated by the inexplicable decision/incompetence that led to Mayhem being in the cage following that bout - effectively rendered a scheduled bout against Robbie Lawler impossible.  Then, a groundswell of support rose for a potential bout against Nick Diaz, but despite a highly entertaining war of words and massive interest, the fight was never consummated.

While Mayhem took a one-off against Sakuraba in DREAM, Strikeforce seemed content to allow him to sit on the sidelines.  Though a potential rematch with Tim Kennedy (Mayhem bested Kennedy via unanimous decision in 2007 after losing to him in 2003 - h/t to bigdmmafan at Bloody Elbow for pointing out their first bout) seemed appetizing, no deal was ever signed, with Tim curiously neglecting to mention Miller's name when griping about Strikeforce's inability to find him an opponent.  I've written about Scott Coker's tenuous relationship with the truth before, and he is, as always, a muddying factor as opposed to a clarifying one.  As recently as last week, Coker was claiming that Strikeforce was talking to Mayhem's people about a possible summer bout - without mentioning that Mayhem wasn't even under contract.

Our resident kickboxing savant Brent Ducharme (read him, even if you hate me) reported that Sergei Kharitonov will be participating in his second different combat sport since beating the ghost of Andrei Arlovski in the first round of Strikeforce's vaunted GP, which will supposedly wrap up in Texas in June.  Fabricio Werdum has not fought since his triumphant submission of Fedor Emelianenko.  Tim Kennedy and Jacare Souza both have one fight since their title scrap last August.  Gilbert Melendez recently went 357 days between fights.

...for the rest, I humbly beseech you to click here (#storyjump and all) and let us know your opinion on the poll over at Head Kick Legend.  Matthew Roth will denounce New Jersey if you do (well, maybe not, but let's all denounce Jersey anyway).

via cdn2.sbnation.com

Part one here.
This better than 75% correct prediction clip of mine in 2011 can't possibly last, so I'm using this opportunity to wrap up the UFC fights that I HAVE incorrectly predicted while the streak is still hot.  Here's hoping that this series doesn't grow longer and longer as the events pass by.  Today, we catch up to the present lull by pointing at/mocking my erroneous calls from UFN 24 and UFC 128.  May the gods grant me good luck for engaging in this act of humility while the fire is still alive - though I'm beginning to think they favor those that relentlessly hump hot streaks.

Now, I'm trying this whole #storyjump thing at the end of this awesome link, which will take you to the full piece over at Matt Roth's latest gift jo... I mean, Head Kick Legend.  If it doesn't work, then I failed.  The Internet is a fickle mistress.

via world8-3.com

(The hardest version of "Marry-Fuck-Kill" that you will ever play.)

I don't think I'm the only one that noticed a marked lack of Zuffa polish/influence on last night's production values.  Aside from the triumphant camera shots of Zuffa's Big Three (which, given their postures and gazes, may as well have featured them being carried to the cage while Rich Chou fed them grapes), the UFC ad in the Strikeforcecage and - let us not forget - elbows on the ground (side note - would anyone like to take this opportunity to point out to Gil Melendez that all elbows do is cut guys and allow wrestlers to stall?), I didn't notice any wholesale changes to the first widely watched SF card following their purchase.  The ramp, the Hexagon, the unwillingness/inability to air undercard fights or properly utilize your allocated airtime - all Showtime hallmarks, all present on Saturday.  I don't watch mixed martial artists fight for the fucking production values, so I can let all of that slide (if PRIDE's pageantry didn't make me weep for joy, then a lack thereof isn't going to affect me much the other way, either).  Showtime's insistence on repeatedly assembling the revolting Voltron of Frank Shamrock, Mauro Ranallo and Gus Johnson, however, cannot stand without comment.

Now, some brief notes on each.

• I've never been a Mauro Ranallo fan.  While he's responsible for the closest thing MMA has to a "The Giants win the pennant!" call with his shocked reaction to Kevin Randleman KOing Cro Cop, his shtick has become a caricature of what it was previously.  I can imagine Mauro, sitting at the bar, scribbling down one-liners onto cocktail napkins, only to bust them out when a predetermined scenario (ie: one fighter is more aggressive than the other) presents itself.  His stilted delivery, which almost forces his befuddled booth mates to respond with equally stilted laughter (or, in Frank's case, a sad attempt at oneupsmanship), distracts from the action - and is as clear as example as you'll ever see of an announcer taking away from a fight.
• This is difficult, because I'd tend to reserve the announcer for whom I carry the most hatred for the final bullet point.  But how do you pick between the two remaining?  (flips coin) Guess I'm ripping Frank first.  Here's an announcer that, while admittedly dominant during the Clinton Administration, walked away from the sport during his prime, only to return later and lose back-to-back main event fights for a regional organization.  Kid Nate at Bloody Elbow has a Frank Shamrock shrine in his house, but nothing impresses me less than a fighter that completely bailed on MMA at the ripe old age of 28.  There's no underlying theme to his madness on the microphone - only examples will suffice.
• Gus Johnson is like a marauding Hellbeast, ransacking the few multimedia experiences that bring me pleasure.  His preening, overanxious tone and approach - perfect for March Madness games - doesn't translate very well to a Week 5 AFC West game (typical Johnson NFL call: Moreno... gets the hand-off... Makes A Move!... GETS SOME SPACE!!!... Second and six on the 24 coming up).  Then, he comes to my precious MMA, giving us such classics as "These things happen in MMA" and "Gentlemen, we're on national television!", giving off the vibe of a monocle-wearing patrician deigning to educate the plebs on their proper role.  While Ranallo simply wants to tell his jokes and Frank is desperately trying to align his ego with reality (remember "those kicks don't hurt" during the first Le-Smith fight?  They broke your fucking arm, Frank!), Johnson is doing what he always does - trying to be the guy that gets to make that one memorable call.

And now, my bottom five calls from Saturday's card. ... at HeadKickLegend!  Come on by and vote on the poll too - I'm interested to see if you guys also hate Joe Theismann and Matt Millen like I do.

For Dep (via la2foru)

Tim, I didn't think it would end like this.  But it did.

"The reality is we now own Strikeforce." - Dana White

Boy, did I pick a shitty day to sleep in.

Only the sparsest of rumors alluded to today's blockbuster.  Zuffa's purchase of Strikeforce is more of a fiscal maneuver than a flat-out dissolution/envelopment; Strikeforce will remain a separate entity for the time being, with no alteration to their current contract structure (I imagine it would be quite difficult to convert dozens of non-exclusive contracts into Zuffa deals overnight) or immediate fights between members of the respective rosters.  In that sense, my enthusiasm is tempered - the cries of Overeem/Velasquez, Jacare/Maia, Melendez/Edgar and other drool-worthy hypothetical match-ups are slightly premature.  I also wish that Dana would take this opportunity to shit-can both Barnett and Daley, though I'm heartened to hear White reiterate that  Daley will never fight in the UFC again.

That said...

via i289.photobucket.com

Over at Head Kick Legend, come on by for a breakdown of Dana's comments during the Helwani interview, analysis of the purchase's benefits to the UFC and MMA as a whole, and probably a little more gloating.  I've been rowing this boat for years, and the land is closer than ever.

Dan Henderson is a legend of mixed martial arts.  A two time US Olympian (1992 and 1996), "Hollywood (or "Hendo", if you prefer) was a deadly example of what can happen when you take a world class Greco-Roman wrestler and teach him how to throw a murderous right hand.  By his fourth professional bout, Henderson had won a UFC tournament.  He then departed to Japan, enjoying success in RINGs and PRIDE that culminated in him avenging a previous decision loss to Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva via brutal KO.  Until that point, the only man that had been able to put a dent in Wandy's skull had been heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop - Dan's upset victory sent ripples throughout the MMA world.  In addition to devaluing the potential superfight between Wanderlei and Chuck Liddell, Henderson now found himself in possession of two PRIDE belts- the other coming after defeating Murilo Bustamante in the finals of their welterweight tournament - setting himself up beautifully for Zuffa's purchase of his organization.

Henderson was given back-to-back title shots against PRIDE veterans after PRIDE was purchased, first against Quinton Jackson at UFC 75 (in what was, at the time, the most heavily viewed fight in MMA history with over five million viewers tuning in to the live tape-delayed Spike broadcast) for the 205 title and Anderson Silva in the 185 division.  UFC 75 saw Rampage use his wrestling to neutralize Henderson's aggression en route to a unanimous decision victory, and Dan did enough to win the first round against (and completely enrage) Anderson Silva before succumbing to a rear naked choke in the following frame.  In less than a year, Dan had lost two straight fights and was left to decide which division to ply his trade in.

No doubt buoyed by his showing against The Spider (handing him his first losing round in his UFC career), Henderson stayed in the middleweight division, getting back to his winning ways against Rousimar Palhares before jumping up to 205 and eeking out a controversial split decision (I think he won) against Rich Franklin in Ireland.  The fight turned out to be for a gig coaching an American TUF squad opposite Michael Bisping's British contingent.  The season saw Henderson scoring multiple points by not being Michael Bisping - my personal favorite was his consoling a crying Cameron Dollar with "you're OK" - and culminated with Henderson taking KOTN honors at UFC 100.  Hendo was widely rumored to be in line for a rematch with Anderson for all the marbles.

Then something happened.  Traditionally, fighters given TUF pushes and main card slots on major PPV events (Bisping-Hendo was the highest billed non-title fight on the biggest card in MMA history) are signed for a number of fights afterwards.  For whatever reason, UFC 100 represented the end of Henderson's current contract, and Zuffa did not feel he was worth as much as he was asking for.  Despite coming off of a three fight winning streak and a masterful performance on the sport's biggest stage, Zuffa made it clear that they were not interested in bidding for Dan's services, at which point Scott Coker made signing with Strikeforce worth his while.

At the time, the move was hailed as a coup.  What would happen if the UFC continued to try to lowball popular fighters?  Didn't this, along with the still-fresh news of the Fedor signing, prove that Showtime was serious about competing for top tier MMA talent?  What of the UFC's middleweight division - with the Sonnen/Marquardt/Maia conundrum clogging up the top of the division, who would emerge to challenge Anderson Silva?  And - most importantly - could Strikeforce possibly boast #1 fighters in multiple weight classes?

Come on over to Head Kick Legendto see the conclusion of the Henderson signing, and what it means for Strikeforce.

Of all the things we argue about as ridiculously interested MMA fans, perhaps no single issue gets the same amount of ink devoted to it than the rankings of fighters across promotional boundaries.  I contribute a ballot to the USA Today/SB Nation Consensus MMA Rankings (for a weird, unexplainable reason that has yet to cripple the very foundation of the rankings themselves), as does HKL's fearless leader, Matthew "I'll Have Another" Roth.  The open nature and frequent updates of the "meta-rankings" has solidified my belief that rankings should be - and, historically, have always been - reflective, not predictive.  I feel this isn't fully understood by the entire panel.

As an example, let's look at Auburn's college football team.  Possessed of a Heisman trophy winning quarterback and a wonderful defense that I hope to see my Broncos pick clean in the draft, Auburn ended the season on its final play, edging over the explosive Oregon Ducks by a last second field goal.  In doing so, the Tigers accomplished a feat no other NCAA Division 1 team ever had, ascending to the #1 spot in the final polls after being ranked a mediocre (for Auburn) #22 coming into the season.  Oregon had been ranked #1 going into the game, with Auburn at #2 (and, of course, the undefeated TCU Horned Frogs at #3 - more on this later).

Auburn's run to its first undisputed national championship (after being shafted in a similar manner to TCU after its undefeated 2004 campaign) did not mean that they were improperly ranked going into the season.  The rankers did not miss something when they retained Alabama, coming off of another monster recruiting class, as the #1 team in the land.  They didn't misjudge Auburn's potential and hype the 21 other teams above them.  Sure, there were mistakes - preseason rankings are almost never close to the final result.  But they're not supposed to be.  They are supposed to be a reflection of what has happened, not a projection of what might.

Injured UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez made some comments on MMAJunkie Radio that have been used as ammunition by those that criticize either the very notion of rankings or how they currently rank the splintered heavyweight division.  Cain's words are their own, but whether you interpret them as legitimate musings, professional courtesy or a yearning for a different MMA landscape depends largely on you.

After the jump, Cain's quotes from the show, a little more bitching about the BCS and a defense of how the Consensus Rankings work.