As a upcoming birthday gift, my girlfriend told me she wanted to purchase me a subscription for a MMA magazine, so I dont have to go to Barnes and Nobles on my lunch breaks to get my reading in.  I wanted to see what everyone's opinions are on the best magazine out there.  So far I only have really read Fight Magazine, and Fighters Only, both of which are pretty quality.  Any Suggestions, comments, whatever would be appreciated. 

                                  

 

 Thanks!

This according to sherdog:

Todd Duffee has pulled out of his heavyweight bout against Paul Buentello at UFC 107 on Dec. 12 in Memphis, Tenn., due to an injury.

“(Withdrawing) was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make,” said Duffee, who would not disclose the nature of his injury.

Duffee, 23, burst onto the UFC scene with a record-setting seven-second knockout of Tim Hague at UFC 102 in August. The undefeated heavyweight, who recently relocated to Las Vegas to attend the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, hopes to be back in action by early 2010.

“It was a fight I was really looking forward to,” Buentello told Sherdog.com on Tuesday. “We really matched up well.”

Mike Russow and Stefan Struve have been presented as two potential replacements for Duffee, said Buentello.

 

This is too bad for both the UFC and Duffee.  After his 7 second knockout, a matchup with Buentello seemed like a great way for the UFC to showcase Duffee against a true veteran fighter.  Hopefully he heals fast from whatever is preventing him from fighting.

 

Source:Duffee out of 107

After watching UFC 100, and reminiscing about a couple years back, its crazy to imagine who the best fighters are now, which fighters have moved past their prime, and which fighters are starting to really blossom.  Hypothetically, lets say that the UFC holds a PPV, or Fight Night event once a month, which is about the pace they are currently on.  That means that when UFC 125 rolls around about 2 and a half years will have passed.  Who do you think will be the fighters who are becoming elite in their weight class?  Who will have reached their peek are start their decline?  

 

My thoughts:

HW:  I think that Brock Lesnar will not loose another fight in the UFC, and will get bored and leave the sport.  The HW champion will be Gegard Mousasi.  I think guys such as Couture, Nog, maybe even Fedor will have retired by then as well.

LHW:  Although I believe that Machida has a strong hold on the division right now, this division is just to deep for one person to stay undefeated.  I can see Machida still with the belt, or right in the mix.  Guys like Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, and Shogun will be considered the "elite" with guys like Evans, Griffin and Rampage still at the top as well.  This is the one weight class that I see changing the least

MW:  This is the weight class that I see changing the most.  A. Silva is getting bored, and he's already fought and beat the top contenders (Nate, Hendo).  I think Silva will have completed the move to LHW and will still be a force, or may even leave MMA to pursue boxing.  Nate Marquardt will be the MW champion, with guys like Akiyama, Belfort, and GSP being the top contenders. 

WW: GSP gets bored with no real threats, and leaves to fight at MW.  Fitch becomes champion after GSP vacates the belt.  I don't see this division changing much anytime soon.  Alves, Fitch, Kos, Swick, Kampmann, Kim and Condit are all young and very good.  Plus with a lot of top contenders there are endless matchups to be had.  Guys like Hughes, and Serra will be done.

LW:  Gray Maynard is champ(Yep) BJ got bored with the UFC and his weight division and is off in Japan fighting who ever he gets the most money to fight(Aoki, Sakurai, Hellboy) Florian is still a legit threat, as is Tyson Griffon, but neither guys can over come Maynards wrestling/boxing.  Sherk is off fighting in strikeforce after 3 straight losses, Donald Cerrone is making waves in the UFC, and Frankie Edgar has dropped to 145 and is the FW champion.

 

What does everyone else think?  Who will be gone? Who will become Elite? 

This is just a rant of mine, because since about 5 minutes after his dominating victory all I have heard throughout the internet  is about Brock Lesnar this and Brock Lesnar that.  Numerous people claiming that the UFC has "lost one more fan", and that Brock Lesnar is awful for the sport.

via image.examiner.com

 

I personally think that this talk is outrageous.  Brock is very much a crass, in your face individual, but I hardly think that it is going to "ruin the sport".  Just a few points as to why I think the hate isn't warrented:

1. While watching UFC 100 @ Buffalo Wild Wings, I couldnt even talk to my buddies sitting next to me because the entire resteraunt was cheering and going nuts after Lesnars win. Like it or not, Lesnar is the biggest star in the UFC and will only help to draw more fans, press, and coverage into a sport that is desperatly trying to break into one of "major sport" categories.  My dad called me this morning and asked about Brock Lesnar.  My dad has never watched a UFC fight...ever.  Yet the local sports talk radio show was discussing the main event, and the fact that he was a new breed of athlete.

2.  People got pissed that Lesnar was talking shit to Mir after the fight, and that he refused to touch gloves.  I personally find this refreshing.  Maybe its all the fake trash talking, and fake feuds(Davis/Hardy) that end with the two "enemies" hugging and raising each others hands.  I know that if I was trainging to fight someone for 3 months, and they were talking shit and running their mouth the entire time, it would be awfully hard to just let it go, and be friends after the fight.  Lesnar just shows real emotion.

3.  This perceived lack of respect for the sport.  Apparently being a loud outspoken guy atamatically means that you dont respect the sport.  Sure he bad mouthed the UFC's sponsors, but is that really that big of an offense?  Numerous people have been saying how Lesnar is the reason that they wont be buying any UFC PPV that he is on anymore.  But what about Dan Henderson?  He could have caused serious damage to Bisping then said he did it to "shut him up", or BJ Penn when he fought Pulver?  He held the choke extra long, even as the ref tried to pull him away.  But neither of these offenses, which could have injured the other person, were considedred disrespectful.  Yet when Lesnar, a former WWE wrestlers, bad mouths a sponsor, saids he might have sex with his wife, and flips off the crowd, its punishable by death.

 

Unfortunately people are focusing to much on this post-fight antics, and less on the fact that we have a new dominant HW champion, one who could go down as one of the best ever if he keeps up this domination that he has shown in his past 3 fights.

Poll

Is Brock Lesnar bad for the sport?

28%

Yes, he is a dick and we don't need him

37 votes

71%

No, he's just passionate and people don't like him because he used to be in the WWE

95 votes

132 votes | Poll has closed

 

According to the UG:

"Maybe to the WEC, what do you guys think?”

Win Caol Uno Decision (Unanimous) UFC 99 6/13/2009 3 5:00
Win Shannon Gugerty Submission (Triangle Choke) UFC 90 10/25/2008 3 3:56
Win Jeremy Stephens Decision (Unanimous) Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale 6/21/2008 3 5:00

I dont understand why Fisher would want to move down to the WEC.  Its obvious that they make less money in that promotion, and since he's won his last 3 fights, I see no need.  Not to sure if he would drop to 145lbs, or try to make a run for the WEC lightweight tilte. 

The UFC recently cut David Loiseau after going 0-1 in his most recent stint in the UFC.  The Crow, who recently signed a contract with the UFC, lost a unanimous desicion to Ed Herman.

Link: Fiveouncesofpain.com - David Loiseau cut from UFC

via d.yimg.com

I personally think that this is an awful decision.  The Crow was very popular in Canada, and, although he will never be a top 10-15 fighter in his weight class, he is always exciting and it doesn't hurt to hang onto him for future cards in Canada.

I saw this on cagepotato.  Apparently posters from their forums are trying to get as many people as possible who will  be attending UFC 100 to start chanting "FEDOR" after the HW unification bout.  It would be quite interesting to see Dana's reaction to an entire arena chanting the name of the best HeavyWeight NOT in his orginization. 

Official Website

http://www.cagepotato.com/ufc-100-fedor-chant-cp-readers-launch-viral-phenomenon-hopefully

Found this on Fiveouncesofpain.com, and im suprised I haven't seen anything about it here. 

The UFC has decided to part ways with PRIDE FC veteran Akihiro Gono following his decision loss to Jon Fitch at UFC 94 in January. The loss was Gono’s second consecutive loss in the UFC and it dropped his overall record with the company to 1-2.

It doesn’t look as though Gono will be out of work for long though. According to the latest print edition of The Wrestling Observer, Gono is currently in negotiations with the Japanese-based Sengoku promotion. If Gono does sign with Sengoku it would mark the first time since 2006 the Japanese MMA veteran has fought overseas.

Gono has fought all over Japan in his long illustrious career. Since his MMA debut in 1997 he has competed for the Shooto, Pancrase, and PRIDE promotions among many others. His signing with the UFC in 2007 was huge news for PRIDE fans as Gono became a fixture for the company following wins over Hector Lombard, Gegard Mousasi, and others.

If Gono signs with the promotion, he could be added to Sengoku 8 on May 22 at the National Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.

I always found Gono to be entertaining, and to be a quality fighter.  Although he never really had a shot at beating any top 10-20 welterweights, he still tended to put on exciting matches.   I cant wait to see more of him, hopefully at sengoku.