First off, MMA Messiah touched on parts of this subject in his posting...

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/8/4/977549/the-lost-art-of-civil-debate

Another thing that has been issue lately from what I've seen is what is the definition of "fighter bashing" and what constitutes it.  Some people are getting reprimanded for comments about fighters while others are going completely unnoticed.  There should be a standard set in place that we should follow, no matter who the fighter is, if "fighter bashing" is going to be labeled as a "no no" on BE.

In all honesty, in my opinion, there is no way of dodging the "fighter bashing" problem.  If you are not speaking positively about a fighter and his abilities, then you are speaking negatively and if we can't voice negative opinions... what the hell is the point of posting here in the first place?  Its all about tone in your posts, the projection that you are conveying in your opinion or statement.

For example and this is only an example:

Fedor in my mind is running away from competition.  Given the quality level of fighters in the UFC HWY division, he could truly lay claim to his reign as the number 1 HWY, if not number 1 p4p fighter in the world.  The level of competition in Strikeforce in most ways is inferior to that of the UFC, outside of Rogers and Overeem, there is no one and not even those two can provide much competition.

The above posting is a negative posting in regards to the Fedor situation.  In essence, it is bashing him, but it is saying it in a respectful tone.

Fedor is scared and he is tucking dick and running away like a bitch.... Fuck Fedor. (sorry Luke, just using this to make a point)

That posting is also negative and its laced with foul language and malcontent.  This is fighter bashing and considering we're all adults here.... should be avoided and postings like this should be dealt with by the moderators.

Now, I enjoy a lot of the stuff that is posted on here.... mainly I love some of the sarcastic tone and jokes that you all come up with.  I think there is a difference between commenting to make others laugh and commenting to be destructive.... this line should be visible.  If the moderators are to consider policing the "fighter bashing" more appropriately.... there is no difference between Fedor Emelianenko and someone such as Antwann Britt.  You can't just protect your favorites but let everyone run wild on the guys that you don't like.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is the exact same thing your mom or wife says when you're arguing with them.... that is "watch your tone".

via www.combatsports.com

So, I had become a huge Fedor fan after seeing some great battles in Pride.  I thought this was a man who truly could beat whoever was put in front of him and that he truly wanted to fight the best.  Given the events of this week, I'm personally disgusted by the actions of Fedor Emelianenko and M-1 Global.

For those Fedor lovers and those that feel that Fedor and M-1 are not to blame, go ahead and skip this post w/ poll.

I currently own this shirt, I paid 65 bucks for it because I truly bought into the Fedor hype.... I'm not going to wear it ever again so what should I do with it?

 

End of poll:  I saw that the majority of people voted for the "dump and send" option, but I decided to take the higher road and donate to charity... along with all my other Affliction shirts which I'm afraid to admit how many I had and the money I wasted on them.  Oh well, hopefully someone less fortunate will find use in them.

Poll

What should I do w/ this Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko Affliction shirt?

24%

Do the honorable thing and donate it to charity or the homeless

80 votes

1%

Just throw it out

6 votes

5%

Burn it

18 votes

68%

Take a massive dump in it and Fed Ex it to M-1's Headquarters

228 votes

332 votes | Poll has closed

via evanmorgenstern.files.wordpress.com

 

 

 

 

I know with the vast knowledge of boxing that the posters of Bad Left Hook have... we could have "what if" tournaments all day long with infinite matchups that could be made, today I came up with a unique 4 man "what if they fought" tournament featuring the 4 main "villains" from the Rocky movies.  So... Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago, and Tommy Gunn... lets see what the posters of BLH think of you.

 

Who would win?  In what fashion would they win?  What are the pro's and con's of each fighter?

Our first matchup: Apollo Creed vs Tommy Gunn

Well, I am thinking that I would have to give the edge to Apollo Creed in this one.  While Tommy Gunn has tremendous power, he never came off as an intelligent fighter with the right mental tools to go into the later rounds.  Apollo Creed would frustrate the hell out of Tommy Gunn with his speed and footwork in the early rounds and then take him out in the end.

In a 12 round fight... Apollo Creed wins by knockout in 10th round.

Our second matchup: Ivan Drago vs Clubber Lang

This is a fight that if it could have happened in the real world, I would pay whatever it took to see it live.  Both have ultimate power and technique, this would be the ultimate slug fest.  Ivan Drago would be able to take this one because he has no emotion and Clubber Lang was extremely emotional, that would be his downfall.

In a 12 round fight... Ivan Drago wins by knockout in the 6th.

Thats the opening bouts... figure I'll see what y'all say before nail down a final pairing.  Keep in mind y'all, this is for shits and giggles and the Rocky movies are epic in my mind.

Have fun!!

[Update] In the most humiliating beating since Tyson vs Michael Spinks, Apollo Creed moves to the finals over Tommy Gunn.... Creed gets 100% of the vote.

[Update2] In a grueling 12 round battle, Ivan Drago edges out Clubber Lang... reminiscent of Valuev vs Holyfield maybe?

Now in the finals: Apollo Creed comes back from the grave to avenge an exhibition loss to the "Siberian Bull" Ivan Drago.

Ivan Drago takes the tournament victory.... but ultimately gets his ass handed to him by Wladimir Klitschko 3 months later. 

According to Keith Kizer, the Executive Director of NSAC in a recent interview with MMAJunkie.com:

"We're trying to find out if there's a way to do limited instant replay." "We're hoping to find a way to do that."

"Actually [instant replay] was an idea years ago, and it just never went anywhere – mainly because of technology – but now I think we're finally there." "It has to be a foul or a stoppage that immediately ends the fight."

The outcome of the Al Turk vs Cro Cop stemmed this investigation as to whether instant replay could be implemented in MMA.  Imagine not just the Cro Cop fight, but a lot of the other fights that could have ended differently if instant replay was in effect in the past?

HT: MMAJunkie.com

Poll

Will this...

79%

Help MMA

150 votes

20%

Hurt MMA

38 votes

188 votes | Poll has closed

via static.flickr.com

Well, the game that we've all been waiting for 2 years (at least I've been foaming at the mouth since that video of Rampage and Iceman was released) has been out for a few days and I'm sure a lot of us has been able to tackle the Career Mode.  I'm curious to see or at least hear about what creations in fighters have been made...

What combos have worked best for the striking and grappling techniques?

Who's got the best looking created Fedor?

Any off the wall creations?

Praises or gripes w/ the Career Mode?

I'd be interested to see what y'all think...

via farm3.static.flickr.com

From Bisping's blog on UFC.com

Going off topic for just a minute... as a middleweight contender I feel I have to comment about the performance from Anderson Silva and Thales Leites from the weekend.

My teammate Cheick Kongo had another great win (well done mate!) on the card and I stayed up late to see him in action. I was very happy for him, I know how hard he worked and he richly deserves his success.

But I wasn’t impressed at all with the main event. You never want to disrespect fellow fighters, much less two contesting a UFC world title, but I think both guys should hang their heads in shame, quite honestly. Leites probably won the first two rounds but nothing happened in the fight.

I fought on the first card in Montreal last April, and the Canadians are tremendous supporters of the UFC. They deserved a hell of a lot better than they got from these two. I've seen more aggression from my fiancé when she hits the January sales.

It was very frustrating for me to be sitting on my couch seeing Anderson Silva, who keeps saying how he’s gone through the middleweight division. I would have fought harder than both of them put together, and so would a lot of other middleweights

 

 

Apparently not everyone is going to come to Anderson Silva's aid in this whole matter.  It doesn't surprise me since Bisping wants to be a challenger to The Spider's MW belt.... but this is a bold move in my mind and I'm more surprised UFC.com let him put this in his blog.  Should be interesting to see what may come of this since Wanderlei is calling Anderson out now.

 

So giving credit to where it is due needs to be given to Kid Nate for his book reviews that he does on BE.  I've recently gone back to training part time after about a year lay off and I wanted to get some extra knowledge before I stepped in against any "live" competition so I went to Nate's reviews of Mixed Martial Arts Striking by Anderson Silva and The Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA by Fedor Emelianenko.

I was going into reading these books thinking I'd pick up some tips to use, but after reading these books... I've found a much better and efficient way of fighting all together.  The striking techniques shown by both fighters are amazingly effective, the takedown and submission techniques (both offensive and defensive) of Fedor are simple to follow and utilize in sparring situations, and the movement techniques by Anderson Silva have opened angles and situations that never presented themselves to me in any prior Muay Thai/MMA competitions that I've taken part in.  After a year lay off, I'm not as "rusty" as I thought I'd be...now I just have to get my conditioning straight.

These two books are incredible and I highly suggest them to anyone who is interested in learning more.  I won't be competiting in any fights officially until after my daughter is born... but I'll be ready none the less and I'll definitely have some more tools in my arsenal that hopefully won't get me killed.

Thanx for the great work Nate and making these awesome suggestions...

via www.tatame.com

"I see (Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Renato) 'Babalu' (Sobral) out here running around slapping his lips," Ortiz said. "That might be a pay-per-view fight. After the fight they're going to be saying 'Baba-who?' So that's going to be good."

Ortiz did admit he'd like to have a little time to warm up first.

"I really think I need a tune-up fight before (a fight with 'Babalu')," Ortiz said. "I probably shouldn't be saying 'tune-up fight,' but I had major back surgery, and I have no more pain.

Tito Ortiz quote from an article on MMA Junkie

Blackout had some great footage of Tito and Babalu jawing at each other from the Strikeforce event this past Saturday, although it would be a great fight between Tito and Babalu.... you cannot look past Babalu's next opponent in Rafael "Feijão" Cavalcante.

"Feijão" is an incredible light heavyweight that trains with the likes of Anderson Silva and the Noguiera Bros among others.  Interviews with him are showing that he is incredibly focused for this upcoming bout with Babalu on June 6th at the next Strikeforce event that will also feature a catchweight fight between Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler.

"My goal has always been this, fight for a belt independent of the event I’m in. I’m training hard, I was already training hard and let’s go, I will be prepared for this fight", says Feijão, who trains with Anderson Silva, the Nogueira brothers and others great athletes. "I’m very well trained and at this time off I wasn’t without fight. When I went to the United States to fight for EliteXC’s title, and unfortunately it didn’t happen, we hired a sparring and I did five rounds against him, so that I wouldn’t be without fight rhythm", says.

"Feijão" interview from Tatame.com

"Feijão" has won his last 3 fights by first round KO's.  Of his 7 wins, 6 are by KO and his submission victory was a submission from punches and his lone loss was a DQ from an illegal kick so technically he hasn't been beaten.  Babalu is a huge step up in competition for him, but considering his training camp and the degree to which he has won his fights.... it maybe in Babalu's best interest to not look past "Feijão" and get his mind set on a clash with Tito.

F

via mmajunkie.com

rom a story on MMA Junkie:

A proposed lightweight bout between Gilbert Melendez (14-2) and late replacement Rodrigo Damm (8-2) will earn the winner an interim Strikeforce world lightweight title.

The Melendez vs. Damm fight is scheduled for the night's televised main card, which is headlined by a bout between Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz at a catch-weight of 179 pounds.

Thomson defeated Melendez and took his belt in the summer of 2008. The rematch was scheduled for Strikeforce's debut on Showtime this weekend, but Thomson pulled out of the bout in late March and recently had surgery for a broken leg.

This is a definite twist to this Saturday's Strikeforce event.  I guess Josh Thomson is going to be out for quite a while if Strikeforce is going this route.  I don't know much about Rodrigo Damm but Gilbert Melendez is a serious player.... I would have rather seen him rematch Ishida, but this will be good.

We're now at the eve of a new season of The Ultimate Fighter beginning, this time around its USA vs UK.... Dana and the boys have lined up two great coaches that will have a great fight come UFC 100 or 101 in Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping but all of this really raises a question with me... what is the point of a Team USA vs Team UK set up?  MMA is the ultimate "individual sport" and only one fighter from each weight class will get a contract, so why set this up as a battle of nations?  If each member of the "winning" team were to get a contract (which in all reality most of them do), then I would see a point to this pinning of two countries against each other.

The Ultimate Fighter has ultimately become a punchline for many jokes and although they have introduced us to many phenomenal fighters (Forrest, Rashad, Bisping, etc..), we have had major douche bags that are horrible representatives to the sport as well (Junie, mainly).  Is Zuffa hoping to rectify their past mistakes with this season of TUF?  Well only time will tell but in my own personal opinion... I think the set up of USA vs UK is just pointless.

Anyone expect anything positive from this season?

via rds.yahoo.com

In the last 12 months or so the UFC Middleweight Division has gotten better by leaps and bounds w/ additions like Akiyama and Denis Kang, the emergence of Demian Maia, and the dropping down in weight class of Wanderlei Silva.  Regardless of who wins in the Thales Leites vs Anderson Silva matchup, we're set to see some great fights for the rest of 2009 as it appears that the Middleweight Division has become extremely stacked w/ great competition.

In another post, I saw that apparently Demian Maia may be next in line for a title shot and there were some great ideas that I could see for matchups that could set the title picture for a while.... what matchups in the UFC Middleweight Division would people like to see and who do you see as the champ at the end of 2009?

For me:

Marquardt vs Wanderlei Silva

Akiyama vs Demian Maia

Okami vs Bisping

Henderson vs Wanderlei Silva (love to see Wanderlei against a lot of the MW competition)

Belcher vs Kang rematch

Just some ideas on what I'd like to see.  In all reality, I'd love to see Demian Maia as the MW champ by the end of 2009 but unless he improves more on his stand up... it will be an uphill battle.  Wanderlei takes the MW belt by the end of 2009.

via mmajunkie.com

 

http://mmajunkie.com/news/13851/bobby-lashley-hector-lombard-out-of-pfc-best-of-both-worlds.mma

Courtesy of MMA Junkie..

Bobby Lashley had to pull out of February 6th's Palace Fighting Championships "Best of Both Worlds" event due to an injury to his ankle. Also, Cuban phenom Hector Lombard was pulled off the card for undisclosed reasons.  "Best of Both Worlds" is set to be a hybrid of MMA and boxing matches, perhaps setting the tone for Affliction and Golden Boy.

I personally think this kinda sucks... the comparisons between Lashley and Brock Lesnar are becoming rampant and it would have been nice to see how Lashley would do in his 2nd official bout.  No time table has been set for Lashley's return.

Fedor Emelianenko, WAMMA Heavyweight Champion

via www.cdn.sherdog.com

Unstoppable, uncorrupted, melancholy

Brock Lesnar, UFC Heavyweight Champion

via www.cdn.sherdog.com

Raw, superhuman, caveman

Frank Mir, UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion

via www.cdn.sherdog.com

Cocky, surprising, kryptonite

Rashad Evans, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

via www.cdn.sherdog.com

Flashy, quick, confident

Anderson Silva, UFC Middleweight Champion

via www.cdn.sherdog.com

Where's his head?

Georges St. Pierre, UFC Welterweight Champion

via www.cdn.sherdog.com

Versatile, dominant, rollercoaster

BJ Penn, UFC Lightweight Champion

via www.cdn.sherdog.com

Capable of more..

Shinya Aoki, WAMMA Lightweight Champion

via www.cdn.sherdog.com

Hey, nice pants..

How bout the rest of you?

via sherdog.com

Probably one of the biggest surprises, at least in my opinion, was Alan "The Talent" Belcher's win over Denis Kang.  Belcher has shown great strides as of late rebounding from his 1st round TKO loss to Jason Day at UFC 83.  He showed his skill in Muay Thai in keeping Ed Herman at bay at UFC Fight Night 15 and then showing his submission skills in catching Denis Kang who has been a legend in this sport.  Belcher seems to be cruising under the radar, but does a win like this put him in the upper echelon of the MW division? 

Granted there was a lot of discussions stating that Kang's defense is weak at best but he is still a pioneer in the MW division and his signing to the UFC was huge news.  Kang was suppose to be the answer to the supposed lackluster competition for Anderson Silva, well now that Belcher has disposed of Kang... he should be in the discussions of who's going to be a contender to Anderson Silva's crown.

If Demian Maia gets by Chael Sonnen (which I think he will), I say lets have Belcher vs Maia and winner gets Anderson Silva for the MW crown.  More than likely Anderson Silva's next matchup will be a light heavyweight bout anyways so this should be perfect.

Thoughts?

Excerpt from MMAjunkie.com article..

FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008, the star-studded New Year's Eve event, has been unable to secure a TV or internet broadcasting contract and will not be seen live in the U.S.

Officials from both FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008 promoter Fight Entertainment Group and potential internet broadcast partner Event Magic.tv released the disappointing news on Monday.

Ok, this sucks major donkey balls because this was going to be a phenomenal fight card and no doubt that there could have been a lot of money made off of streaming this from the internet at least.

In the article it also says that DVD and HD PPV presentations should be available after January 6th.

via mmajunkie.com

Undefeated UFC middleweight Demian Maia has agreed to face former WEC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen at UFC 95 according to a report on Maia's official website.

I, for one, am pretty excited about this news because UFC 95 was shaping up to be a major suck fest.

Still don't think this is worthy of paying to see but it would definitely be one of the better "free tv" main events that the UFC has put on.  Chael Sonnen wanted Anderson Silva... well you don't get Anderson Silva right off the bet but in my mind, you got the next best thing.

Maia disposes of Sonnen very easily.

I've been seeing posts about the BE Nation's best and worst predictions of 2008... well what are some predictions y'all have for 2009.  Here are some of mine:

- Affliction will go under and ProElite won't come back.

- Brock Lesnar will lose to Big Nog.

- GSP will beat BJ Penn but will then lose to Thiago Alves.

- BJ Penn will remain Lightweight Champ

- Miguel Torres will remain Bantamweight Champ in the WEC but I predict a superfight between Torres and Urijah Faber for WEC's first PPV.

- WEC will introduce women's MMA... but they won't get Gina Carano.

- Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett will come back to the UFC.

- The Ultimate Fighter tv show won't see 2010.

- K-1 will become more of a threat to the UFC than any other organization, the organization... not kickboxing as a whole.

- Fedor will retire since he won't ever fight in the UFC and no Japanese organization will be able to afford to pay him to fight.

- Anderson Silva will lose in 2009… I just don’t know to who.

- Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, Joe Villasenor, and Eddie Alvarez will come to the UFC

- No one in the UFC will hold titles in two different weight classes… but either Miguel Torres or Donald Cerrone will in the WEC.

- Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos will be the first WEC women’s champ… she’ll divorce Evangelista Santos shortly after that.

- The following fighters will retire in 2009: Matt Serra, Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Mirko Cro Co, Sakuraba, and Fedor.

- Aleksander Emelianenko will go to prison for murder.

 

What do you guys think will happen in 2009?

Courtesy of MMA Junkie:

Bosnia and Herzegovina-based UFC newcomer Denis Stojnic (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will meet highly regarded UFC heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez (4-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in February at UFC Fight Night 17.

The UFC today officially announced the event, including the Stojnic-Velasquez fight. Hermes Franca meets Joe Lauzon in the night's main event.

The event takes place Feb. 7 at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla.

Well, I guess that solves the mystery of who Cain Velasquez is fighting next.....

I've been watching a lot of fights as of late, getting myself reaquainted with the great sport of boxing.  I've been listening to everyone's recommendations and I've bee seeing some phenomenal action.  I came across the information for this bout between Nicolai Valuev and Evander Holyfield.  I've always been very familiar with Evander Holyfield's career, but Valuev just completely fascinated me and I did some more research into him and his career.  After seeing the man fight, I have some serious questions as to the sanity of Evander Holyfield and his "handlers".  I question him getting a title shot in the first place.  George Foreman has proved that men into their 40's can be world champions, but this fight makes no sense at all.  Who has Evander Holyfield fought lately to deserve this shot?  Seriously?  The logical explaination is that probably Holyfield lived beyond his means for far too long and he didn't do well with his money... perhaps he needs this fight for pure financial reasons.

Do people really expect Holyfield to compete?  Valuev, 7 feet tall... 325lbs... 49-1-1 record... 34 knockouts.  I watched "some" footage of Valuev vs Chaguev, that was an interesting bout right there.  Chaguev taking the decision from Valuev, at least w/ me watching it, was huge.  It was kind of like seeing Rocky beat Ivan Drago, lol.

The only chance Holyfield has is somehow managing to outpoint Valuev.  A whole lot of stick and move, get in and get out, stay on your toes constantly... never stop moving....but at 46, can Holyfield still do any of that?  I don't think he can.  I don't think the man has the stamina to dance with Valuev... trying to trade punches with him could prove deadly.

Having some of your ear missing won't mean a damn thing when Valuev punches your head clear off your body.  I'm still trying to get up to speed again so I don't doubt I'm probably missing something here... so whatever y'all think about this fight... I'd love to hear it.

Hey there guys, I am just now getting back into the world of boxing after a 5 year absence... my reasons are mainly for getting out of touch was just due to wasting money on less than stellar PPV's and just a a distaste for how things were revolving around Don King.  I got a chance to see the Pacquiao vs De La Hoya and the fire was just lit again.  I've watched fights w/ Kelly Pavlik, Bernard Hopkins, Ricky Hatton, Cotto, Cassamayor, the Klitschko's and Margarito over the last week or so.... its just a lot of great action.

Those have all been great fighters to see but I'm sure there has been great advances in the last 5 years and there are fighters that I'm missing here.  What are some other fighters out there that you guys feel are making some major waves?  I'm seeing that Versus is putting up some great fights on TV, is ESPN still doing anything worth watching?

Any guidance would be much appreciated and if the "noob" comments could be kept to a minimum... that would be great... lol.

Thanx all...

According to The Savage Science, its being reported that Badr Hari is being stripped of the K-1 Heavyweight Title, his earnings from the K-1 Grand Prix forfeited, and is suspended indefinitely.

Badr Hari snapped in the 2nd round of his K-1 2008 World Grand Prix final and continuely attacked Remy Bonjasky as the official tried to stop Hari's tirade attack on Bonjasky.  Remy Bonjasky caught a heel stomp to the head and reported to have "double vision" from the ground assault courtesy of Hari.  Initially Hari was given a yellow card, but once Bonjasky couldn't answer after the 5 minute injury timeout...Hari was given a red card and was disqualified for unsportmanslike conduct.

Hari claimed he came to the tournament to fight and that is what he did... he just completely disregarded all rules and respect for the sport that he dedicates his life to.

This is the first initial report that has been put out that I have seen and K-1 has yet to officially make a statement, but if this first report holds water..... this is justice served.

Got this off of K-1's site.... thought some would like to see it.

 

(Commentator) Kimbo Slice

Q: What is your impression of K-1?

A: I want to thank everyone for being here. It is my first time in Japan. I don’t understand the language. The people are very kind, and the food is good. I’m really enjoying it.

Q: And how about K-1?

A: It is very interesting. It is different to how I fight, but some things are being considered.

Q: Were there any fighters here tonight that caught your attention?

A: I was a little bit, well, not disappointed, but Bard Hari is a real fighter. A fighter by profession, and by nature. K-1 is a respectful organization though, so I give him a yellow card too. A bit of a slap on the hand so to speak. But you have to love him for being that true fighter. The bad guy.

Q: Do you feel that K-1 would play towards your natural strengths more than MMA?

A: K-1 would be a good thing as it is stand up, which is more one-dimensional so it is good. There is no ground game to deal with, but then you add knees and some other strikes and yeah, it is interesting. I think with my natural strengths I would do well in K-1.

Q: Would you be interested in fighting Badr Hari?

A: (Laughs) Whoever the opponent is would be OK. As a fighter I don’t really worry about who I fight. If the match-makers made that fight, it would be good for me. I have seen how he fights now, and I just love fighting. I really love everything about fighting.

 

If one dimension is good.... Kimbo.... stay in Japan, buddy...

I'm reaching out to Chuck Liddell fans, maybe y'all can shed some light on him and his current situation..

He says he won't fight Anderson Silva... he won't fight Randy Couture(I'm not all that disappointed by that to be honest)... who will Chuck fight?  He says he plans on fighting in March or April... why so long?

I don't think a fight w/ Lyoto Machida is very fair to Machida, in my opinion.  If Machida can beat Thiago Silva, its time for him to get his shot at the title and the UFC needs to quit making the guy jump through so many hoops.  He's earned his shot.  I'm hearing about rumors that he will fight the winner of Rampage vs Wanderlei, well whats the points of those rematches?  Rampage has his number, he pulled off the victory against Wanderlei already after tons of hype behind that fight... why risk losing the edge over Wanderlei when The Axe Murderer will more than likely go to town on him.

Who's left guys?  Is he going to make the move to Heavyweight?  I think its cool he's broadening the horizons a bit and training at ATT because its time to change things up a bit.  I respect the hell out of Chuck Liddell, don't get me wrong... but I don't get one bit what he is doing right now.

This Fan Post was promoted to the front page by Nick Thomas.

This is an excerpt from the results of the K-1 2008 World Grand Prix Final between Badr Hari and Remy Bonjasky:

In the second, Hari, aware he was down on all three cards, came out like a loaded gun. Bonjasky answered a body blow with a low kick, and Hari replied with another body blow. The give-and-take repeated several times, both fighters putting their all behind the strikes. After delivering a big right, Hari had Bonjasky on the run. But then things went wrong.

After Bonjasky had countered with a middle kick, Hari grabbed the his opponent's leg and threw him to the mat. That's the sort of marginal foul a fighter can get away with most of the time, but Hari wasn't done. His fighting spirit hijacked by rage, Hari then approached his downed opponent to pound down a couple of punches. He'd crossed the line, but incredibly he wasn't finished. Even as veteran referee Nobuaki Kakuda tried to wrest him away, Hari persisted, stomping a heel onto Bonjasky's head.

The crowd was stunned into silence.

Bad boy Hari was forcibly coaxed to a neutral corner as Bonjasky lay motionless on the mat. Hari was assessed a yellow card and a one-point penalty, and the ringside doctor came in to have a look at Bonjasky. After the five-minute recovery interval elapsed, the doctor reported Bonjasky was still seeing double and could not continue. A furious Kakuda then showed Hari a red card and declared him disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. Bonjasky had the win.

I saw a replay of this match and wow.... it leads me to ask, what if a UFC fighter did this?  What would the consequences be for such a showing of unsportsman like conduct?

A few days ago I heard a rather entertaining interview w/ former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion, Lennox Lewis.  Vitali Klitschko has been trying to coax Lewis out of retirement for a rematch... Lewis who finds Klitschko's "trash talking" to be hilarious said, " I'd give that UFC a go before I'd go back to boxing".  Of course he was joking, but it made me wonder.... what athletes in other sports could have crossover success in MMA if they were to take it seriously?

Boxing wise, you have to wonder if with some serious ground game training, what boxers could succeed in MMA?  Floyd Mayweather talked some shit last year saying that MMA is a joke and that boxing is more of a combat sport... which of course he would say... but he didn't say much more when his remarks got to Chuck Liddell and Chuck invited him to give it a try and show the Iceman that he is indeed a "joke".  Could Mayweather succeed?  Fierce puncher, extremely quick, and amazing cardio.  Ricky Hatton was a kickboxer before he dedicated his life to boxing, he was told he was too short for kickboxing... well, put him in the cage against someone his size... his skills could carry over to MMA success.  What if Mike Tyson legitimately came to MMA and took on Kimbo?

You got former NFL players giving it a go.  Jermaine Wiggins, a former Tight End for the Vikings, who will be having his first MMA fight here shortly.  Johnnie Morton tried, granted he didn't take his training too seriously and got killed.  Imagine Shawne Merriman in the cage... size, speed, and man can he lay someone out with a punishing tackle.  Lots of football players could be effective with the proper training.

Numerous kickboxers have tried MMA, some with success.... some not so much.  Kickboxing legend Danny Steele maybe in a cage soon.  Semmy Schilt did some damage, as did Cro Cop.

I guess the possibilities could be endless, but with the proper training, could these guys make it?  Brock Lesnar could be case and point... depending on your view of him.  Any thoughts?  Who would you like to see in the cage or ring?

Ok, WAMMA.... Sherdog.... their top ten just don't seem right to me... I'm curious as to what everyone else's Top Ten in the Heavyweight Division would be and why?

1. Fedor Emelianenko: Goes w/out saying at this point.

2. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera: If given the fight w/ Couture before he split for that 15 month period, he would have beaten Randy Couture and would be the hands down UFC Heavyweight Champion.

3. Brock Lesnar: He beat "the champ", gotta give the man some respect because he does have skill and he won "convincingly.

4. Josh Barnett: Should be him vs Fedor at Day of Reckogning in my opinion.

5. Andrei Arlovski: His last two wins have been impressive, even if the competition wasn't.  He earned his shot at Fedor, but not before Josh Barnett.

6. Gabriel Gonzaga: His last fight was awesome, great fighter and I hope to see him get another shot at some point in 2009.

7. Frank Mir: He pulls off beating Nog, of course he moves up... but he'd lose to Lesnar in a rematch.

8. Fabricio Werdum: I'll probably catch a lot of shit for this one, the Junior Dos Santos fight was ugly but he is a incredible talent.

9. Chuck Liddell: OH THE MOVE WILL HAPPEN....

10. Shane Carwin: The beast from Greeley, Colorado will be a serious contender in 2009.  Best shot, stylistically, to beat Lesnar in 2009 if Nog doesn't.

Lots of intelligent posters on here so I'm curious to what y'all have for your top ten...

Whether Affliction is going to remain or perish in the organizational wars is still to be seen but if they do survive.... its time to drop WAMMA.  I'm sorry, but to me the legitmacy of the WAMMA rankings and having belts to win is just a waste and an insult to MMA.  The WAMMA system will only be legitimate if the UFC adopts the system to which we all know isn't ever going to happen.  At this point, its safe to say that the WAMMA Heavyweight Championship was only created to give Fedor a title that could be used as marketing leverage to get people to buy the Affliction PPV's.  Whats the point of having this World based championship if the best of each weight division won't be facing off against each other. 

Jake Shields could very well sign w/ Affliction and his first fight could be for the WAMMA Welterweight championship... but it isn't legitimate since GSP is right now the #1 170lbs fighter in the world.  Will a Jake Shields vs GSP fight happen if Jake Shields signs with Affliction? Nope.  Kid Yamamoto could sign w/ Affliction and his first fight could be for the WAMMA Bantamweight championship... that mean he'll get a piece of Miguel Angel Torres? Nope, Torres is under the Zuffa banner.  Y'all see where I'm going...

Affliction, if you see the light of day after Day of Reckoning, drop the WAMMA stuff and just create the Affliction weight division championships..

Thoughts of the panel?

I got a message from a buddy that trains at Greg Jackson's in Albuquerque, New Mexico and it turns out that a few members of the camp are heading to England to do some training.  Ok, one of the guys that trains at Jackson's is Nate Marquardt... the UFC has remained pretty quiet about who will be the USA coach in the next installment of The Ultimate Fighter.  It looks like Bisping will coach the UK, the UFC apparently targeted Rich Franklin or Dan Henderson to coach the team.... well neither of them seemed to "hip" to the idea of coaching.  With both of those guys moving to 205 and it becoming tradition that the coaches face off... does either of them make sense for Bisping as an opponent?

With Nate Marquardt, you're getting an elite level fighter with a great deal of experience.  He's been in the MW title picture before and really has never left it.  Nate has one of the premiere MMA/BJJ schools in all of Colorado w/ High Altitude Martial Arts, GSP and Rashad Evans trust Nate w/ their BJJ teaching and they both among many others come to Aurora, Colorado to train in the altitude w/ Nate.  He's the best fight available to Bisping right now to see if Bisping is worthy of fighting Anderson Silva.

Probably one of the biggest reasons to make Nate the coach of Team USA is that he will no doubt be bringing Greg Jackson along with him... the man is the coach and head trainer of the best team in the country right now.  With Nate and Greg Jackson as the coaches, the UK will be facing an uphill battle and Mr. Bisping will finally get a real test.

Of course my buddy couldn't confirm nor deny that Nate was goig along on the trip....which kinda sucks but I understand why he keeps his mouth shut on things now.  Thoughts of the panel?