Lee Murray (on right in black shirt) and an accomplice are arrested in Morocco.

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Sherdog named the tale of Lee Murray the #7 MMA story of the decade:

7. Lee Murray (2002-Present)

If you can’t get enough of prizefighting and crime stories, the idea of a talented puncher wrapped up in one of the biggest money heists in history should be enough to completely arrest your attention. And it did: Lee Murray’s hop from mid-card attraction to antihero seized headlines from ESPN, Sports Illustrated and a full-length book, "Heist," which documents Murray’s (alleged) master plan to walk away with over $92 million in bank robbery winnings. He fled to Morocco; he was thrown in prison; he walked out of prison; he bought tacky, gold-plated furnishings; he inspired a kind of perverse reverence among observers who had to admire his audacity. Murray is not the sport’s only personality, but he’s perhaps the only one worth making a movie about. And that’s coming soon.

If you haven't already seen it, in the full entry is ESPN 360's classic segment on Murray and the heist. I've also included the full video of his epic bout against Anderson Silva from Cage Rage.

The guy may be a criminal mastermind, but in his hey day he was a very talented MMA fighter. Damn shame he threw it all away.

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Photo via UFC.com. Note Mir's right leg is grapevined around Kongo's right calf, preventing him from standing up and escaping.

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Frank Mir's demolition of Cheick Kongo at UFC 107 was a quintessential state-of-the-art example of a thoroughly well-rounded Mixed Martial Artist in full effect. He clowned Kongo with one big punch standing and then immediately follows him down and applies a guillotine.

I hadn't really considered doing a judo chop on it though since none of the techniques he used struck me as being particularly novel on first viewing. But after reviewing the fight it occurred to me that this was a perfect moment to discuss a text book example of one of the most popular fight-winning submissions in all of MMA: the Guillotine Choke.

From Wikipeida:

The Guillotine choke is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent. The choke involves using the arms to encircle the opponent's neck in a fashion similar to a guillotine. The technique is either a type of tracheal compression restraint (wind choke) that prevents air flow to the lungs, or a blood choke depending on how it is applied. When executed from the ground, the person applying it will try to control the opponent by the hips, for instance using a closed guard. This is done to prevent the opponent from escaping the hold, and to be able to apply additional pressure by extending the hips.

This technique can cause unconsciousness if done correctly. It is taught in various grappling martial arts, including Jujutsu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, as well as in mixed martial arts competition. In Danzan Ryu, it is also taught as a neck crank.

Animated gifs in the full entry, plus, Frank Mir's jiu jitsu trainer Robert Drysdale discusses the move, what Kongo could have done to escape, how the cage impacted the execution of the hold and why the no-arm guillotine is preferable to the arm-in guillotine.

Let's look at the fight...

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Sherdog has a wrap-up of what they consider the top MMA stories of the 2000's. Here's number 8:

8. The Death of Evan Tanner (2008)

Heath Herring once told me that, while mired in the Texas circuit, he came out for a fight with Evan Tanner in a ring set up over a dirt-encrusted rodeo floor. A year later, Tanner was in Japan and Pancrase. A year after that, he was in the UFC. For a man who started learning the intricacies of submission fighting through videotapes, eventually achieving a winning stretch in the UFC that culminated with a middleweight title in 2005, he was a better fighter than he probably had any right to be.

As he got older and fell in and out of shape, Tanner took to posting bizarre confessionals online, writing candidly about his issues with alcohol and diluting motivation. Seeing him in a Grizzly Adams beard, pickaxe slung over his shoulder, you got the sense that he wanted out of his own skin.

Tanner was found dead in September 2008, victim of extraordinary heat conditions during an ill-planned trek through Southern California desert territory. His sport had never really known tragedy in a face so familiar to them; the morbid nature of his death brought up issues about whether athletes were being as psychologically battered as they were physically -- whether some hike so far away from their sense of self-preservation that they never find their way back home.

Evan Tanner was a fighter very near to my heart. Here's part of the eulogy I wrote when he passed:

Evan Tanner was more than one of my favorite fighters, he was a home town hero and a much-admired kindred spirit.

I only got to see him fight live twice, once in Amarillo in 1998 and his UFC debut in 1999. But I followed his career closely from the beginning, always proud of the home-town boy who taught himself jiu jitsu from some VHS tapes and went on to win the UFC championship belt and become a champion in Japan.

I only got to meet Evan once, shaking his hand and back slapping him in a parking lot in Amarillo, Texas after seeing him absolutely dominate an overmatched opponent. But I was more impressed by the way Tanner showed his respect for the guy after the match, raising his arm, talking to everyone in his corner, clearly Tanner saw the man as a brother warrior and not as prey.

That was one thing I always admired about Tanner. He fought for the challenge. He fought to test himself. He was always generous and friendly to opponents. He didn't fight from anger or hatred. He fought as a positive force, a lone man testing himself against the universe. Sadly, that's how he died, too. But he's not alone anymore, now he's part of that infinity he sought.

I hate to see Evan defined as a cautionary tale for MMA fighters, but it's hard to argue that MMA was a big part of the crooked path that led him to an early and needless death.

Evan's not the only MMA fighter to meet a tragic end -- the deaths of Justin Eilers and Justin Levens can't really be discussed without considering the role of MMA in their fates. And those are just the ones who've died. Living casualties like Mark Kerr, Karo Parisyan, and Drew Fickett are also warnings to any young athlete considering going down this road. 

It's not just MMA though, as the sad tale of NFL veteran Dave Pear attests. All high impact sports take a brutal toll on the athletes, including boxing and pro wrestling. As fans we owe it to the fighters to be aware of the high risks and high costs of pursuing the sport we love.

In the full entry is a video of his legendary early fight with Heath Herring in Amarillo, Texas, a fight I had the honor of seeing live back in the day. It was also the basis for my first ever MMA History post here on BE.

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Heavy.com reports:

Jon Jones' appeal to the Nevada State Athletic Commission to overturn referee Steve Mazagatti's decision in his bout against Matt Hamill earlier this month has been denied. The NSAC stated that they don't overturn decisions and decided against ruling on the appeal.

Heavy.com confirmed the news with Jason Genet, the manager of Jones, Shane Carwin and other fighters.

Dana White has been an outspoken critic of Steve Mazzagatti, as recently as this Saturday.

Maggie Hendricks wrote an impassioned response to the Scott Smith come back win over Cung Le that pointed out something I've been harping on a long time -- if Dana White wants good officiating in the UFC and WEC's fights, he needs to lean on the NSAC to bring back Big John McCarthy -- or at least allow Big John to ref UFC events in California where Big John is currently licensed. Here's Maggie:

Referees have the tough job of deciding whether a fighter is healthy or not, knocked out or not, able to continue or not. Boxing and MMA referees have more to do with who wins and loses than in most other sports. If a football referee makes a mistake, it can affect the outcome of the game, but it may not.

That's not true in MMA. If a referee calls the end of a fight too early, a fighter will not only lose unfairly, but could lose the "win" part of his purse. If the referee is too late to stop, the fighter could be injured. Outside of Orlando Brown, a football referee's actions are unlikely to injure a player. 

That's what makes the Nevada State Athletic Commission's waffling on McCarthy's application to ref in their state so puzzling. The man is a good referee. He's not perfect; he seems a little too concerned with his own fame and he's made some enemies in the world of MMA, but that doesn't seem to affect his ability to officiate a clear fight. 

Even though Dana was tweeting away that firing Mazzagatti is solely the province of Keith Kizer, the head of the NSAC, only the deeply naive believe that Dana has no sway with the NSAC.

Photo by the Associated Press.

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Someone told me, 'You got fined.' I was like what? Fined by who?.

"I told Strikeforce. I figured that everybody knew. I think it probably had to do with the huge uproar because everybody was like, 'Mo's unsportsmanlike,' and their corny a** bulls***. They don't want to see me have fun and what not. They think this is the NFL.

"I'm not sponsored by Rockstar. The thing is, I couldn't have any other beverage in the ring. If I could have, I would have had Pepsi. But Rockstar is cool, they are the sponsor for Strikeforce, I have a lot of respect for Strikeforce so I just did it. Why not? I was just out there having fun.

"I didn't splash the mat with the drink. The drink exploded when I opened it because someone shook it up.

"As far as people saying, 'Yeah, Mo got the mat slippery on purpose.' Let me telling you something, you idiots: the canvas is slippery anyway. If I get Rockstar on the mat and it dries up, I'm doing them a f***ing favor, you know what I'm saying? It irritates me when people run their mouths and sh**. They always say the dumbest sh** ever and they don't know sh** about what's going on."

King Mo talking to Fanhouse.

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There was a good bit of controversy in the comments of Leland's post earlier today about the fighters of the decade because neither of the two sources he cited -- Jonathan Snowden nor Zach Arnold -- listed Forrest Griffin on their list. Well Ray Hui of Fanhouse addresses that oversight and names Griffin vs Bonnar the Fight of the Decade:

The light heavyweight fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar during The Ultimate Fighter Finale televised live on Spike TV on April 9, 2005 displayed the grit and the mental toughness universally necessary in all sports to become a champion.

...

Besides entertainment factor, the fight will always be remembered for a reason of greater importance; the 15 minutes of action essentially saved MMA.

"It's the most significant fight in UFC history," UFC president Dana White would repeatedly call the match.

Stephan Bonnar, Forrest GriffinEntering the night's event, the UFC did not have a deal with Spike TV to return for a second season. The show was essentially an experiment and the finale itself was the first-ever live MMA card on television. But immediately following the conclusion of the fight, Spike TV and the UFC quickly renewed for at least two additional seasons.

...

"You want to talk Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, at this point, [Bonnar and Griffin] definitely need to be up there in that Hall of Fame, " Ben Saunders said.

I actually agree with both Snowden and Hui. I probably wouldn't include either Griffin nor Bonnar on the top 10 fighters of the decade list, but I would say this was the fight of the decade.

Photo by Dave Mandel via MMA Weekly

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I'm tired of clicking onto websites and seeing the first thing is UFC, UFC, UFC, and I would like to see something that says Strikeforce and something positive about our fighters. Cause I'm getting sick and tired of that.

"It would be nice to see some positive energy in (the media's) interviews. This is a great sport. I'd hate to see the media bring us down by saying negative things.

"When was the last time you seen a UFC fight card put together like this?. When was the last time you saw UFC fighters lay it on the line like we did tonight, and when was the last time you seen a main event like you did tonight? I haven't seen one of those in a while from the UFC. So, I think we delivered."

Josh Thomson talking to MMA Weekly.

via WEC

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'm in a bit of a rush so I don't have the time for the fuller discussion I usually prefer to do for a Judo Chop but could't let this sweet move go unremarked.

We last saw a tap out via Peruvian Necktie at Ultimate Fight Night 14: Silva vs Irvin when C.B. Dollaway used it to choke out Jesse Taylor.

It was a very pleasant surprise to see Brad Pickett bust it out against Kyle Dietz at Saturday's WEC 45.

Edgar Garcia came very close to submitting DaMarques Johnson with one at UFC 107 but couldn't do it and Johnson came back to win with a triangle choke submission of his own.

The hold is attributed to Tony DeSouza, best known as B.J. Penn's wrestling coach. DeSouza came to BJJ from a wrestling background which makes me wonder if there's something about the move that is more intuitive for fighters coming to jiu jitsu from wrestling.

Here's a step by step break down of the move from Punch Kick Choke:

The Peruvian Necktie is a combination of a choke and a crank, made famous by Tony DeSouza- it is generally pulled from the starting position of either a sprawl, or as CB did, controlling the side of a turtled opponent. Either way, the move is the same.

-Get head and arm control, almost as if you were going for an anaconda choke.

-After clasping your hands together (palm to palm or gable) stand up while maintaining the hold.

-Important bit-
-The side that you have the hold on the neck on, you're going to be falling away from that side, but you need your leg over his head. So, you make sure your leg on that side is on the outside of his non-trapped arm.

-Fall to the side at a slight diagonal angle away from the opponent (once again, fall toward the side with the trapped arm), make sure that outside leg is over his head, and get your inside leg over his back.

-As you pull, there will be an incredible amount of torque on your opponent's neck (so be careful) as well as a choke, so watch for the tap. Actually, because of how the choke is applied, and how it might be hard to tap when caught in the submission, I would suggest not practicing this choke with only two people- you should at least have one other person watching for any signs of trouble.

Animated gif, instructional video and a step by step breakdown of the move in the full entry.

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Photo by Justin M. Bowen for the Las Vegas Sun. HT MMA Mania

via Showtime

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In the aftermath of Strikeforce: Evolution, Scott Coker laid out some big plans for next year:

• Fedor Emelianenko vs Fabricio Werdum in April, from MMA Mania:

  Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) will likely return to the CBS airwaves in April 2010 when he welcomes a challenge from Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1) in a bout tentatively scheduled for the next installment of "Saturday Night Fights."

• Lightweight champion (and USAT/SBN Consensus MMA Rankings #13 and rising) Gilbert Melendez against the  #2 in the world, Shinya Aok and #24 Josh Thomson against #8 Tatsuya Kawajiri, per Josh Gross:

  In addition to the Strikeforce lightweight title, a shot at No. 2-ranked Shinya Aoki hung in the balance. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker will attend "Dynamite!!," Japan's traditional New Year's Eve fights, with the intention of finalizing a deal to with FEG to put Aoki and in the cage against Melendez in the second quarter of 2010. He also hopes to get Thomson back in action against highly regarded Tatsuya Kawajiri.

• Or maybe Thomson will face former EliteXC lightweight champ K.J. Noons in the latter's Strikeforce debut, per Sherdog.

• Jacare Souza will likely get a rematch with Jason "Mayhem" Miller although Jacare is demanding an immediate title shot against Jake Shields, per Fanhouse:

  "Jacare" talked about why he thinks he deserves a title shot next, as well as potential rematches against Gegard Mousasi and Jason "Mayhem" Miller.

All in all, a lot of promising fights in the works from Strikeforce.