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One of the more impressive performances at WEC 45 this past weekend featured the three-time PAC-10 champion wrestler Scott Jorgensen battling the 2003 Shooto Rookie of the Year Takeya Mizugaki in a bout that many fans felt would sway in favor of Mizugaki. Surprisingly, fans were not only treated to what many writers felt would be the "Fight of the Night", but a brilliant gameplan of controlling wrestling ability and the use of heavy-handed punching by Jorgensen.

The most overlooked component in Jorgensen's gameplan was the clinch. While some fans, including myself, were getting rather tired of the clinch game resulting in nothing toward the later stages in the fight, a retrospective look at the fight definitely lends a pat on the back to Scott Jorgensen. One of the significant parts of Mizugaki's skill-set was completely nullified by the clinch game in his more technical striking, and Jorgensen was able to use the clinch to unload the huge right hand that dropped Mizugaki in the opening moments of the fight.

Jorgensen's wrestling ability also came heavily into play in putting Mizugaki on his back enough to waste away time in which he could become effective in the striking department. Most people believed that Mizugaki's takedown defense was fairly tough to break, but Jorgensen was able to explode and finish on more than one occasion.

The interesting part about the takedown exchanges was that Mizugaki really didn't need to rely heavily on his defense as most would believe. He was easily able to transition and gain the clinch after being put completely on his back. In reality, Jorgensen's takedowns were really only a means to stop Mizugaki from landing the more technical strikes and pointing his way to victory. And it worked.

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One of the more heated debates we've been having within our own community here at BloodyElbow.com has been the ongoing struggle to find a legitimate challenger to B.J. Penn's belt at 155 pounds. While a lot of fans believe Gray Maynard can present a gameplan that could be a little troublesome for Penn, I've swayed my stance into the camp of fans that believe Penn is unbeatable against the current crop of talent in the UFC's lightweight division.

Some of the suggestions and rumors we've heard from fans and news sources have been the possibility of Shinya Aoki or Takanori Gomi making their way into the Octagon to eventually challenge Penn. Neither fighter seems like a threat in terms of skill, but many fans would love to see a crossover Japanese star in the cage against the UFC's best lightweight fighter. One of those fighters may be heading to the UFC sooner than you think.

According to @gryphonjapan on Twitter, Japanese MMA magazine Kamipro was quoted as stating:

@gryphonjapan - From Kamipro, "Now, Strikeforce and UFC offer Gomi Takanori. UFC's offer money is so good"

Now, his translation skills into incorrect English are self-admitted, just ask him, but the interesting talk coming from the magazine is that the UFC is offering some good money for Takanori Gomi to come stateside and fight in the UFC.

This news definitely hits at the debate as to whether the UFC would shell out some dough for Gomi in order to create a contender to Penn, even though to most hardcore fans -- Gomi would receive a drubbing at the hands of Penn. A showdown between the former PRIDE champion and the current UFC lightweight champion would probably be another win on Penn's record, but many fans will point out Gomi's admission following their 2003 tilt that he hardly trained at all for the fight due to the his own ignorance.

In more recent fights, Tony Hervey damaged him pretty badly in their Vale Tudo Japan 2009 match-up, and Satoru Kitaoka made him look like an amateur at Sengoku No Ran 2009. It's obvious that Gomi needs some sort of major motivation to become the fighter he once was, and a deal with the UFC could rejuvenate him.

I think it is safe to say that whatever the UFC is offering Gomi, he's probably not worth it at this point. I'm a bit more interested in the other fights that Gomi could take in the UFC than just a showdown with Penn. After all, Gomi did beat the 2000 Sydney Olympic Greco-Roman 69kg Silver medalist Katsuhiko Nagata in a combat wrestling match, and he's always been known for his power punching and boxing skills. I wouldn't mind seeing him against any top 10 opponent in the UFC.

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Jonathan Snowden over at Heavy.com put together an interesting list of the top 10 MMA Fighters of the decade, and it has brought about some debate as to who truly deserves to be on the list that encompasses such a lengthy time period. Snowden's picks are as follows:

1. Chuck Liddell
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Matt Hughes
4. Bob Sapp
5. Fedor Emelianenko
6. Tito Ortiz
7. Georges St. Pierre
8. Anderson Silva
9. B.J. Penn
10. Kimbo Slice

The list was created on the basis that these ten fighters are the most responsible for the sport's success pertaining to where it stands today. Obviously a number of these names are legitimate contributors to the where the sport has ascended to from 2000 to 2010, but there are some obvious names missing from the list.

Zach Arnold over at FightOpinion.com makes the case for Kazushi Sakuraba, Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic, Randy Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Wanderlei Silva, and I'd have to agree with some of his assessments. It's simply astounding that Kazushi Sakuraba isn't high on the list as his 90 minute bout with Royce Gracie took place in 2000.

His case for Nogueira is also very convincing as he was tied to both Sapp and Fedor, and he was a key fighter who was involved in the New Year's Eve rating wars in the television industry in Japan. And both Nogueira and Sakuraba fit heavily into the context of fighters who have helped the sport succeed immensely. Sakuraba is one of the sole fighters responsible for bringing in huge droves of fans in Japan back in 2000.

Check out Snowden's piece at Heavy.com for his explanations on his picks as well as Zach Arnold's additions at FightOpinion.com. Let us know your picks for the fighters of the decade. Would you drop any of these fighters in the context of helping the sport succeed over the last ten years? It's a very interesting question that should bring about a lot of debate among fans.

Photo by Esther Lin

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The Abu Dhabi Combat Club's grappling tournament is the pinnacle of the submission wrestling world. Competitors travel from all corners of the globe to compete in this grappling competition that pits the best practitioners of Sambo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Judo, and traditional wrestling against one another in a true skill vs. skill test of their knowledge, determination, and competitive spirit. Brazilian jiu-jitsu has been proven to be the "King" of these competitions as only Mark Kerr and Sanae Kikuta were able to break the streak of wins by the BJJ elite.

It comes as no surprise to fans that the dominant champions in the ADCC tournaments have a high propensity of becoming successful mixed martial arts fighters. Fabricio Werdum, Demian Maia, Rani Yahya, and Jeff Monson are just a few successful mixed martial artists who've been winners of past ADCC tournaments, and Strikeforce's newest middleweight acquisition in Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza happens to be another major player in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community.

Souza might be the absolute best 185 pound BJJ fighter in the world. He's a two-time World Jiu-Jitsu champion and the 2005 ADCC 77-87kg winner along with placing second only to Roger Gracie in the 2005 Absolute Division. Not only are his credentials impressive, his nickname, "Jacare", means "alligator" in reference to the grip he brings down on his opponents in the grappling department. It's safe to say that he'll put opponents into a "death roll" if a fight happens to hit the ground.

His winning performance on Saturday night at Strikeforce: Evolution might very well be his most impressive win to date. Although most fans would point at Matt Lindland's crushing 37-second loss to Vitor Belfort and his age (39) as evidence that the sport has passed him by, Souza did manage to show us an evolving striking game coupled with the ability to out-grapple nearly anyone that stands in front of him. His shredded physique and visibly powerful shoulders and arms only give further credence to the fact that he'll be a very tough battle for anyone in the division.

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According to MMAJunkie.com, Bellator has made another solid welterweight acquisition that will add more skill to an already-stacked season two welterweight tournament:

Bellator officials today informed MMAjunkie.com that "Judo Jim" has signed a multi-fight deal with the organization to compete in the tournament.

The organization soon hosts eight-man tourneys in four weight classes to determine No. 1 contenders for its season-one champions.

The second season, which commences in April, airs live on FOX Sports Net affiliates on Thursday nights, and highlights packages air on NBC and Telemundo over the weekend. Both the second and third seasons take place in 2010 and run for 12 weeks.

Dan Hornbuckle, Jacob "Tick Tock" McClintock, and former Olympic wrestler Ben Askren will also take part in the welterweight tournament in what could truly make for one of the best tournaments we've seen outside of PRIDE.

"Judo" Jim Wallhead (18-5) is a Judo black belt who won England's under-21 Judo championships at the age of 19 and earned his black belt at 16. He currently trains out of Team Rough House, known for housing Paul "Semtex" Daley, Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy, Andre Winner, Nick Osipczak, Dean Amasinger, and recently helping Ross Pearson train for his UFC 105 bout.

He's currently riding a six-fight win streak, but his strength of record isn't overwhelming to say the least. This will surely be his chance to shine with such touted fighters in the mix, and it's a warm welcome to a fighter who should have made it into one of the larger organizations much sooner. He was snubbed during The Ultimate Fighter 9 tryouts for being "too experienced", but he'll now have the opportunity to prove that he belongs in the spotlight.

Video of Wallhead's performances after the jump...

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A little over two years ago, Chris Horodecki was one of the most promising young lightweight mixed martial arts fighters in the world. He had carved out a spot for himself as an elite fighter in the International Fight League producing an eleven-fight undefeated streak that began right after his 18th birthday and continued through to his 20th birthday. His "babyface" looks and solid striking skills gave off the perception that Horodecki was a contradiction to what fighters were supposed to look like, but like many fighters before him -- Horodecki broke through those perceptions and produced winning performances.

Unfortunately for Chris Horodecki, he has never been able to win me over as a fan. While my significant other believes it's because his bout with the IFL's Ryan Schultz resembled a "domestic child abuse dispute" due to Horodecki's youthful appearance and the two-minute defenseless beatdown that Schultz gave him at the IFL Grand Prix Finals in December of 2007, I'd go against the grain of her casual fan status and point at his questionable decision to remain at lightweight and attack with relatively the same telegraphed offensive tactics as the source of his problems.

Sure, I'm no expert on weight cutting nor do I embody Chris Horodecki and know how his body responds to weight cutting, but sitting at 5'8" without the body type that a fellow lightweight fighter like Ben Henderson (5'8") shows makes me believe there is a cut to 145 or even 135 in his future.

Horodecki has never been an explosive puncher either. While he has the ability to land damaging strikes and catch opponents off guard with his kicks, nearly every exchange is telegraphed over and over again over the length of a fight. There is some variance in his strikes, but opponents can almost always rely on a flurry being followed by a kick. It becomes a rather futile effort when your opponent is a better kickboxer, taller, and has a lengthy reach advantage.

Let's forget about the rookie mistake that Horodecki made on Saturday night and look at the action before the head kick that left us scratching our heads. This was Njokuani's fight to lose unless Horodecki came out with a better offensive gameplan than his own standard kickboxing combinations. I held out some hope that two years of training might make this a battle, but my bettor's wallet laid the house on Njokuani for a reason. Horodecki hasn't evolved.

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Photo by Esther Lin.

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There are many different types of fans who watch this sport. The young guy who throws down beers on Saturday night with friends whose MMA world consists of the UFC and screaming at his television for the two combatants currently in the cage to stop grappling and start punching. The mid-level fans who understand the concept of multiple promotions, remember PRIDE, and watch the WEC, the UFC, and Strikeforce. The hardcore fans who scour the Internet for streams of the most obscure events in Japan and Brazil while also analyzing each fight in meticulous detail to see if they can spot the next big "thing" in the sport of mixed martial arts.

While most people wouldn't see a connection between any of these sects of fans, there are specific fighters and specific fights that bring all of these fans together in harmonious applause. It doesn't happen very often as we go weeks upon weeks of arguing about split decision victories, judging, match-ups, and the makeup of an event card, but Scott Smith put the entire fanbase back on the same heading in one flash of his fists.

Saturday night's Strikeforce middleweight showdown between Scott Smith and Cung Le was like something straight out of Rocky IV without the context of the Cold War and a synthetic Russian-made Dolph Lundgren. The arena erupted in applause for their hometown favorite Sanshou fighter Cung Le as he walked out to the cage, and they were awarded handsomely with a flurry of quick kicks, side kicks, and a spinning hook kick that found its home on Smith's body multiple times during the bout.

Like many of the events in San Jose, hometown favorites received much of the love from the crowd. But in what I believe is one of the more impressive feats we've seen over the course of the year in regards to changing moments during a fight, Scott Smith's fake right to a left hook bomb completely changed the outcome of the fight and the minds of the fans. After watching Smith be beaten senseless for two rounds, I found myself cheering for Smith's powerful hands to find their target, and it was evident that the fans in the arena were somehow drawn toward Smith's relentless will to survive.

Fans will continue to complain that Smith isn't a contender and he ruined the chances of Cung Le continuing as a headlining fighter, but even Smith isn't sold on being a top flight talent in the stacked Strikeforce middleweight division. Smith is in the promotion to entertain fans, and he delivered a performance to fans that he's continued to do over the course of his career. Terry Martin, Benji Radach, and Robbie Lawler were all classic Scott Smith performances, and we witnessed another classic on Saturday night.

Strikeforce isn't in this business to overtake the UFC. They want to grab their share of the pie. Cung Le vs. Scott Smith wasn't a quality headliner in terms of unbelievably skilled fighters facing each other. Le will never become a champion for Strikeforce following their recent acquisitions, but he will be a hell of an entertaining fighter to watch. Scott Smith won't be battling Dan Henderson in a main event title showdown at any point in the future. Accept it, get over it, and enjoy what we saw on Saturday night. A true warrior who fought through some stiff adversity to deliver like he's always promised to the fans of this sport.

Damian Grabowski tops our list of rising heavyweight prospects to keep your eye on! Photo courtesy of Freefighter

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Continuing our series of articles focusing on the free agent market as well as taking a look at some of the most promising rising stars, our focus will now turn to the heavyweight division. Many fans have taken shots at the UFC and Strikeforce for their lack of depth near the bottom of their heavyweight talent pools, but as I found out through my research and digging -- the worldwide search for heavyweight talent remains rather sparse even in the free agent market.

Check out the previous installments of this series here:  Welterweights, Middleweights, Light Heavyweights, smoogy's Lightweight piece

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that Josh Barnett (24-5) tops the list as the best free agent fighter in the heavyweight division. In terms of actual mixed martial arts skill, Barnett is the cream of the crop among free agents. His appeal as an attractive acquisition for U.S. promotions, however, has dropped substantially due to the positive steroid test that sunk Affliction: Trilogy and canceled the highly anticipated match-up with Fedor Emelianenko.

Japanese promotions like DREAM and World Victory Road are currently the primary suitors of Josh Barnett, but there are plenty of rumors circulating that Strikeforce might create a Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett showdown in February of 2010 as part of the DREAM/Strikeforce alliance. In any case, you can bet good money that the UFC and Strikeforce will stay away from exclusively signing Barnett as he's a risky bet with a history of positive steroid tests. Barnett may fight a Strikeforce fighter as part of the partnership, but DREAM would more than likely be the promotion who pays out the salary.

Other names that immediately trigger some old memories for fans that are still in the mix as legitimate free agent acquisitions include Pedro Rizzo (17-9), Sergei Kharitonov (16-4), Marcio "Pe De Pano" Cruz (6-2), and Aleksander Emelianenko (15-3). Rizzo and Kharitonov hold the most value as Rizzo still has the striking prowess to entertain fans and pummel lesser competition. He could make for some interesting rematches in the UFC, or act as an upper-echelon gatekeeper in Strikeforce. Kharitonov might have more appeal because he's only 29 years old, and the Strikeforce/DREAM alliance will probably be very interesting despite FEG allowing him to fight out his contract with a stint in K-1 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009.

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Mixed martial arts fans will have a tough choice to make on Saturday night as WEC 45 will air LIVE on Versus at the same time that Strikeforce: Evolution will air LIVE on Showtime at 10:00 PM EST. WEC 45 has some major benefits as it will feature the always exciting lighter weight classes with two solid lightweight battles with a possible "Fight of the Night" candidate in a bantamweight showdown between Takeya Mizugaki and Scott Jorgensen.

These fights will try to overcome the drawing power of Strikeforce's Cung Le, Josh Thomson, Gilbert Melendez, Scott Smith, and their newest acquisitions in Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal and Ronaldo Souza as well as UFC veteran Matt Lindland. While the Strikeforce card features many more veteran names that casual fans may have heard of in the past, the WEC's bouts normally fall into the category of "exceptional" with the torrid pace of the weight classes and powerful striking wars we've seen in the past.

The main event will feature a lightweight battle between vaunted submission specialist and Muay Thai kickboxer Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (10-2, 3-2-0-1 WEC) taking on a very explosive Karate practitioner in Ed "9mm" Ratcliff (7-1, 3-1 WEC). Cerrone comes into this contest after being defeated by Benson Henderson at WEC 43 via unanimous decision for the WEC Interim Lightweight title while Ratcliff is coming off a victory over Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Phil Cardella at WEC 42. Both men will be looking to gain some footing in the division's upper ranks, but a win for Ed Ratcliff would certainly increase his stock with the WEC's brass as he's relatively unknown to casual viewers. A win for Cerrone easily puts him in line for a shot at champion Jamie Varner, regardless of whether he wins or loses to Benson Henderson in the title unification bout at WEC 46.

Cerrone should have all the advantages in this fight as he'll have superior reach and grappling skills. Ratcliff's explosive spinning karate kicks and aggressive punching should provide some excitement, but his defense to counters has been careless. He tends to drop his hands after flurries, and he doesn't seem to circle out of danger when in trouble. He'll eat a number of blows while backpedaling to the fence, and he'll find more trouble if he gets caught in Cerrone's Muay Thai plum or on the ground. Ratcliff will provide some excitement in this fight, but my inner fan will be overwhelmed by my logical thought processes here. Cerrone should be able to stop Ratcliff in the later rounds.

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The main event bout on Saturday night at Strikeforce: Evolution will pit Vietnamese-born Sanshou fighter and former Strikeforce Middleweight champion Cung Le (6-0) against former UFC and EliteXC power puncher Scott Smith (16-6) who is probably best known for his miraculous knockout victory over Pete Sell at The Ultimate Fighter Season 4 Finale back in November of 2006. This will be Le's first bout following his win over Frank Shamrock in March of 2008 to attain the Strikeforce Middleweight belt. He vacated the belt on September 17th, 2009 due to his film career, and Jake Shields promptly won the title on November 7th in a five-round decision win over Jason "Mayhem" Miller. Smith enters the contest after being submitted by Nick Diaz in the third round of their match-up back in June. Smith's two previous bouts ended in knockout fashion with wins over Benji Radach and Terry Martin.

There isn't any mystery in what Scott Coker was thinking when this fight was in the works. Strikeforce has made it apparent that entertaining match-ups will be one of their major focal points when putting together great cards, and Cung Le vs. Scott Smith has the makings of being a brutal striking battle. Both men have very limited ground abilities and submission knowledge, and both men have a propensity to go for the knockout. It should, at the very least, be a fight that ends in dramatic fashion if either man happens to catch his opponent.

We have to really delve into the technical aspects of each fighter's skill-set to get a sense of how this fight might play out. While both men have solid striking ability that can produce knockouts, Cung Le seems to be much more knowledgeable in the takedown game than Smith. Kid Nate's piece on Cung Le's Sanshou takedowns takes a closer look at the set-ups and ways in which Cung is able to put his opponents in bad positions, but Cung will have a much harder time in trying to execute those types of takedowns against better competition. Furthermore, Cung's submission abilities would need to improve in order for him to take full advantage of Smith's weakness on the ground.

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