As promised, here's the slightly updated version.  I added a small section on Twitter, some history stuff, and a more complete assessment of SB Nation's combat sports offerings.  Thanks for everybody who made suggestions, and feel free to do so again.  Oh and Mr. Bolden is gone now, though I still mention the Bravo stuff.

Howdy.  My name is Justin Cave (though I go by Rundownloser here), and I imagine you might be here because of this whole UFC on Fox thing.  Sure you've heard of the UFC prior to this particular event, but something is a bit different this time.  For whatever reason, your interest is piqued and you have decided to investigate the topic with more diligence than ever before.  Thus, you have found yourself at Bloodyelbow.com (hereafter referred to as BE), perhaps unfortunately named but a terrifically informative blog nonetheless.  This is also the precipice, the last stop before the realm of the hardcore mixed martial arts fan.   As intimidating as that may sound, it should not deter you.  Not only is the MMA community a surprisingly edified lot, the members are generally jovial, agreeable, and (at least in my case) overwhelmingly handsome.

More importantly, MMA, especially at this stage, is a remarkable sport.  It is an everchanging landscape of techniques, skills, and styles, constantly evolving in the forge that is personal combat.  Even the tangentially related elements like contract negotiations and matchup speculation are open to you, given your interest.  And every aspect of the sport can be explored within the walls of this and other websites, except for MMAMania.com which is garbage.  This is partially because MMA, unlike most major sports, has had since the relatively early days a thriving online component.  This was especially true during the dark ages, when places like Sherdog.com and MMAWeekly.com were the only outlet for MMA content.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Navigating a new space, especially one with a dedicated fanbase, can be daunting in the beginning.  Therefore, allow me to assist.

I have written this Fanpost for I too was once a 'new fan'.  In the eyes of many, you will be part of at least the third or fourth generation of mixed martial arts fan (though seventh or eighth is probably closer).  The one previous in their minds will probably be those that began following more closely during the first five or so seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, a reality TV show which began on Spike in 2005 and is commonly referred to as TUF.  I am one of these, commonly referred to as 'TUF noobs' by folk whose genetics have not left their neanderthal roots.  If they have an eye for history, they may include another generation between yours and mine, who began following MMA after Brock Lesnar joined the UFC and before the UFC on FOX bit.  This is largely unimportant, but I've always erred on the on side of context.

Instead of drowning you with an endless stream of paragraphs too enervating to count let alone read, I will merely provide you with a bit of a primer and directions to other articles, sites, and content that you may continue to look into at your leisure.  None of this is truly necessary to enjoy this sport (as you already know), so investigate whatever headings strike your fancy.  Also, all this shit is free, outside the books and such.

Continue reading this post »

Howdy.  My name is Justin Cave (though I go by Rundownloser here), and I imagine you might be here because of this whole UFC on Fox thing.  Sure you've heard of the UFC prior to this particular event, but something is a bit different this time.  For whatever reason, your interest is piqued and you have decided to investigate the topic with more diligence than ever before.  Thus, you have found yourself at Bloodyelbow.com (hereafter referred to as BE), perhaps unfortunately named but a terrifically informative blog nonetheless.  This is also the precipice, the last stop before the realm of the hardcore mixed martial arts fan.   As intimidating as that may sound, it should not deter you.  Not only is the MMA community a surprisingly edified lot, the members are generally jovial, agreeable, and (at least in my case) overwhelmingly handsome.

More importantly, MMA, especially at this stage, is a remarkable sport.  It is an everchanging landscape of techniques, skills, and styles, constantly evolving in the forge that is personal combat.  Even the tangentially related elements like contract negotiations and matchup speculation are open to you, given your interest.  And every aspect of the sport can be explored within the walls of this and other websites, except for MMAMania.com which is garbage.  This is partially because MMA, unlike most major sports, has had since the relatively early days a thriving online component.  This was especially true during the dark ages, when places like Sherdog.com and MMAWeekly.com were the only outlet for MMA content.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Navigating a new space, especially one with a dedicated fanbase, can be daunting in the beginning.  Therefore, allow me to assist.

I have written this Fanpost for I too was once a 'new fan'.  In the eyes of many, you will be part of at least the third or fourth generation of mixed martial arts fan (though seventh or eighth is probably closer).  The one previous in their minds will probably be those that began following more closely during the first five or so seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, a reality TV show which began on Spike in 2005 and is commonly referred to as TUF.  I am one of these, commonly referred to as 'TUF noobs' by folk whose genetics have not left their neanderthal roots.  If they have an eye for history, they may include another generation between yours and mine, who began following MMA after Brock Lesnar joined the UFC and before the UFC on FOX bit.  This is largely unimportant, but I've always erred on the on side of context.

Instead of drowning you with an endless stream of paragraphs too enervating to count let alone read, I will merely provide you with a bit of a primer and directions to other articles, sites, and content that you may continue to look into at your leisure.  None of this is truly necessary to enjoy this sport (as you already know), so investigate whatever headings strike your fancy.  Also, all this shit is free, outside the books and such.

Continue reading this post »

Promoted from the FanPosts by Kid Nate.

Good news for those of you who only chuckled uncomfortably at this picture of Huerta.  From Sherdog.com's blog:

Roger Huerta and Gray Maynard are being eyed for a lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 19 on Sept. 16 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Sherdog.com has learned from a source familiar with the plans. UFC Fight Night 19 will serves as a lead-in for season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike TV.

This will fulfill the final fight on Roger's contract, having refused to sign an extension offered to him earlier this year, after which he can pursue his intended career path: acting (which one assumes to include a dalliance with both Laura Prepon and Scientology).

I'll have to admit that I see this as a bittersweet parting: This is a good fight and fits well within the arc of both fighters' careers.  Additionally, it isn't hard to see how this fight could be fairly enjoyable.  However, Huerta is a bright young prospect, whose grit and heart were able to carry him through adversity both in and out of the cage and it will be unfortunate to see such a talent give it up to be one more fairly handsome nobody in Hollywood.  That said, if a year from now Entertainment Weekly won't shut the hell up about his upcoming marriage to Megan Fox and Oscar nomination for his leading role in Terminator: Seriously, More F**king Explosions, I suppose I could see the wisdom in his decision.

Image via urdirt.com

Here's part of the entry for Emelianenko/Randleman:

Fedor Emelianenko is a merciless knockout machine that emerged from the ruins of war torn Stalingrad to avenge the angry dead. Kevin Randleman is a wrestler whose body was kidnapped by science and mostly replaced with horse DNA. After an early takedown by Randleman, Fedor scrambled to his feet and gave Randleman his back. It is stupidly inadequate to say that what followed next was the greatest suplex in the suplexiverse.

Randleman brought Fedor up in a perfect arc, jumped off his feet, and trebuchet’ed the weight of both of them directly on the point of Fedor’s head. It was like he was trying to make dinosaurs extinct again. When wheelchair salesmen watch it, their eyeballs turn to dollar signs.

But instead of bravely learning to walk again years later, Fedor swept him, got side control, punched him in the head 18 times, jumped to north-south, and locked in a kimura. All in the span of 45 seconds. For baseball fans, this is like getting your eye knocked out by a fastball, then hitting 16 home runs with one swing.

Other entries include  Joe Son/Hackney, Frye/Takayama, Eastman/Belfort.  How could this article get any better, you ask?  For each of the entries, there is a link to the respective fight on Youtube.  That's called journalism, people.

Image via www.mediabistro.com

From Sherdog.com's blog:

Monday, 12:30 a.m. ET: At the post-fight presser for Sengoku’s Eighth Battle, World Victory Road PR Director Takahiro Kokuho unveiled his plans for Japan’s first stab at MMA reality TV. Superficial similarities aside, “The Ultimate Fighter” it is not.

Dubbed “Project: Gold Rush,” Sengoku initially aims to cultivate up-and-coming fighters within three weight classes: 60, 65 and 70 kg (132, 143, 154 pounds). In the vein of Sengoku’s open tryouts and a natural extension of its fighter development program (of which Shigeki Osawa and Maximo Blanco are current products), the show is intended to foster the development of young fighters.

Featuring four to five handpicked fighters per weight class from various Japanese gyms, the young talents will fight each other over the course of four to five episodes. The finals in each weight class will be slotted as preliminary bouts on the Aug. 2 Sengoku Ninth Battle.

As an admitted fan of Sengoku -hence my many late nights with the Bloodyelbow Night Crew (NIGHTRIDER!!!)- I have to admit that I'm pretty bullish about this idea.  Firstly, I like that the most sport-oriented promotion east of Cathay is trying to build up their fighters intelligently.  Secondly, it is comforting to know that Sengoku is implementing plans that could see major long terms gains, both the fighters and the program itself, and are showing an eye for the long term.  Thirdly, when coupled with a little luck, this show could be a vehicle for creating major stars that could galvanize the public and eventually reinvigorate interest in MMA in Japan.

However, the most positive thing about this for me is that Sengoku has proven themselves to be willing to break ranks with conventional wisdom, take risks, and dance to their own tune.  This, more than anything else, makes me think that not only could they stick around for a while, but be successful.  Hell, it kinda worked for this one other promotion.

Expertly Photoshopped MS Painted Image via i669.photobucket.com

I have been thinking about this topic for a fanpost for a little while now, but I have to admit that I'm not all that well versed in these sorts of things.  Therefore, I'll put down tips regarding what little I do know, and I implore other folks to jump in and add other bits of know-how in the comments.  Hopefully some people find this helpful.

So, what I can help you with:

- Adding images to your fanpost or fanshot.

- Aligning said image to the left/right within the text (like the images in this piece).

- Importing a video into a fanshot (as opposed to just linking to it).

Here we go:

Adding an image to your post

1. Find the picture you'd like to use somewhere on "teh webz" or whatever you kids call it these days.  I don't know a way to upload them directly from one's hard drive, though you can upload them to something like photobucket, which will work (it's what I did for the formatting help image below).

2. Right click on the picture and then left click on "Copy Image Location".

3. Open your fanpost/fanshot.  If it is a fanshot, then make sure "Image" is selected (as opposed to link, quote, video, list, or chat) and paste the url into the "Image URL" area.  You can then add a little description that will appear below it, if you want (which I would generally advise).  If it is a fanpost, it's different.  Under the area that says "Intro Paragraph" you should see a big "B" (which turns selected text bold).  The next row of icons down and three to the right, you should see what looks to be a landscape scene with a border around it and a tiny plus sign in the bottom right hand corner.  Click that, paste the url in the space provided and hit "Import".  You'll notice a slightly reminiscent icon (of a tree with a white border) when you are writing a comment as well, which means you can in fact put pictures into your comment along with whatever idiotic ramblings you were planning.  However, this does not mean that you can start posting a bunch of goddamn lolcats, unless of course, you're BJJDenver.  However you imported it, congrats, you're done (sort of).

4. This point is partially due to my personal aesthetic sensibilities, but I'm writing this shit so I'll put what I damn well please, thank you very much.  Your image is posted, but if you're doing a fanpost there is an unsightly little link that comes with it.  I suggest that you cut that and paste it in at the bottom of your text.  Don't forget to add the word "Image" or "Photo" to it otherwise it'll only read "via http://..." making it look like your whole article came from that source, causing some confusion when it indicates that you got your big scoop about Fedor fighting Couture headlining UFC 110 at Madison Square Garden from a random photobucket account.

"But Rundownloser," you exclaim in a horrified wail, "this may put in an image, but it looks ugly sticking out above all the text.  How are we to solve this seemingly intractable disaster?"

For quick help, the image to the right, which I originally got from a post by Richard, should suffice.  I explain it in greater detail below.

Aligning an imported picture within your post
1. Import the picture as normal

2. Click "Switch to HTML editor".  It will be in the upper right hand corner of the window that you actually make write the fanpost in, just above the insert image/bold/italics area and to the right of the "Intro Paragraph"/"Entry Body" buttons.

3. Once there, locate the line of code for the picture, which will start with <a href= after which should be a url in quotation marks (that is your picture's url, i.e. where you are importing it from).

4. After the url for your picture there will be an end set of quotations and then ><img class=

5. After the equals sign, it should say something like "photo" (quotation marks included).  Within those quotation marks but separated from the word photo by a space, put in either left or right (so it should look something like this: "left photo" or "photo right"; the sequence does not matter).  That will align it within the text (and you can return to WYSIWYG to finish up your post with some level of convenience, but...).

6.  Again, another aesthetic point.  If you don't like the little white border that surrounds any imported image (like the one around the "help" image above), you can eliminate it by deleting the photo part (so it would look like "left" instead of "photo left", or "right" instead of "right photo", for example).

Importing a video into a fanshot

1. When you create a fanshot, click “video” among the choices for what type of fanshot you want to make (as opposed to “link”, “image”, etc.).

2. Then copy the embed code from the video in question (with youtube they are at the bottom of the description box on the right hand side) and paste it into the “HTML EMBED” area. You can even go back and edit your fanshot after publishing it (which goes for fanposts as well). I’ve had to many, many times.

3. And what would I be doing if I didn't include another ultimately petty aesthetic quibble?  My thoughts exactly.  So here it is: you should probably include some text in the "Description" area, to provide some context.  This also happens to be the best place to stick your piquant wit, what with the video taking up the rest of the room.

Important Note:

If you have any other tips, tricks, or help to provide, please add them in the comments.  Additionally, if you have a question, post in the comments and I (or God willing, somebody else) may be able to help you out.

"Help" image via www.dereham.org

"Quick Formatting Help" image via i669.photobucket.com

From MMAmania.com:

The official weigh-in event for Strikeforce: "Shamrock vs. Diaz" took place today (April 10) from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos once again failed to hit her mark, coming in seven pounds over the contracted 145-pound weight limit for her showdown against Hitomi Akano. She has several hours to lose at least 2.5 pounds, which would get her within six pounds of her opponent, otherwise the bout will be scrapped.

 

179 lbs.: Frank Shamrock (180) vs. Nick Diaz (180)
155 lbs.: Gilbert Melendez (154) vs. Rodrigo Damm (154.5)
185 lbs.: Benji Radach (184) vs. Scott Smith (184)
145 lbs.: Hitomi Akano (143.5) vs. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (152)*
265 lbs.: Ron Humphrey (239.5) vs. Brett Rogers (262.5)
185 lbs.: Buck Meredith (185) vs. Luke Rockhold (186)
185 lbs.: Waylon Kennell (185.5) vs. Eric Lawson (186)
185 lbs.: Raul Castillo (183) vs. Brandon Michaels (187.5)**
170 lbs.: Zak Bucia (170) vs. James Terry (170)
135 lbs.: Shingo Kohara (136) vs. Jeremy Tavares (134.5)

Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit in non-title fights.
* Cyborg has until 8 p.m. PT to shed at least 2.5 pounds
** Michaels also missed the mark on his first attempt

Certifiably ungood stuff here.  I don't know how rough cutting said pounds in that amount of time is for her, but it can't be the optimal situation.  That said, MMAWeekly.com reports:

"She shouldn’t have a problem cutting that by tonight," a representative of Santos’ camp told MMAWeekly.com shortly afterwards.

We'll see.

Update: Baudelaire posted this quote from Sherdog.com in the comments:

If Santos makes weight and the fight, she will be fined 20% of her fight purse, with half of the deduction going to the CSAC, and the remaining 10% to Akano.

Update II: This time from Fiveouncesofpain.com:

Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos has just re-weighed in at 150 pounds to face Hitomi Akano, which is a half pound above the maximum limit set previously this evening by the CSAC. However, the commission has decided to let the bout continue as planned with Cyborg at 150 pounds.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com is on the scene in San Jose where we have learned from Akano’s representatives that she is declining on the fight.

Prima facie, all I can say is this: tip of the hat to Akano for declining the fight and a wag of the finger to the CSAC for fudging it for convenience again.

Photo via mmafrenzy.com

The story coming out of MMAWeekly.com:

Affliction will counter-program UFC 100 on the summer date with its third event at a location yet to be determined, according to sources close to the situation.

Plans are to air the event to fans on non-premium cable television, although sources could not confirm the broadcast platform. Affliction Entertainment has partnered with Fox Sports Net and HD Net for the undercards of its first two events, so either would be a likely candidate for Affliction 3.

Additionally, WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett are expected to fight on the card, but likely not against each other. According to one source, the cost of the heavily anticipated fight would be too expensive for a non-pay-per-view broadcast. Other sources indicate that Affliction is trying to put together another heavyweight bout, pitting former UFC champion Tim Sylvia against Paul Buentello, though it has not yet been agreed to.

The article also goes on to state that none of the sources indicated that Affliction is planning this event as a final hurrah.

Honestly, with this info, I am officially done with Affliction rumors.  The public statements from the company are contradictory enough, let alone the constant back and forth rampant speculation rumors.  So I'm only gonna believe any of this if it goes down and not a second sooner.

As to the actual rumor, the whole affair reminds me of a quote from Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch, during the Battle of The Marne in 1914:

My center has collapsed. My right flank is weakening. Situation excellent. I am attacking.

Incidentally, the Allies were victorious and he survived the war.  Lord knows if lightning is gonna strike twice here.  At the least, you can get a little culture with the unending will they/won't they insanity of Affliction's business model.

via image.cinewel.com

Straight from ufc.com:

The Ultimate Fighting Championship today announced that it has signed top-ten middleweight contender Yoshihiro Akiyama to an exclusive promotional contract that will see him step into the UFC Octagon for the first time this summer.

"I’m excited to bring Akiyama into the UFC and I can see him making an immediate impact in the middleweight division," said UFC President Dana White. "Besides his great judo and submission game, he’s a finisher, and UFC fans are going to love watching him because he always shows up to fight."

...

Press conferences in Japan and Korea will take place in the coming days; details to be announced shortly.

No opponent or date has been determined for Akiyama’s UFC debut.

Big news here and more evidence that the UFC is planning big, big stuff for Japan and South Korea in the future.

HT: The Jordan Breen Show

MMAjunkie.com has the story:

Rafael Assuncao, who has 10 stoppage victories among his 12 career pro victories, has signed a multi-fight deal with the WEC, his manager, Malki Kawa from First Round Management, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

As MMAjunkie.com recently reported, Assuncao had been considering offers from the WEC and the upstart Bellator Fighting Championships, where he would have competed in BFC's eight-man featherweight tournament.

"(WEC matchmaker) Sean Shelby developed a relationship with Rafael," Kawa said. "At the end of the day, some people do things for money. Some people do it for prestige. Rafael did it because the WEC developed a solid relationship with him."

Rafael is widely considered a top featherweight, whose talents have been long sought after by several organizations (including the WEC and Bellator).  The twenty-seven year old had been signed to the AFL; however, he was recently granted a release from that contract and became a free agent.

I have linked to his Sherdog FighterFinder page here, so that you may become more aquianted with Mr. Assuncao.  Upon viewing, one should note a couple key pieces of information:

- He has wins over Joe Lauzon in 2006 and Jorge Masvidal in 2005.  Additionally, his victory over Lauzon was by way of submission.

-His lone career loss (out of thirteen bouts) is by majority decision to Jeff Curran.  Said fight can be seen on Youtube: Round 1, Round 2, and Round 3.

All told, this is a huge addition to the featherweight division in the WEC and bodes well for the division in 2009 and beyond.