This FanPost Was Promoted to the Front Page By Anton Tabuena

With Bellator’s sixth season (technically the seventh season overall if you count last summer’s "Summer Series) wrapping up this past weekend, I thought I’d take a couple of minutes to reflect on the season that was.

As we’ve come to expect from Bellator, this season offered us quite a roller coaster ride as fans – and I don’t necessarily mean that in a positive way .

We got everything from all-out wars, to contenders for "snoozer of the year." We got dynamic, exciting tournaments right along with some headscratchingly-poor matchmaking decisions. We got excitement, fun fights, and a big ol’ dollup of weird – pretty much what we’ve come to expect from MMA’s "little promotion that could".

And since I’m such a Clint Eastwood type of guy myself (I too, enjoy wearing colorful ponchos and not telling people my name) I thought I’d go all spaghetti western for our stroll down (recent) memory lane. So without further ado, let’s look back on the season that was, and recall "the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" of Bellator’s sixth season.

Continue reading this post »

Imagine if right now, this moment, you were told you were going to be in a fight.

I know, I know – the internet tough guy immediately comes back with “Bro, dude, I fight all the time! I get in fights every day. I’m like a living legend on these streets. JUMP IN MY GUARD, BRO!”

Ok, so now that the knee-jerk reaction has been taken care of for you and the whole internet knows what a bad man you really are – if you could, think a bit harder for me.

Think about the times you knew you were going to be in a fight.

If your experiences are anything like mine, your mindset didn’t resemble the UFC’s version of what a “fighter” thinks about before a fight. You weren’t getting ready to “bear witness to the fitness of the modern warrior”. You weren’t amped to “face the pain”. You certainly weren’t looking forward to your noggin being in the way as “BOOM another hit is landed.”

Chances are you were feeling pretty damn apprehensive. Not scared per se, not afraid – but damn, damn nervous.

See, fighting is the most naked activity a human being can participate in. Wait, that sounded wrong. Let’s try again: Fighting is the frothy lubricant for our emotional…ah damnit! One more time: the act of combat causes us to grope uncomfortably into the darkest deepest cracks of…oh forget it!

Simply put: fighting is definitive in a way other sports simply aren’t.

I bet you can’t remember every game of basketball, or golf, or rugby, or whatever that you’ve ever played. Even the “big” games – championships, rivalry games, that sort of thing – fade in time.

But I’m willing to bet that you remember, with picture-perfect clarity, every single fight you’ve ever been in.

To use the example of Brett Favre, his interception against the Saints in the NFC championship game made him one of the most despised guys in sports – for a brief time. Oh, and he also took pictures of his junk and sent them to people. That was kind of a smear as well.

But it doesn’t matter. He’s retired now, and will be remembered as one of the all-time greats. And as many times as he screwed up (and he did) he always had another season to redeem himself.

Each season, the slate was wiped clean – for the team, and for the players on it. No New Orleans Saints fan still claims their team is the best because they won the Superbowl almost three years ago.

Forrest Griffin is a former world champion, a PPV headliner, and an all-time great with 14 UFC fights to his name. How much you want to bet that every time his name is brought up with fans, in the media, wherever – the first thing that comes to mind is Anderson Silva. That fight was in 2009, the same year/season the Saints went all the way to the Superbowl, yet in one sport the slate is completely wiped clean.

In the other sport, our sport, the stigma of defeat will hang around Forrest’s neck forever.

He’ll never get another season to rectify that. There isn’t a tour coming up where they’ll meet again. They won’t meet every 2 months, like tennis stars. His only chance for redemption is a rematch. And with Forrest’s career winding down and Anderson newly busy at middleweight, that’s not likely to happen.

All the respect Forrest earned before the Silva fight – like winning a world championship, or being in the most important fight in MMA history – was all but erased in the minds of many fans with that one, smashing defeat.

It’s not right, it’s not fair, but it’s the cold, hard truth about MMA. About combat sports. About fighting.

I could blame mentality. I could blame the “winning is everything” mindset of the American fan. I could blame Vince Lombardi. I could blame “Mortal Kombat” or “Bloodsport” or “Highlander” for inspiring this “victor vanquishes the defeated” mindset in combat sports. I could blame Obama – that seems to be in style with you Yanks right now.

But the simple truth is: it’s human nature. Being better at a silly children’s game is fleeting, trivial, and next to meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

But being better at a fight? That goes right back to our most primal instincts. That’s some “law of the jungle” sh*t. When one person beats another person in a direct, violent physical confrontation, it’s akin to an evolutionary statement that says to everyone watching “I am better. My genes are superior. I am a better mate, provider, and specimen of human being.”

Are there exceptions? Of course. We’ve all seen those fights that were all out wars, where the announcers proclaim that “neither man really lost this fight,” or something similar. The Gatti vs. Ward trilogy in boxing is a great example of that rare instance where the winner of the fight isn’t as important as the fight itself.

But these are the exceptions, rather than the rule. 90% of the time, in life as in combat sports, one guy beats the other, and now the winner>the loser. Case closed, let’s move on.

Now I ask you again: imagine you were told, right now, that you were going to be in a fight. And your friends, family, and everyone you ever knew would all be watching this fight. Imagine 20,000 people were gathered ‘round to watch this fight. Imagine there were whole blogs, news sites, and articles devoted to looking at whether or not you were going to get your ass kicked. Can you possibly imagine the total vulnerability – emotional, mental, physical – such a situation would force in you?

That’s what a fighter faces every time he gets in the cage. And he faces something else, too – the possibility of complete humiliation and defeat, that unless he is a big name in a big money fight, he’ll likely never get the chance to avenge.

In every action you take as a fan, in every critical word you write, in every insult you drunkenly hurl at a boring fight, in every dismissive, critical notion that a fighter is “done”, “overrated” “exposed” or anything else – never, ever forget this.

It’s pretty much the least we can do, don’t you think?

By Elton Hobson, who's decision to go all sentimental with this post and wax poetic about the unfair nature of combat sports hopefully makes him sound humble and insightful, instead of shallow and whinny. Worst-case scenario, talking about himself in the 3rd person ought to bring back all the tough guy MMA fans he just turned off with this little "3 hanky surprise".

Hobbie’s finally lost it. I know that’s what most of you are thinking after reading that title. Either that, or I’m a dozen puffs in to one of Nick Diaz’s pre-fight “supplement” cigarettes.

No, my mind is clear thank you very much. Well, I did sort of black out a tiny bit between my bowl of breakfast paint chips and my post-shower hit of crystal meth this morning, but that happens most mornings so…whatever. Oh, I also had half and half in my coffee because I was feeling crazy.

But back on topic: I hope your brain has a napkin or old gym sock handy to wipe up, because I’m about to blow your mothaf*ckin’ mind!

Here goes - Nick Diaz is MMA’s shrewdest businessman.

“Nick Diaz” and “businessman” in the same sentence!? Am I nuts? Aren’t I aware that the only time the word “businessman” ever came out of Nick’s mouth was when he said “Mind your own business, man!” to the commission doctor asking about the contents of his urine sample.

Before I can explain the genius of Nick Diaz, let me dispel you of a simple notion that is held sacred in the MMA world: acting like a complete tool is bad for your career. This theory goes that if a fighter doesn’t keep obligations, fails drug tests, engages in criminal behaviour, courts as much controversy as possible and generally acts as selfishly as possible, this results in damage to his career.

History – and MMA history especially – shows what hogwash this really is.

Let’s look at the most obvious example of this rule in action: Mr. Chael P. Sonnen. In just a short span of time, Sonnen:

-Lost the biggest fight of his career

-Failed his post-fight drug test

-Got indicted for mortgage fraud

-Was caught lying about the head of a major athletic commission

-Blamed his non-functioning manhood for his needing to take testosterone

-Got suspended and lost his title shot

See, none of this “bad behaviour” actually hurt Sonnen’s career. Oh sure, he lost his real estate liscense. And he got that 6 month suspension. With all that free time, Sonnen appeared on every sports talk show from here to Katmandu.

By acting like a total doofus, Sonnen only added to his “mystique”. No, I don’t mean Sonnen is some blue mutant chick with no genitals (would explain the hyopgonadism excuse, however). Just that every bad action, every racist comment and failed drug test and criminal conviction only added to his reputation as a “bad guy”.

See, us fans can claim to hate these “bad boy” antics but the truth is: we can’t get enough of them. It’s the reason Floyd Mayweather drew the biggest PPV buyrate of the year – right before he went to federal prison. It’s the reason Brock Lesnar was the biggest name in MMA post-UFC 100. It’s the reason Chael Sonnen has MMA’s version of “Piper’s Pit” on network television.

And Nick Diaz has figured this out. He’s not missing these events, failing these tests, and flipping these birds because he’s an unbalanced Stockton street kid with undisclosed mental issues, an army of yes men, and a medical marijuana card.

He’s doing it because he’s gaming the system on a whole other level.

Think about how many more people cared about the UFC 137 press conference because Nick Diaz wasn’t there. Think about how many more people wanted to see Nick’s next fight after the Nashville brawl/disaster. Think about all the news, accusations, recriminations, and general discussion Nick generated simply by not showing up to a charity grappling exhibition.

I swear, the ADCC’s, the Mundials and the NCAA division 1 freestyle wrestling championships combined didn’t get as much coverage on MMA blogs as Nick Diaz’s not being at a regional grappling event.

That’s thinking on a higher level.

For the price of not showing up, Nick Diaz – who is currently suspended, facing further punishment from the NSAC, and nowhere near a major world title – is the talk of the MMA world. Maybe he’s a “risk” for promoters. But he’s someone people are willing to pay to watch. And just when you think he’s out of the picture, he finds a way to get right back into the centre of it again.

Maybe it’s accidental genius – but it’s still genius nonetheless.

By Elton Hobson, who doesn’t really think Nick Diaz is a genius. He just likes writing about the strange phenomenon of MMA fans hating on the actions of fighters – whose same actions they seemingly can’t get enough of. He decided to skewer this behavior by…writing about the bad actions of a fighter he seemingly can’t get enough of.

Hey, I’m not above the system either.

With UFC on Fox having just happened, and JDS vs. Mir coming up, you might be wondering why I'm taking the time to write about a fighter with no fights on the (near) horizon, outside the Zuffa umbrella, who (for the first time, really) isn't really in the MMA news spotlight right now.

I have a very good reason: because this is my article, and I'll do whatever the heck I want! You're not my Dad! You can take my land, but you'll never take my blog content! ATTICA! ATTICA!

No, actually there is a good reason, one even having to do (a teensy bit) with UFC on Fox - but we'll get to that in a bit.

While perusing the MMA news headlines recently, I came across this gem from a little while ago. It's Dana White discussing those halcyon days way back in 2009, when he and the Fertitta's were trying to court Fedor Emelianenko to the UFC for the umpteenth time.

Anyone who was an MMA nerd back then remembers how insane the "Fedor is coming to the UFC" hype was. Sure, this was a news story that cropped up every few months or so (it still does, actually) but this time was special. The timing was perfect, the opportunity was there, and everything seemed set for the biggest signing in MMA history.

It never happened. Like something out of a Dr. Seuss story, White and company offered Fedor money. They offered M-1 exposure on their PPV broadcast. They offered him even more money. They offered to let him compete in Sambo tournaments. And did I mention they offered him a ton of money?

But still, Fedor would not eat those green eggs and ham, Sam I Am.

Now lots has been written about this failed business deal, by folks far more "in the know" than I. Still, reading over this news item, I couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy. There's so much to regret in the failed UFC/Fedor deal, and the passage of time has only added to the unbelievable sense of missed opportunity for Fedor.

Why do I say that? There's a few reasons, but chief among them are:

Fedor would have beaten Brock Lesnar

I know I know, there's nothing worse than some blogger stating that fighter X would "definitely" beat fighter Y, especially in a past-tense, completely hypothetical scenario.

But follow my logic here. Circa 2009, the Brock/Fedor fight was viewed as extremely competitive, with maybe a slight edge to the more experienced Fedor. But in the nearly 3 years since that fight fell apart, we've learned two pretty inarguable facts about Mr. Brock Lesnar:

1) He doesn't like getting hit by guys who have big power...or even some power...or fists...or anyone, really.

2) His ground and pound really isn't all that fierce to anyone who isn't Frank Mir - and Frank has a strange habit of calmly letting his opponents punch him in the face sometimes.

Call me crazy, but a Lesnar/Fedor fight in 2009 would have gone pretty much like all Brock's fights have gone post-UFC 100: a minute or two of feeling out, followed by Fedor landing a big shot, and Brock disco-dancing, falling like a drunk, and basically looking like he wants to be anywhere but in the cage fighting.

And in case anyone thinks I'm being disrespectful to Brock, let me state emphatically: I would have EXACTLY the same reaction if Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, or Alistair Overeem so much as made eye contact with me, let alone actually hit me.

Still, that whole diverticulitis issue might have kept Brock from his big date with destiny, in which case

Fedor would have beaten Randy Couture

Randy Couture? What the hell is he doing here?

Well, some of you may remember that before Brock/Fedor was all the rage, the superfight of superfights was Fedor vs. Captain America himself.

So call me crazy, but if Fedor had come over to the UFC in late 2009, with Brock on the shelf - this would have been the UFC interim title fight instead of the (much later) Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir. Remember that Randy was still a heavyweight at this time, and fought Big Nog in late 2009 in one of my personal all-time favourite fights.

In that fight, we saw the excellent wrestler Couture outmanuvered a couple times on the mat by the BJJ black belt Nogueira - who was himself outclassed on the ground by Emelianenko on multiple occasions.

Without his wrestling to fall back on, Randy would have been forced to strike with Fedor. And seeing as how Randy has been dropped by strikes in all of his recent fights that didn't feature Mark Coleman or James Toney - well, I think you see where I'm going here.

But if you're thinking that this Couture/Fedor scenario is complete hogwash, it doesn't matter because

Fedor would have beaten Frank Mir

Assuming they didn't bump Randy up for an interim title fight, you can bet your bottom dollar Fedor would have taken the mostly-unknown Shane Carwin's spot in the eventual UFC interim title fight.

And as I talked about before, Frank Mir has a strange propensity for being a calm Zen master while his opponent is teeing off on his face. Sure, his elite ground game means there's always the possibility of a Fabrico Werdum-type freak submission loss for Fedor - but somehow, I just don't see it (though I suppose I didn't "see it" with Werdum, either).

In fact, I think this fight would be a round or two of pretty good kickboxing from both men, before Fedor uncorks the same left-hand that dropped Brett Rogers - and sends Mir's perfectly coiffed head flying into Joe Silva's lap.

What's my point with all this hypothetical faffery? Only that Fedor would have had a somewhat easy path to a UFC title - and therefore, a somewhat easy path to the sort of high-profile market penetration he's been looking for in the U.S his whole career.

Eventually, he would have run into the Cain Velasquez's and Junior Dos Santos' of the division. And likely, he would have lost. But these men are kings of the division today, so that's nothing to sneeze at.

What Fedor would have gained in those brief couple of years is the legitimacy (stateside, at least) that comes with being a UFC champion. The saddest thing about Fedor's recent career trajectory is that the Dana White version of Fedor's career ("He's overrated! He fights handpicked opponents! He was never anything special! He was ducking serious competition in the UFC!") is becoming the official truth.

It doesn't matter what you or I think. It doesn't even matter what the truth is. Legions of casual fans will grow up in the sport on the "Fedor is overrated" theory, and 20 years from now no one will remember it ever being any other way.

And just to paint the biggest picture of sadness and regret possible: there's a chance, assuming the stars aligned the right way, that the first UFC on Fox could have featured Fedor, defending his heavyweight title against a Cain or JDS.

That one fight (and the promotion behind it) would have done more for Fedor's legacy in the sport than his decade of undefeated dominance ever could.

Damn.

By Elton Hobson, who would like to remind you that every assumption he made in this article was purely hypothetical conjecture - so if you disagree, please attack him in the most vulgar, personal terms possible otherwise HE WON'T EVER LEARN!

As a student of history, I've always been sadly amused by the many ways France found to screw up during the two World Wars.

No, I'm not here to bash the French - unlike many in North America, I still remember a chubby little fellow named Napoleon Bonaparte, who was kicking a** and eating cheese while we were still carving civilization out of the bush here in North America. But still, you can't help but shake your head at the way the French military learned the lessons (or didn't) of the World Wars.

Before the First World War, the humiliation of the Franco-Prussian wars were still fresh in the minds of French military planners. “We 'ave to take back our lost terry-tori!” the thinking went “so our strategy must be attack, attack, attack! The elan (fighting spirit) of our soldiers will carry the day!”

This mentality of “attack no matter what” led to the absolute slaughter at places like Verdun, where wave after wave of French soldiers charged into the teeth of trenches, mortars, and machine guns in bloody futility.

“Sacre bleu!” the French military brass exclaimed after the war, “that strategy was 'orrible! We lost so many men! For the next war, we should focus on defence, defence, defence!”

So they built the Maginot Line, perhaps the most impressive defensive work in modern history, on the border with Germany. Lesson learned, right? Except when the Germans invaded next in 1940, they launched a lightning attack around the flanks of the Maginot Line, cutting off the French army in their (now uesless) defensive line and bagging the whole country in a matter of weeks.

France learned lessons from the two wars – they were just the wrong lessons. They were too focused on re-fighting the last war, while their enemies were figuring out how to win the next one.

I wonder if the UFC and Fox aren't making the same mistakes with their strategy for “UFC on Fox”. And more importantly than that – what have the lessons of UFC on Fox really been thus far?

Let's take a look at the UFC's thought process for these events so far. We'll start with the first card, where the thinking went something like:

Big, Important World Title Fights Are All That Matters

For the First UFC on Fox, we got Junior Dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight championship of the world – and nothing else.

The thinking here was pretty clear: for our debut effort, fans need to feel they're watching something truly epic. We don't have time to introduce a whole card of fighters, so we'll focus only on the main event, build the two men fighting in it up like gods in the PR, and put make it for the heavyweight championship, which any sports fan can understand the significance of.

The ratings for UFC on Fox 1 shows that, to a large extent, this strategy was successful. However, as Joe and Goldie tell us so often, “anything can happen in MMA.” And having your clash of the titans end in 64 seconds was a jarring letdown for the months of promotion that preceded it. Fans tuned in expecting to see The Hulk vs. Thor. Instead, they got The Hulk vs. Loki (Avengers humour – if you haven't seen it yet, my condolences on being trapped under that rock all weekend).

So coming off that show, the new motto for UFC on Fox could be summed up roughly as

No Matter What, There Can Be No Quick, Disappointing Finishes

For UFC on Fox 2, the UFC booked three fights that were all pretty much guaranteed to go into deep waters. And instead of relying on months of promotional effort that can, in mere seconds, be flushed away, they booked established stars the MMA fanbase was already familiar with. Micheal Bisping, Chael Sonnen, and Rashad Evans are all known commodities with a proven track record of drawing eyeballs.

What the UFC got was a classic case of “be careful what you wish for”. No quick finishes this time – instead, all three fights went to decision in slower, tactical, mostly wrestling-based affairs with very little drama.

Booking guys like Sonnen or Evans because of their name value with fans is a good idea. But the UFC (and fans too, let's be honest) seemed to forget that outside of being despised heels, both guys have a reputation for putting on “boring” fights.

And on network TV, we got exactly what we should have expected from both men: Chael Sonnen, with his Greco-Roman based attack and exactly one finish in nine UFC fights, grinding out a win in signature fashion over Mike Bisping. And Rashad Evans, coming off some absolutely despised performances against “Rampage” and Thiago Silva, and with his 1000th title shot on the line, used a similar style to shut down the less experienced Phil Davis.

For my part, I enjoyed all the fights that night. But I'm weird. By and large, fans were left yawning by night's end instead of cheering. So for this most recent UFC on Fox, the UFC changed up their thinking again to

Exciting Fights Are All That Matters

A 64 second KO. Three plodding decisions in a row. For their third outing on Fox, the UFC evidently decided to sacrifice all on the altar of exciting fights - including big name fighters and world title fights.

And again, the UFC got exactly what they asked for. Top to bottom, all the fights delivered excitement, drama, and some damn exciting finishes. The problem is that this time, no one was watching.

Ok, that's an exaggeration on the level of “Pedro Rizzo is a credible opponent for Fedor Emelianenko.” But according to the earliest reports, the ratings for this outing on Fox are down significantly from the last two shows. And the reason most folks are jumping to is the lack of “star power” on the card.

I mean sure, Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller was a guaranteed exciting fight – but if you don't know who Jim Miller or Nate Diaz is in the first place, you won't be bothered to tune in on a night featuring a big boxing match, an NBA playoff, and perhaps the biggest cinematic event of our lifetimes playing in theatres.

So with three events on the books, and three differing philosophies guiding each one, I put it to you: what should the UFC book for the fourth Fox show? The talk is that Hector Lombard will headline against Brian Stann, but let's assume for a moment that's not set in stone. What philosophy should the UFC use to book their next Fox outing? Was one of their previous methodologies the right one – or have they yet to hit upon the right formula for that slam dunk, out of the park UFC on Fox event we've all been waiting for?

I legitimately don't know. And my fear is the UFC is in the process of building the Maginot Line, when they should be getting ready for blitzkrieg.

By Elton Hobson

What’s the simple answer to the question of which fight is most important Saturday night? The main event, obviously. That’s why it’s the main event.

But it’s not always that simple with UFC cards, especially when it comes to their UFC on Fox outings.

The first one obviously was all about the main event: Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos, in a real life clash of the titans. And while that fight is viewed today as something of a letdown, I take some comfort in the fact that, unlike the film “Clash of the Titans”, Velazquez vs. Dos Santos only took 64 seconds to disappoint you on every level, while not featuring Sam Worthington in any way. So there’s that.

Then there was UFC on Fox 2, headlined by Rashad Evans in his millionth or so #1 contender’s bout against Phil Davis. Now I don’t know about you, but to just about everyone at the bar I was watching at, the real main event was the Chael Sonnen vs. Mike Bisping co-main event. Sure, both fights were slower, mostly wrestling-based affairs with little drama – yet the only complaint we levelled against Sonnen was that he didn’t insult nearly enough ethnic minorities in his post-fight interview.

Now we have UFC on Fox 3 (yep, I can still count) headlined by Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller. Again, it would seem that the main event is the biggest fight of the night – but I’m not so sure. This is the deepest card yet for a UFC on Fox event, a card stacked with interesting and relevant fights.

Which one is the most important - let’s find out, shall we?

And just to help you out (and because I’m feeling crazy) I’ve already numbered them in order of importance.

Continue reading this post »

I can hear you sharpening the pitchforks already. Don’t lie. You read this title, and thought “Oh good, another angry blogger complaining about something – time to bury this mofo in a deeper grave than Elite XC!”

Even worse, this complaining comes on the heels of UFC 145 – the event that marked the triumphant return of MMA to the public sphere after a month-long absence (not counting that little sojourn to the land of Vikings, literacy, and women with dragon tattoos).

In actual fact, I loved UFC 145. This card marked one of the rare occasions where I watched the entire event, from Facebook prelims to the main event, and from start to finish it was an entertaining, exciting night of fights.

Yet this week still represented some serious disappointments for me. So here I am, about to get more complaining done than C-3P0 in all the “Star Wars” flicks. Why is that? I have my reasons – and they’re mostly arbitrary, almost entirely silly, and pretty much nobody’s fault in particular.

You’ve been warned.

The Sideburns do Nothing!

I’m not going to lie – coming into UFC 145, I had a maybe 5% inkling that Chad Griggs could be a force in the heavyweight division. Not a world beater, not a champion, but a “name” face in the division.

Just in case you’re wondering – yes, I’m aware your respect for me is disappearing faster than a platter of Twinkies sitting next to Anthony Johnson.

Why this strange affinity for Griggs? I have no idea, really. Maybe it was the fact that he was riding a 6-fight winning streak into this fight. Maybe it was because he was the man to pop the Bobby Lashley hype bubble. Maybe it’s because his sideburns are the secret envy of men the world over.

It’s safe to say that 5% inkling has dropped pretty much into the fractional range at this point.

What a beating.

What’s worse, however, was the way Griggs looked on his way to that crushing defeat. On his feet, he was merely outgunned; when the fight hit the ground, he looked as lost as an Italian cruise ship captain. This was a performance that screamed “not ready for the elite level” so loudly you could almost hear it over Joe and Goldie’s humiliating breakdown of all the moments Griggs f*cked up in this fight.

Mark Hominick: UFC Title Contender

Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin was an absolutely beautiful – and beautifully brutal – fight that deserved “Fight of the Night” honors. And no, I’m not going to complain about the decision. This fight was close. It could have gone either way. It’s as simple as that.

I wrote going into this fight that Eddie Yagin was as close to a “rebuild” fight as Hominick was likely to get in the UFC, making this the most dangerous kind of fight for a fighter – one that they’re expected to win.

The loss means Hominick has likely faded from the title picture like Marty McFly’s family in “Back to the Future”. Worse, this loss – his 3rd in a row – means his future in the UFC could be in jeopardy.

Watching one of the nicest, hardest working, and potentially biggest stars in Canadian MMA continue to struggle when he should be shining really makes me feel like chuggin’ from a flask of Canadian Club and listening to some Gordon Lightfoot (what the hell?).

Overeem’s a Cheater, After All

Before anyone starts throwing rocks, let me make it clear: I’m in no position, either of authority or knowledge, to cast blame or judgement on Alistair Overeem. Still, at the risk of rushing to judgement, this is a situation of their being so much smoke that either there’s a fire, or Nick Diaz is breaking in his new bong.

Trying to flee from the building before he could get tested? Changing his reason for doing so about 100 times? Bringing a doctor to the commission hearing so incredibly inept that Chael Sonnen’s osteopath looks like Marie Curie by comparison?

The Reem did all that, and came off looking pretty damn guilty as a result. The NSAC agreed, serving him with a 9-month suspension that will keep him out of action for the rest of 2012. It would have been a more stinging rebuke if the commission hadn’t spent the last 20 minutes of the hearing extolling the virtues of the man they had just labeled a liar and a cheat.

This ruling forever attaches an astrix to the accomplishments of Alistair Overeem. Everything Alistair has accomplished since he turned Super Sayain a couple years ago – winning the K-1 World Grand Prix, establishing his dominance in Strikeforce, getting a title shot in the UFC – will be thrown into doubt. Everything he does from here on out will carry that same doubt.

This disappoints me because Overeem was possibly the most exciting, interesting guy in the heavyweight division, a man seemingly destined to become a huge star in the UFC. Now he has the mistrust of Dana White and the athletic commissions, the scorn of most fans, and a year on the shelf with nothing to do but be forgotten by most casual MMA fans.

No Silva vs. Sonnen II in Brazil

Speaking of controversial fighters forever battling the stigma of past PED use – Chael Sonnen!

Without a doubt, the biggest fight this year – for me, at least – is Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II. This fight just has everything you look for in any main event: an exciting first fight, two strong personalities, and lots of history. But for me, the icing on the delicious, violence-flavoured cheesecake of Silva vs. Sonnen II was surely that the fight was going to be held in Brazil.

And not just anywhere in Brazil, but in an 80,000 seat soccer stadium. Now anyone who’s seen the two UFC events in Brazil knows that the Brazilian crowd is without a doubt the craziest in all MMA. It’s not even close. And anyone who saw 55,000 Canadians pack the Rogers Centre for UFC 129 last year knows stadium shows have a special sort of significance.

But thanks to United Nations intervention, the biggest fight in MMA history isn’t happening where it should be happening.

First of all, there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write. Secondly, I still can’t wrap my head fully around the problems this U.N summit raised for Silva vs. Sonnen II. Not enough hotel rooms? Surely Rio, one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world, can accommodate both events at the same time. Does anyone really think that the vast majority of those who would have been attending Silva/Sonnen II wouldn’t be from…I don’t know…BRAZIL!?

I suspect this is a case of “some diplomat/politician/bureaucrat is afraid of Rio looking bad to the world by showcasing a cage fighting event while the U.N is in town.” Which is deplorably silly, but at least understandable from the position of someone unfamiliar with MMA.

I’m just disappointed I’m not going to get to see Anderson Silva celebrate among 70,000 of his countrymen should he win – or Chael Sonnen flee from 70,000 of Anderson’s countrymen should he lose.

by Elton Hobson

I have to admit, even with the announcement of a whopping 3 Canadian UFC events this year, even with the explosion of the sport in newly sanctioned provinces like Ontario and B.C (where MMA was always popular anyways), even with the growth of so many Canadian MMA promotions like Ringside, MFC, and The Score Fighting Series - well, it's a bit of a depressing time to be a Canadian MMA fan.

Why is that you ask? Because despite the insane popularity of the sport in the Great White North, despite being the "Mecca" of MMA in Dana White's eyes, despite the litany of regional promotions and exciting prospects our country has to offer, Canadians are just not dominating MMA the way we should be.

In fact, a look at MMA's elite ranks reveals a scarcity of Canucks. There's one obvious, glaring exception of course in Georges St. Pierre, but even that's a bit of a double-edged sword. Sure, he's the champion of MMA's deepest division, and easily the most popular guy in the game, but fans are starting to sour on GSP's conservative style in a big way. Even in Canada, where being a GSP fan is practically a part of our constitution, fan opinion is less than positive. "I like GSP and I cheer for him, I just wish he wasn't so boring," is a sentiment I hear more and more often these days.

All the other Canadian greats from the "Spike TV" era (and before) have all but faded into irrelevance. David Loiseau imploded like a submarine at crush depth; Denis Kang was a frustrating case study in wasted potential; Patrick Cote got bounced from the UFC and is still trying to fight his way back; Jason MacDonald and Joe Doerksen are two of the toughest SOB's in the game but never advanced past gatekeeper status. Jonathan Goulet, the first man to ever compete in a UFC bout on Canadian soil, is a firefighter today.

If I sound crass and dismissive with these comments, understand: I took no pleasure whatsoever in writing them. These men are some of my all-time favorite fighters, and I rooted for all of them every single time they went out there. I still do.

But the fact is that when it comes to the all-time elite ranks of MMA, the hottest MMA country on the planet has contributed GSP, Carlos Newton, and not a whole lot else.

Which is why UFC 145 is so damn important.

Yes, the main event is Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans, the biggest fight in all of MMA right now. UFC 145 would still be a huge deal if the entire undercard consisted only of Mike Goldberg reading poetry (“Less travelled is the path before me in the woods, Joe,”).

But on the undercard, several of Canada’s top fighters who don’t have a Gatorade sponsorship or 12-month calendar are in action in absolutely crucial matchups. In fact, the outcomes of these fights could, in large part, determine the future for Canada’s “next generation” of MMA stars.

Chris Clements vs. Keith Wisniewski

Despite a somewhat misleading record of 10-4, Chris “The Menace” Clements is one of the hottest prospects on Canada’s regional scene. The Shawn Thompkins product has really come into his own in the last two years, strapping on welterweight gold in several of Canada’s top regional promotions. He retired Johnathan Goulet, got a highlight-reel spinning kick finish over Travis Briere, and most recently TKO’ed UFC veteran Rich Clementi.

For years, he’s hungered for a shot in the UFC, so it’s great to see him finally get his opportunity. Clements is already in his mid-30’s however, meaning he won’t have much time (and hence room for error) in his UFC campaign. He’s also shown a vulnerability on the ground in previous fights, though that aspect of his game has massively improved as of late.

In Keith Wisniewski, Clements faces a man with much more experience than him, so he’s likely in for an uphill climb. If he can win here, the UFC will gain an exciting prospect with a propensity for devastating kicks – meaning you should all be rooting for Clements to win on Saturday.

John Makdessi vs. Anthony Njokuani

If I may channel my inner Jim Ross for a moment: MA GAWD WHAT A SLOBBERKNOCKER!!!!

Seriously, this fight looks like hell on wheels (on paper) and is about as perfect a matchup for making fireworks are you’re likely to make. You have two kickboxers with flashy (but effective) styles and no inclination to take the fight to the canvas. I’d bet serious money (if I had any) or my reputation (if I had one) that this fight ends with someone looking up at the house lights, asking the referee if he won.

Makdessi is one of Canada’s most accomplished kickboxers, with a perfect 22-0 record and a gold medal in USKBA kickboxing. Since coming to the UFC, he has awed fans with his off-putting appearance (nothing says “You gonna get it, boy” like a slightly lazy eye) and propensity for making the highlight reel. He’s coming off a loss in his last fight to an oversize (i.e didn’t make weight) Dennis Hallman, which highlighted possible weaknesses in his ground game.

Good thing he won’t have that ground game tested against Njokuani, who once called an opponent a “fag” on Twitter for using a grappling-based strategy to beat him. You stay classy, Anthony.

Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin

I’ve never seen a rise so spectacular – and a fall so sudden – as the one(s) Thamesford, Ontario’s Mark Hominick experienced in 2011.

He shot to stardom when he challenged featherweight champ Jose Aldo in front of 55,000 fans at UFC 129. Despite losing the fight (and having his head swell to ridiculous proportions in the process) Hominick won the crowd with his gutsy, entertaining performance. Coming off that fight, it was safe to say he was the biggest MMA fighter in Canada behind King Georges I. The sky was the limit for “The Machine”.

Cut to December 2011, with Hominick facing off against Chan Sung Jung, once again in front of his hometown fans in Toronto. In about the time it takes you to flip a pancake, Hominick came out, stuck his chin out, and got cold-cocked by “The Korean Zombie”. Take it from a guy who was there live: that’s the angriest/most disappointed I’ve ever seen a Canadian MMA crowd get. Every inch of ground Hominick gained with fans over 25 brutal minutes with Aldo, he lost in mere seconds that night.

This fight is do-or-die for Hominick if he wants to remain anywhere close to title contention. Luckily, the UFC seems to know that: they’ve booked him against Eddie Yagin, a Tachi Palace Fights veteran who’s coming off a loss in his UFC debut. This is a very winnable fight for Hominick – meaning if he loses, his credibility could be damaged beyond repair.

Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills

Rory MacDonald could be the future – not just of Canadian MMA, but MMA in general. He’s young, extremely dynamic, well-rounded, has some big wins already on his resume, and is training with all the right people at Tristar gym in Montreal. He’s the hottest prospect in Canadian MMA, and in the welterweight division period.

Which is great and all – but if he loses to Che Mills on Saturday, that could all go down the drain, or at the very least get derailed for a little while. Now I’m not going to sit here and insult your intelligence by saying you should care if a 22-year old fighter who’s already made it to the “big show” loses. It wouldn’t be the end of the world, and it’s something MacDonald could easily overcome.

But with GSP coming back from a knee injury in “who knows what?” shape, the clock could be running out on Canada’s beloved MMA hero – and the biggest draw in MMA. In that instance, the UFC will need someone to step in to fill the void.

Rory MacDonald could be that guy. But if he loses to Che Mills on Saturday, he probably won’t be that guy anytime soon.

By Elton Hobson

We all remember the moment we first found out. The sinking feeling in our stomachs. The lumps forming in our throats. Fingers clenching into fists of rage - then extending once more, into digits of righteous keyboard manipulating fury (that sounds oddly like a "King Crimson" song title).

Alistair Overeem had failed a random drug test. Alistair Overeem wasn't fighting for the UFC Heavyweight title. The epic, awesome collision of high-speed freight trains that was Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem...wasn't going to happen.

This was pretty much most fan's reaction. Maybe not word for...same word, but in spirit. Admit it - we were all insecure, middle-aged space captains marooned on a barren rock by a centuries-old genetically engineered super villain the day we found out Overeem vs. JDS wasn't happening, weren’t we?

But seeing as how this is the internet, we got over it in about 5 minutes and moved on to the next question: who the heck was going to fight for the heavyweight championship now that The Reem horsemeat'd himself out of contention?

The obvious answer was Frank Mir, who was already scheduled to fight at UFC 146 against Cain Velasquez. This would seem to make the most sense, because Mir is coming off some big wins, including the arm break of Big Nog that raised goosebumps (and turned stomachs) the world over. Plus, he’s a known quantity to fans, and just the sort of guy who can sell a fight.

Yet there hasn’t exactly been a groundswell of fan support for another Frank Mir title shot. In fact, folks are reacting to a (possible) Mir/JDS fight the way the fans reacted when Brittney Palmer was “fired”: most don’t care, and a select few are very disgruntled.

Why not Mir? After all, he’s 7-2 in his last 9 fights, and is one of the few heavyweights outside the champ on any kind of meaningful winning streak right now. It might be because his two biggest fights – vs. Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin – were crushing losses, which might have cemented in some fans mind that Mir isn’t “championship materiel”. I saw this complaint levied by more than a few fans when Mir’s name was first bounced around.

It might also have to do with the fact that the last Frank Mir PPV main event (vs. Mirko Cro Cop) caused people to throw bricks through their television sets – assuming they weren’t put to sleep first.

And Cain Velasquez just fought JDS, meaning at best he needs a fight or two to make it back to the title. At worst, he has no business rematching Dos Santos after so crushing a loss.

No joke, I’ve seen more than a few fans take this position. I guess less than one round of action is all we ever need to see between two fighters if it ends dramatically. Good thing we never gave that GSP chap a rematch after Matt Serra KO’ed him in under a round – what would it have proven, anyways?

So we fall back on the outliers, ranging from the wildly improbable (Mark Hunt) to the even more improbable (Fabricio Werdum) to the so impossible I can’t believe it ever gained serious traction (Fedor Emelianenko).

Now don’t get me wrong, I can see the reason why the “Campaign for Mark Hunt” has taken off with hardcore fans like it has. To many fans, Mir vs. JDS (the sensible alternative) already seems like a foregone conclusion, so why not book Hunt vs. JDS? As foregone conclusions go, it should at least be fun while it lasts.

The problem is Hunt’s less-than-stellar MMA record, sitting just above .500. But that’s not a real problem, nor is it the whole story (Randy Couture’s winning percentage was never spectacular). The real problem: I’m pretty sure casual fans have no idea who Mark Hunt is.

Can you just see the fight announcements now? “On May 26, the most feared man in the heavyweight division, coming off an explosive victory on network TV…fights a guy you might have seen on the undercard of those oddly-timed Australian events which, if buy rates are to be believed, you probably skipped. ONLY ON PPV!”

Jokes aside, Dana White and Joe Silva have some great options to pick from, and let’s be honest: when it comes to world title fights, the UFC is pretty damn good at convincing us to shell out $49.99 no matter who’s on the docket.

Which is why I’m surprised – downright dumbfounded, really – that Dana White hasn’t announced a replacement for Alistair Overeem.

As of now, The Reem is set to apply for a license to fight at a hearing before the NSAC on April 26. At this hearing, he will have to address the issue of the failed test, and provide a solid reason why he has the testosterone of 14 men in his blood.

There are two things that strike me as odd about this. One, why would Alistair go through the licensing process with the failed test hanging around his neck? If he can’t explain why he tested so high, he’ll be barred from applying for a liscense for a year or more. Other states will uphold this disbarment, meaning it could derail his UFC career for the next year.

And two, why would Dana White and the UFC hold off on announcing a replacement? Even if they are waiting until the hearing before they announce it, it seems an awfully risky move to me. Even if you have a guy secretly training and preparing to “jump in” should Overeem fail, it leaves you only a month to promote the new fight, and will give it a rushed, “last-minute” feel even if it isn’t rushed or last-minute.

So as far as I can see, there’s only one explanation: Overeem has an airtight explanation for his failed test - one that he, his people, and the UFC are willing to stand behind, and one they feel sure will convince the commission to grant him a liscense despite the failed test and all the drama they’ve endured from Overeem since he came to the UFC.

My question to you all is: what could that explanation possibly be?

By Elton Hobson

via upload.wikimedia.org

Hi, I’m Troy McHobbie! You might remember me from such classic blog posts as "Flesh or Meringue? The Midsection of Tim Sylvia", "Magic Mohawk: The Dan Hardy Story" and "The Canadian Healthcare System and Diverticulitis: Tag Team of Evil".

Say there sport, you look like you’ve got something on your mind.

*Cut to our typical MMA fan – a cute, innocent little tyke wearing suspenders, an Affliction shirt (with plenty of cool skulls and dragons and whatnot), and a red TapouT cap.*

I’m a fan of ultimate fighting Mr. McHobbie, but whenever I come online in the last few days, all anyone can talk about is pro-wrestling! I don’t understand what’s going on!

Well first off, it’s called MMA, or "Mixed Martial Arts". We only call it "ultimate fighting" when we’re showing off our skills to drunk chicks in the bar! You trane UFC, don’t you kiddo?

I…wait, what?

I bet you do. Anyhow, the reason there’s been so much talk of W-W-E on your favorite M-M-A websites is because there hasn’t been any MMA to report on! Oh sure, lots of regional fights went down on the weekend, but regional MMA is like pimples on your butt cheek – you know something’s going on, but you just can’t bring yourself to care. After all, does it really matter what happens to Sean McCorkle?

No sir!

I didn’t think so. Right now, imagine MMA news as being a giant, empty void, devoid of anything and everything of interest – like deep space, the heavyweight division until recently, and the whole sport of boxing! But meanwhile, in wrestling, something called "Wrestlemania" happened this past weekend.

Wrestle…mania…that’s a silly name, Mr. McHobbie.

It sure is! Not like those cool UFC event names like "Battle on the Bayou" or "There Can Be Only One…CHAMPION!". Get it? Because it’s like "Highlander" but instead of immortal Scottish dudes cutting each other’s heads off, it’s an MMA event!

That’s stupid too.

Shut it you. So not only was it "Wrestlemania" this weekend, but guess what? Brock Lesnar, "The Baddest Man on the Planet" made his return to the WWE on Monday! This combination of factors – including a former UFC champion trading in his board shorts and hand wraps for a speedo and baby oil – means wrestling news has pushed into MMA. And MMA fans, big tender teddy bears that we are, are getting the kind of angry we usually reserve for moments when Jon Jones has the unmitigated gall to actually act proud of his accomplishments.

That bastard!

See, combat sports are a zero sum game: you can’t be a fan of more than one. Once you’ve declared yourself an "MMA fan" or a "WWE fan", a team of surgeons break into your house at night and secretly implant you with a mind control chip. From this moment on, you’ll never watch another second of your old favorite sport, or spend a shinny penny on their merch or PPV offerings! Every fan one sport gains, the other loses – FOREVER! DUN DUN DUN!

Do I have a chip in my head?

You sure do! That’s why you complain every time someone writes about boxing on an MMA site, or compares Chael Sonnen’s shtick to pro wrestling. It’s also why boxing is totally dying!

If Boxing is dying, why do people keep buying their PPV’s?

Well, when I said "dying", I meant a slow, boring death, like getting gutshot with a .22. It’s a slow process, and it could take decades for the sport to "bleed out" entirely. Every so often we’ll give the body a poke to see if it twitches, but come on – we’re talking about a sport where Kimbo Slice is a headlining act!

But didn’t Kimbo used to main event in MMA…

Back to MMA vs. Wrestling! See, this explosion of interest in wrestling makes MMA fans react in two ways.

The first is abject, utter fear. If there’s one thing every die-hard MMA fan is sure of, it’s that this sport we love is forever teetering on the brink of total failure. What if MMA fans switch over to pro wrestling! Ratings will go down! If ratings go down, the Fox deal will collapse. If the Fox deal collapses, PPV buyrates will collapse with it. And just like that, MMA is back to being held in bingo halls while Vince McMahon, Brock Lesnar, and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin toast beers over the sport’s grave! BE AFRAID! BE VERY AFRAID!

Say it isn’t so, Mr. McHobbie!

It’s ok to cry, squirt. Crying makes you more of a man. Just ask Forrest Griffin. But once you’re done cutting weight from your tear ducts, it’s time for reaction number two: indignant rage.

There’s a large segment of MMA fans who don’t just ignore WWE – they hate it with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns! Brock Lesnar jumps over from WWE – hate his a**, even if he brings an unprecedented amount of eyes to the sport. Chael Sonnen directly quotes a pro wrestler on network television – that’s just showmanship, and has nothing to do with wrestling. And heaven forbid you’re one of the fans who followed Lesnar to MMA, because the "pureblood" fans who got into TUF back in 2005 when it followed "Monday Night RAW" on Spike TV will soooooo look down on you.

I don’t want that!

No, you certainly don’t. So remember folks: even with Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans, JDS vs. Alistair Overeem, Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen 2, a new season of "The Ultimate Fighter" building to Urijah Faber vs. Dominick Cruz 2, the return of GSP, and the continuing rise of Ronda Rousey all set to play out in the coming months – the sport of MMA is doomed because Brock Lesnar and John Cena are going to pretend to fight each other in their underwear on basic cable!

YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!

Elton Hobson is a writer, blogger, and semi-professional schmuck. He's an "OG" MMA fan who got into the sport way back at UFC 1 - just like every MMA fan on the internet! He also used to watch pro wrestling but now wonders why he ever ordered PPV's on a Sunday night. He's also (like all MMA fans) a very sensitive guy, and he hopes he didn't piss anyone off too badly with this post.

We seem to be in a bit of a doldrums when it comes to combat sports news these days.

Oh sure, there was the Bellator welterweight season opener on Friday, which was the usual brand of downright exciting with a dash of puzzling (what was Chris Lozano’s gameplan, anyways?) I’ve come to expect from Bellator tourney fights.

And there were two flavors of “Ultimate Fighter” for fans to choose from this week, so if you like your fights served up in a thick reality TV sauce, you were in luck. Al Iaquinta vs. Miles Jury especially was the sort of sloppy, passionate, hell-bent-for-leather fight that reminds you why you started watching “Big Brother with no girls and WAY more punching” in the first place.

And there was professional wrestling, the bastard step-father (or is that step-son?) of MMA that we all claim to revile, but can’t stop talking about. I didn’t watch Wrestlemania personally (remind me why I EVER bought PPV’s on a Sunday night again?) but I did see that The Rock “beat” John Cena in the main event. So allow me this moment to issue a hearty IN YOUR FACE CHILDREN OF TODAY, THE WRESTLERS I GREW UP WATCHING ARE WAYYYY BETTER THAN THE WRESTLERS YOU GREW UP WATCHING!

Then there was Canada.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m sure plenty of Canucks were tuned in to Bellator/TUF/Wrestlemania – us polite, pacifist, socialist Canadians have always been HUGE fans of MMA/pro ‘rasslin/all combat sports for some strange reason. But in the Great White North, the “main event” this weekend was undoubtedly the highly anticipated boxing match that went down Friday night in an Ottawa (that’s our capital…no seriously, it is) hotel.

In the blue corner: Fighting out of Repentigny, Quebec. This man is a Shotokan Karate black belt and a longtime member of the Canadian Navy. He stands five feet, ten inches tall, and weighs in at 183 pounds. He has an electoral record of three wins, no losses, and one Senate appointment. Ladies and gentlemen, he is the third youngest senator in Canadian history…

…Patrick “Guaranteed KO” Brazeau (note: not his actual nickname)!!!!!

And in the red corner: Fighting out of Montreal, Quebec. This man is a boxer with over 20 years experience and no professional record. He stands six feet, two inches tall and weighs in at 175 pounds. This man is a school teacher, an actor, and son of a Canadian icon. He is undefeated as a politician with two wins and a current seat in the House of Commons. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the future of Canadian politics…

…Justin “Nowhere to Go” Trudeau (again, just added that cause I’m a sucker for corny, phonetically-correct fighter handles)!!!!!!

Yes folks. This past Friday night two Canadian politicians – one of whom is viewed as a possible future candidate for Prime Minister – threw down in a real, non-worked boxing match. Three, two-minute rounds of politicians beating the crap out of each other for a good cause (proceeds from the match went to support the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation).

And believe me when I say that in my home and native land, this thing got some big time coverage. The week before the fight, I saw folks who couldn’t pick Jon Jones out of a lineup or even know who “Pretty Boy Floyd” was talking excitedly about this “fight”. There were betting lines on the fight (Brazeau was heavily favored due to his size and martial arts experience), the weigh-ins were given lead-story coverage, and the fight itself was analyzed like it was a world title prize-fight.

The Canadian press even called it “The Thrilla on the Hilla” with “The Hill” being a reference, as it is in the U.S, to the legislative house of government.

Yeah, that’s ridiculous on it’s face – meaning it’s awesome, and you should all be jealous that our country is so economically stable and crime-free that we talk about PR stunt boxing matches as headline news.

And finally, the actual fight – short as it was – played out in a classic fashion we’ve seen so many times in boxing. Brazeau came out hard the first round, both the better boxer and the harder hitter, and batted Trudeau around the ring. Then he got tired. Trudeau took over in the latter rounds, eventually getting a TKO in the third round as Brazeau just turtled up and took shots.

Politicians beating each other bloody for a good cause? Welcome to Friday nights in the land of hockey, beer, beautiful women and more hockey (and more beer).

God, I love my country.

Check out the full fight here.

And you're welcome, world.

By Elton Hobson

If you went back in time only a couple years and asked any MMA fan walking the streets what the dream match-up in MMA was, you'd likely get only one answer: Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre.

And for years, this was the dream fight to end all dream fights. It was MMA's equivalent to Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather, only (us MMA fans bragged then) this fight actually stood a good chance of happening.

People were talking about this fight as far back as 2006, when both St. Pierre and Silva first strapped on UFC belts. The talk ramped up in 2008, when GSP won his belt back from Matt Serra and Anderson Silva “ran out” of challengers at middleweight for the first of about 900 times.

For nearly half a decade, the top two slots in the special MMA “Circular, Subjective Argument Generator” – otherwise known as the top 5 Pound-for-Pound list – were traded between Silva and St. Pierre. Both guys fortunes rose and fell, each guy racing momentarily ahead of the other.

GSP dominates Thiago Alves while Silva dances around Thales Leites? GSP must be the man! Anderson Silva transcends the laws of physics to murder Forrest Griffin while GSP wrestles Dan Hardy’s arm for 25 minutes? Guess Andy is back on top! Folks would argue GSP’s wrestling would exploit the only weakness in Anderson Silva’s game. People said Anderson Silva’s striking would expose GSP’s fragile chin. There were theories and speculation galore.

And any day now, we would see them fight.

2009 was the year, fans said. Then 2010. Then 2011. Now it's 2012, and fans are turning blue in the face - mostly from holding their breath in anticipation for this fight.

With St. Pierre on the shelf, and Anderson nearing the end of his reign on dominance, the question begs to be asked:

Is Silva vs. St. Pierre officially dead?

And more than that, if it isn't dead from a timing/booking standpoint, is it dead from a fan interest standpoint? Would anyone out there still consider this the "Mecca" of MMA fights?

And if it isn't "dead", what are the chances we see this fight before one (or both) men fall off their athletic peaks - assuming they haven't already?

I think the earlier Pac/Floyd comparison is quite apt, because this fight too would pit a fighter who is nice, polite, idolized by his home fans, and catching tons of sh*t over his last fight, against perhaps the most technically perfect fighter in the game - who's personality no one can figure out.

Yes, this fight was the dream fight to end all dream fights, and at various times it looked close to being booked. But just like my "foolproof" plan in high school to wed Jessica Biel before I was 20 - well, sometimes things just don't work out like you plan.

I remember Georges first getting asked about a possible Anderson Silva fight at UFC 100, after he beat Thiago Alves. While accepting the fight in principal, he stated that moving up in weight would be a significant shift for him, that he'd have to talk it over with his coaches and entourage, and that it really depended on what the UFC had next for him.

GSP must have that speech committed to memory, because it's the same canned speech he gives every time Joe Rogan asks about facing Anderson during the post-fight interview. Now I love me some GSP, and lots of what he's saying makes total sense. But even I got to admit this is starting to sound like foot-dragging of some pretty epic proportions.

Maybe St. Pierre himself doesn’t want the Anderson Silva fight – and as a guy making seven figures a fight, absolutely tearing up the PPV charts, and totally dominating the competition in his weight class, who could really blame him for not wanting to change divisions? If he does want the fight, then perhaps someone in his entourage doesn’t think it’s a good idea, or is advising him not to commit to the fight in interviews to increase leverage for negotiations. Or maybe it’s the UFC itself urging GSP to fence sit, wary of the inevitability that for this fight to happen, one golden goose has to eat another.

And Anderson? The long-time middleweight champ once said his ideal opponent would be a clone of himself, which is ideal considering one of the biggest obstacles to making this fight is Silva himself.

Remember in early ’09, when all the buzz around the St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn fight had people buzzing about the other great P4P clash? Then Anderson stunk up the Bell Centre for 25 minutes against Thales Leites, and fans vowed never to buy an Anderson Silva PPV again.

Then the next year, serious talk about making this fight happen began to swirl again. GSP was even brought in to guest commentate the Silva vs. Maia main event at UFC 112, and would have ostensibly confronted him in the ring afterwards. Except that Silva vs. Maia happened, Dana White was furious, and once again fans vowed never to buy another Anderson Silva PPV. Silva got Sonnen, GSP got “The Ultimate Fighter”, and the rest is history.

So here’s my question to you: is this fight still “on the table”? Is there a realistic chance of making this fight happen – and if so, when?

And more than that: does this fight still mean anything to fans? Is it still the big deal it was only two short years ago? Or have other potential “superfights” involving the likes of Jon Jones, Junior Dos Santos, Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz taken the spot of GSP/Silva as the fight MMA fans want to see?

By Elton Hobson

Yes folks, it's time for me to strap on my old man hat, grab a PBR from the fridge, hike my suspenders up really high and find a plum spot on the "sittin' couch" - for today, we b*tch about the youth.

Ok, I don't know if it's "the youth" I'm mad at, but I'm just assuming based on what I see at most MMA events. See, my real axe to grind is with you MMA fans - and the absolutely silly misconceptions most of us seem to somehow have.

I’m talking about the sort of "facts" you shout across a crowded bar to your friend during a fight, the sort of "facts" you hear circulated at live MMA events, or debated on forums, or condensed into pill form on Twitter.

You could call them "broad-based conceptions" but I prefer the term "misinformed hooey" because any chance to use the word "hooey" makes me feel like a wild-west prospector, Texas oil baron, or Herschel from "The Walking Dead".

Still don't know what I'm getting at? Let's pick an example from this week of MMA news to use and we'll go from there...something along the lines of...

1) Frankie Edgar is done at LW!

Here's a "widely accepted" fact among MMA fans that's about as silly a statement as you can make. I remember first getting a feeling for this sentiment when I wrote that Frankie should get an immediate rematch with Bendo, and the response was...unenthusiastic to say the least. I guess fans didn't want to see more of the greatest series in MMA history (yeah, I said it) in favor of "keeping the division moving".

Fair enough. But then when Dana White read my blog, and called me up personally to tell me he was taking my advice (note: some of what I just wrote was not intended as a factual statement) and booking Frankie/Ben II, there it was again. Not just anger at another Edgar rematch - which I can at least understand, if not support - but an assumption that this fight was a foregone conclusion. Put simply: Bendo 316 says he's gonna whoop Frankie's a** (again)!

Frankie Edgar gave the greatest LW of our generation two back-to-back losses. He gave Gray Maynard the only loss in Gray’s career that Gray didn’t inflict on himself. And for the last two years, he’s been a natural 145’er who’s held a title at 155 (in the deepest division in MMA) and put on some of the greatest fights of all-time.

And most importantly: no one in MMA is better at rematches than Frankie Edgar. Just look at Edgar/Penn II, or Edgar/Maynard III. Frankie bounces back like no one else in the game, and is a master at making adjustments and upping his game for a rematch.

Saying Edgar is “done” because of one razor-close decision loss seems pretty silly to me.

2) Greg Jackson is a boring decision machine!

There’s been a whole ream of articles written about this, so I’ll spare everyone the long spiel and get right down to brass tacks. I’ve included this one in this vaunted list because a) it’s one of the most annoying misconceptions in MMA, and b) it still persists somehow.

This will also be a fun exercise in how to win an argument in under 100 words. Ahem:

Hey you there! You who hates Greg Jackson! Isn’t it annoying how he takes good, exciting fighters and absolutely ruins them with his boring, points first, “winning is the only thing” gameplans?

Yeah: Jon Jones. Shane Carwin. Leonard Garcia. Donald Cerrone. Melvin Guillard. Oh, and Rashad Evans, Keith Jardine, and GSP no longer train with Greg Jackson.

That was fun.

3) Anderson Silva is just gonna kill Chael Sonnen this time!

Here’s another gem of accepted MMA fan wisdom that confuses me more than the whole “Hunger Games” hysteria. After all, isn’t “Hunger Games” just “Battle Royale” with all the strange, unprocess-able Japanese weirdness sucked out, and plenty of “Twilight”-esque teenybopper drama subbed in?

Hey, I told you this was going to be an old man b*tching post, didn’t I? Might as well go with the theme.

But back to Chael. Recently, it was announced that Sonnen will rematch Silva this summer, in an 80,000-seat soccer stadium in Brazil. Aside from flipping right the hell out over this wonderful and exciting news, MMA fans general sentiment could be summed up as “RIP Chael Sonnen”.

I’m having a strange sense of déjà vu here. That sort of attitude seems very familiar. Wait, I remember – it’s the same thing everyone was saying right before UFC 117 two years ago!

And that was the fight, you recall, where Anderson Silva’s vaunted striking skill was more than a match for the Oregon gangster, while Sonnen’s wrestling played almost no factor at all!

Wait, wait a second, I think I got that wrong. What actually happened is Chael rocked Anderson standing multiple times, took him down and beat him up at will, and then…got triangled. Yeah, he lost. But it was far, far from “RIP Chael Sonnen”.

“But Hobbie!” the fan complains “Chael was all ‘roided up! Anderson’s rib was bothering him! This time, a 100% Silva will wreck Chael!”

Yeah, except that Chael being “’roided up” in that fight was no different from Chael being “’roided up” in every single one of his previous fights, if we believe his hypogonadism story. And Anderson Silva having a “rib injury” was no different from every fighter who explains away a lackluster performance after the fact with a vague reference to a hindering injury.

Do we really think Tito Ortiz is going to storm through Forrest Griffin now that his “cracked skull” isn’t bothering him anymore?

Here’s the truth as far as I can see: everyone who has ever wanted to take down Anderson Silva in his UFC career has done so. I don’t recall Anderson complaining of injury when Travis Lutter almost effortlessly took him down, passed to mount, and very nearly finished the fight. I don’t remember any post-fight injuries being to blame when Dan Henderson held down Anderson for a whole round in their fight.

I see Sonnen/Silva II going very much like Sonnen/Silva I, with Chael taking Anderson down repeatedly and Anderson working submissions off his back. Of course, this means Anderson has a very good chance of winning, just like last time. But assuming this is going to be a blowout is buying the hype just a bit too much.

By Elton Hobson

Let me get this out there right off the bat: this is not, in any way, going to be a post b*tching about this latest incarnation of “The Ultimate Fighter”.

Quite the opposite, actually – because I’m loving this season of the UFC’s reality TV bonanza. It seems to me that this season addressed many of the complaints fans have always had about the show: no more cheesy nu-metal intro, no more (ok, not as much) in-house drama, more focus on the fighters, two dedicated and committed coaches who represent the sport very well, and a more polished and professional feel overall.

Actually, if you ask me the entire “Fox era” of the UFC has thus far been all aces. Ok, that stupid commercial featuring the Junior Dos Santos photoshoot from Hell (literally) is a glaring exception, but aside from that it’s been sunshine, lolipops and…ok, some plain old bad luck regarding how some of the network fights have turned out.

With the third installment of “The Ultimate Fighter” live on FX airing tonight, I thought I’d do a quick run down of some interesting, weird, and mostly overlooked facts about this season. And when I say “overlooked” I mean “I haven’t read much about it”, so if the MMA site you follow has been all over these stories…well, good for you, you’re ahead of the curve.

For the rest of us, there’s…

1) No training camps for the live finale

This realization kind of snuck up on me while I was looking at the UFC’s event schedule for this summer. It’s something that hasn’t gotten a whole lot of coverage but to me, represents a major difference from how previous season’s have operated.

In the past, the show would be taped months in advance, meaning the two finalists would have time for a full training camp (6-8 weeks) before their finale fight. Not this year: the “live fights” aspect of the show means the two men meeting in the finals will have exactly a week to prepare for the biggest fight of their lives.

Is it unfair? I suppose not – neither guy will get to put in a training camp, so the playing field should be even. And I admit, this will add to the raw, unpolished, “rookies fighting for a shot in the big leagues” feel TUF has always done so well.

But it was nice in the past to see the finalists come in with a full camp under their belts. It let us see how they look with a little more refinement, polish, and operating on a dedicated gameplan.

In other words, it let us see how they might look as full-time fighters in the UFC. Watching two guys scrap immediately after spending months cooped up in the booze-soaked drama mansion of the TUF house might not offer the same insight.

2) Coaches training while coaching

Here’s another first for “The Ultimate Fighter”, one that thankfully has gotten a little more play in the MMA media: both coaches will be training for their UFC bantamweight world title fight while coaching their respective teams, right up until the very week before they fight.

This could have dramatic consequences for either guy’s preparation. Of course Urijah Faber trains out of his own Team Alpha Male camp in Sacramento, California. And Cruz is famously associated with Alliance MMA and Team Lloyd Irvin. These are both pretty renowned camps, and either guy is the star player in their respective fiefdoms. I get the feeling they’re both used to familiar training camps with familiar faces.

I wonder how these guys feel about having to hold their camps in Las Vegas – or having to travel back and forth, depending on what the UFC’s scheduling arrangements are. Either way, neither guy will be getting the “usual” camp and that adds a level of drama and uncertainty to their July world title fight.

3) No bad guy to root for

Speaking of this season’s coaches, watching Cruz and Faber interact on the show has been an interesting experience for me. In fact, I recall turning to my little lady mid-episode and saying something along the lines of “it seems so odd that these two guys dislike each other”.

See, aside from the beef between the two men (which I have every reason to believe is real, not manufactured for the benefit of the TV cameras), these two guys are extremely similar. They’re both handsome, young, and well-spoken. They’re both quieter guys with laid back attitudes, the kind of guy(s) you’d like to grab a beer with. And they’re both coming off as fantastic, committed coaches.

And here, Houston, is where we have a problem: there’s no a**hole to root against.

The “unlikeable” coach is a staple of TUF since the Shamrock/Ortiz season, during which Ortiz completely reversed fan sentiment by being a fantastic coach, while “good guy” Shamrock was out playing golf instead of coaching the boys. We all remember the classic “a**hole coaches” seasons of the show – Bisping vs. Hendo. Rampage vs. Rashad. GSP vs. Kos. These are the classic seasons that have defined “The Ultimate Fighter”.

This season, we have a legitimate beef to sell – but not one standout, obvious (whether by their actions or the magic of editing is anyone’s guess) “bad guy” to hate on. Not yet, anyways. Everyone has their opinion on the Cruz/Faber beef and who they’re pulling for, but one thing we can all agree on: they both seem like great guys.

Good for the sport – but (potentially) bad for short-term ratings.

4) Commentary and post-fight interviews

I love me some Jon Anik – and even I was caught off guard the first time I heard his voice on an “Ultimate Fighter” broadcast.

But I got over it. This aspect of the show hasn’t gotten much coverage because let’s face it: it’s hardly news at this point. Anik has become synonymous already with UFC programming on FX and Fuel. No one was really all that surprised to see him pop up on “The Ultimate Fighter”.

But it’s still pretty dang cool. To me, this sort of polish – the “commentary” before the fights, the interviews live in the cage, the overall presentation – is what fans have been calling for for years. Now that it’s here, I hope they’re sitting back and basking in it all.

This sort of thing makes it feel less like a reality TV show in it’s millionth season, and more like a serious sports tournament where the winner actually matters (as opposed to who made the most drunken boob of themselves on cable TV).

5) …But are they really going to interview EVERY loser?

Ok, so I might be slobbering all over the UFC’s production choices on this season of TUF. But one choice almost brought the whole thing to a screeching halt in last week’s episode.

Are they really, seriously, actually going to have Jon Anik interview the loser in every single fight? I get these are personalities and people viewers may have started to care for, but seriously now: are we going to ask EVERY SINGLE LOSER if they feel confident about taking that wild card spot? Could a more obvious question be asked of somebody?

“Uh no Jon, despite my horribly disappointing loss on live network TV in front of millions, I hold no hope of getting that wildcard spot and instead hope they’ve kept my job at Burger King open for me back home!”

C’mon now. Broom this part of the show quick – or at least thing of a question to ask that isn’t so mind-numbingly awkward and obvious.

By Elton Hobson

With the recent announcement that Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin are set to complete their trilogy on July 7 at UFC 148, fan reaction was justifiably off the page.

After all, this is the 3rd meeting of two legitimate Mixed Martial Arts legends; the longest-reigning UFC Light-Heavyweight champion of all time against the original “Ultimate Fighter” winner. Plus their first two fights were both exciting and razor close - AND this will be Tito Ortiz’s last UFC fight. Those factors combine to make Ortiz/Griffin III one of the most anticipated trilogies in MMA history.

If you’re reading this and something’s not adding up, well, you got me: I’m full of it. Everything I said above is God’s honest truth – except the part where fan reaction was “off the page” and Ortiz/Griffin III was one of “the most anticipated trilogies” in MMA history.

The truth is that for most fans, the Ortiz/Griffin series is the redheaded stepchild of MMA trilogies. These guys are like bad in-laws: they’re old, rich, have a laundry list of injuries, and show up once every few years to make your life miserable.

This lukewarm fan reaction is utterly mystifying to me, pretty much for the reasons I mentioned above. It’s another strange MMA phenomenon I don’t understand, like the compulsion to chant “USA! USA!” at any foreigner, or insisting on excitement>winning when it comes to liking fighters while at the same time claiming that anyone with consecutive losses is over the hill and should retire.

Individually, these guys are two of the most popular fighters in the UFC today. Despite both guys being outside the title picture, they still get strong reactions from fans whenever they fight. There’s really no scenario where fans wouldn’t be excited to watch these two guys fight – unless it’s with each other.

The two men first met at UFC 59 in April of 2006, with Ortiz as the former champ looking to get back to the title and Griffin the young, up-and-coming prospect looking to break through. Ortiz took a narrow split decision that night in a fight that elevated the careers of both men. This fight was named the 2006 Fight of the Year – a fact most fans have seemingly forgot.

They met again at UFC 106 in November of 2009, and once again the career circumstances of either man had completely changed. Griffin had won the title and then lost it, and was looking to rebuild his image after the Anderson Silva debacle. And Tito was also coming off two straight losses, and looking to remain relevant in the LHW division.

This fight was a last-minute replacement fight, with both guys coming off losses, on a card that lacked a whole lot of buzz. Griffin took the split decision that night, but this combination of factors began the tradition of fan apathy when it came to the Griffin/Ortiz trilogy. The series now stood at 1-1, both split decisions, featuring two of the top guys in MMA, with one fight a “Fight of the Year” and the other a PPV main event.

Again, in any other circumstance this would be the surefire recipe for a blockbuster trilogy. For some reason, fans seem to have passed judgment on Ortiz vs. Griffin, and the verdict is “Meh”.

Any fanbase that can make Ortiz vs. Shamrock – a trilogy featuring 3 straight blowout victories for the same fighter – one of the biggest trilogies in all MMA history, yet farts on Ortiz/Griffin III is beyond my ability to comprehend.

Look, I get the criticism. Despite the years that went by between the first two fights, they both ended up looking remarkably similar stylistically.

We have Ortiz, the sport’s consummate ground and pounder, with a vicious double-leg, a 5 minute gas tank, and the longest post-fight excuse list in the sport. Then there’s Griffin, who brings a fun striking game (that doesn’t KO people), an awesome ground game (we rarely ever see), and a waning interest in this whole MMA gig.

In both fights, Ortiz came storming out the gate, usually found a way to wrestle Griffin to the mat, and put it on him – for a round. Then Griffin would take over, using his BJJ to nullify Ortiz on the mat and pecking away at him with his striking. Both fights ended with Griffin beaten up but in control standing, and Ortiz looking like he wanted to take a nap.

Yeah, I get why this 3rd fight isn’t blowing the wind up everybody’s skirt.

But forget everything I just said. Maybe the fights were predictable stylistically, but the drama in watching them was always the shifts in momentum.

These fights have a tendency to swing wildly from one man’s favor to the others, depending on who’s implementing their game plan at the moment. It was for this reason – more then overt brutality or technical mastery – that their first fight was named FOTY, and their second was still a damn entertaining fight (to me, anyways).

This rubber match will be the final match of Tito Ortiz’s career. It will also tell us a lot about how much time Forrest Griffin’s got left in the sport. It’s the culmination of 6 years of build-up, featuring two of the biggest names in the game. Over the course of the series, both men have risen, fallen, and risen again. They’ve been champion and headlined PPV’s, they’ve suffered humiliating defeats and debilitating injuries, they’ve been on top of the MMA world and they’ve faced retirement.

That’s quite a spectrum for two guys who have no beef with each other, don’t match-up to well stylistically, and who fans apparently don’t want to see fight.

By Elton Hobson

This FanPost has been promoted to the front page by Ben Thapa - because it is truly awesome.

April 19, 2008

We’re standing in the back of an impossibly long line stretching around the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec when I first hear it. It begins as murmurs, excited whispers, moving through the crowd like brushfire. The same three words on everybody’s lips: G. S. P. I strain to peer beyond the crowd when I finally see it. Across the street, getting out of a black SUV with his entourage, is the man himself.

And of course, the crowd goes wild. And strangely (or not) I’m caught up in it as well, cheering for the Great Canadian Hope alongside all the other diehards who’ve lined up for hours just to see him stand on a scale. That’s because today is the weigh-in for UFC 83, the first ever UFC event on Canadian soil. It takes a diehard MMA fan to line up for a simple weigh-in. Montreal apparently has thousands of them.

I realize now, looking back, that I was flanked in the moment by two of my heroes. The one across the street was larger than life, my hero only because every so often I watched him beat legitimate tough guys to a pulp on Pay-Per-View (this was back in 2008 when that still happened). Then there was the one standing next to me.

Over a year previous, my best friend Mark Trost had been diagnosed with a rare form on cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma, and had been in a battle for his life ever since. He had lost most of his hair, along with a shocking amount of weight; his skin had turned pale and sickly. Yet he never lost that inner energy, the vitality of spirit and vivaciousness of soul that had made him one of the most popular guys at my school. Mark was the star athlete, the gym rat and the ladies’ man, yet lacked any sort of outrageous braggadocio. He was polite, laid back, and the most quietly confident person I’ve ever met.

Our circle of friends were already big UFC fans (05-07 was a great time to get back into the sport), so when we heard the promotion was headed for Canada we decided to do something special for Mark. We all pitched in and bought him a ticket, but then my wonderful girlfriend (now fiancé) Michelle took it a step further. Somehow, she got in touch with an executive at the UFC, told them Mark’s story, and arranged for a special backstage tour/meet and greet for our friend.

That’s what brought us to that line up around the Bell Centre that warm April day.

Continue reading this post »

I’ll be honest, it feels strange not having a UFC event in the immediate future to write about. As much as us fans complain about the multitude of UFC events (and the resulting non-multitude of dollar bills in our bank account) it was kind of neat looking forward to MMA as often as you would a regular sport, like hockey, or Full Metal Jousting.

We’re in the doldrums of the MMA news cycle, with nothing to write about but the Meisha Tate/Ronda Rousey spat (wait, wasn’t that last week? Or the week before?) and referee’s who hate Joe Warren’s brain cells.

Oh, and “The Ultimate Fighter”. I heard that was back on. And luckily, Dakota Cochrane, who (in)famously was outed as a gay porn actor, lost his fight to get into the house – meaning you can now watch the exploits of sixteen ripped, shitless studs living in a house together and occasionally dousing each other in bodily fluid completely secure in your masculinity.

And then there’s “Rampage”. For a guy who’s seemingly on the way out (of the UFC, or MMA – take your pick) he’s been in the news an awful lot lately. The reason? Jackson is none too happy with the UFC, and he’s letting his employers know in the usual fashion: via every MMA media outlet that sticks a mic in his face.

So for your benefit folks, I’ve compiled a list of Quinton’s grievances with the UFC. I know a lot of folks have expressed displeasure, disagreement or most commonly, confusion at some of Quinton’s remarks. I’ll admit, that was my first reaction as well.

Then I stayed up all night fasting and pounding Red Bulls, and the picture suddenly became a whole lot clearer. Also, I now like house music for some reason. So without further ado, here’s Rampage’s case against the UFC, as best as I can fathom it.

Continue reading this post »

Yes folks, you read that right. Back by popular demand, one of my most loved pieces of writing ever! Soon to become a regular segment for all your reading pleasure!

It’s “5 Reasons why ‘Starship Troopers’ Kicks Ass, and if you Disagree, you Suck!”

Reason 1: Michael Ironside’s almost Shakespearean utterance of “They sucked his brains out!” being the greatest line in film history, hands down.

Reason 2: Those funny newscasts that pump you up as a kid, and then make you think depressing thoughts about the dehumanizing nature of war as an adult.

Reason 3: Dina Meyer’s boobies!

Rea…wait…wait a second…yep, I think I made a mistake here – that mistake being that you can’t write TWO articles about why “Starship Troopers” kicks ass, because duh, once you’ve read it, what’s the point of reading it again? Sure, I could mix those reasons up, try to make it seem original, but you guys are smart. You’ll see right through that.

So while I get to work on “5 Reasons why ‘Die Hard’ is the greatest Christmas Story ever told,” here’s five strange, ironic, possibly sad, and downright weird facts from the world of MMA this week.

MMA Defeats Worst of Worst-Case Scenarios via Unanimous Decision

In the past week, the sport of Mixed Martial Arts has faced down and defeated (in the realm of public opinion, at least) three of the worst stereotypes and situations the sport could face. Stereotypes and situations so bad, us fans would always joke about them in a “never could happen” sort of way. Like “Hey Bob, wouldn’t it be funny if in one week we had a women’s fight featuring a gruesome arm break, a UFC fighter get outed for doing gay porn, and a Neo-Nazi compete on a Zuffa card.”

Yeah, that all happened. And our sport (and the folks in it) came through these troubled waters in flying colors.

First up: Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey in the most anticipated women’s matchup since the girl from “Haywire” fought Wanderlei Silva in a sports bra. In a sport where the political and sporting “correctness” of women fighting is still very open to debate, these ladies put on a fight featuring a badly broken arm finish. If I had given this to you, Mr. (or Mrs.) MMA fan, as a hypothetical only a year ago, you’d tell me this was a recipe for a PR disaster of epic, almost Elite XC proportions.

Instead, Joe R. Public gave props to Ronda for her dominance, props to Miesha for her pluck, and lots of props to both ladies for their technical brilliance and grit. Damn that’s sexy – in a “let’s respect women fighters as we do the men while not getting hysterical over a broken arm” kind of way.

Then on the same card, there was the scandal involving undercard fighter Brandon Saling, who as it turns out is some white trash reincarnation of Adolf Hitler mixed with Ben Roethlisberger, with trace elements of actual sh*t. Yeah, he’s a violent skinhead with a horrendous criminal past – basically making him the typical MMA fighter in the mind of your kindly old Grandma Mabel.

Scott Coker and crew claimed “not to know” he was a neo-Nazi (those SS tats could be anything, really) but once they found out, they fired him, the commission revoked his license, and they made him watch “American History X” on continuous repeat for the next year. And like Heath Ledger’s Joker might say…”nobody panicked”. Good job everyone!

And finally, there was the whole “a contestant on this season of TUF once did gay porn!” thing, which is about as uncomfortable a revelation (literally, natch) as the sport could have right now. The opportunity was there for fans to get worked up, Dana White to put his foot in his mouth, and the whole sport to look immature and homophobic. Instead, the reaction from fighters, fans and the UFC was a giant “meh” and life went on pretty much as if the whole thing never happened.

Three almost inconceivable worst-case scenarios. Three measured, reasonable reactions that put each incident into proper context and proportion. I could kiss all of you on the lips – you know, assuming a camera was rolling and the money was right.

I’m actually right about something!

Remember when I wrote that post claiming Frankie Edgar should get an immediate rematch with Ben Henderson, and the internet pretty much burned me in effigy?

Man, that was a hard day. My loyal readers, calling me every rotten name in the book (and it’s a big book). Even when I asked my lady for a pity f*ck, her response was “You think Frankie Edgar should get ANOTHER rematch? Well it seems you’ll be Jon Fitch’ing the couch to a unanimous decision tonight, Mr. Writer Man.”

Well this week, the glorious news broke: Frankie Edgar is getting his immediate rematch. Again. Again again. So you’ll excuse the blatant immaturity for a moment when I say…

EAT IT HATERS! I WAS RIGHT, AND YOU WERE WRONG. HOW DO YOU LIKE ‘DEM APPLES!

Ahem.

Kos is now trash-talking AKA!

Trash talk from Josh Koscheck is nothing new. And usually, it’s nothing newsworthy, either. Unless of course you feel like someone shouting “male nurse! Male Nurse! MALE NURSE BRO!” in increasingly louder tones, or attacking someone with a toilet plunger is comedy gold.

Full disclosure: I laughed my butt off at both those moments. But I’m the guy who thought Edgar/Henderson II was a good idea, so you should probably take what I say with a big grain of EAT IT MOFO’S I WAS RIGHT! Ok I’m done now.

This week, Kos was in the news again, letting his mouth write cheques that his ass (or orbital bone) will have to cash. Except that the target of his wrath is his former gym, the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California.

Everyone who follows MMA news knows Kos had a falling out with his old camp. But it’s still shocking to hear him run down a gym with which he was once synonymous. It’s the sort of thing that makes me feel old.

Now that I think about it, the modern MMA landscape features a Greg Jackson’s without Rashad Evans, an AKA without Josh Koscheck, and a Golden Glory without The ‘Reem. What in the sam Hell is the world coming to?

Fedor is coming to the UFC!

HOLY SWEET COMMUNIST JESUS! This is huge folks, but according to this story that surfaced this week, Fedor Emelianenko might…just might…be headed for the UFC!

In other news: the DeLorean works, and we’re successfully back in 2007. Time to cancel that $500 “Pats are headed for a perfect season, baby!” bet I made. Oh, and invent Twitter. Can’t forget that. And possibly write the script for the movie “Inception”, this time with a less ambiguous ending so I can finally know if it was all a dream, damnit!

When it comes to “Fedor’s coming to the UFC” stories, I feel like Bill Murray in “Groundhog’s Day.” I’m lying in my bed, the radio is playing “I got You, Babe” by Sonny and Cher, and I have to face another day of EXACTLY THE SAME THING. It’s amazing these stories still find traction anymore – what with everything that’s happened in the career of Fedor since these rumors first started swirling back in…oh, I think it was Biblical times.

The funny thing is, there’s a better chance of Fedor coming to the UFC now than ever before. That’s because Fedor has lost almost all his lustre, destroying any leverage he had to make outrageous contract demands (such as “wanting lots of money” and “wanting even more money than that” and “seriously now, I want half of what you make just because I show up!”). And the UFC is desperate for big name talent (especially at heavyweight) to fill in on thrice-weekly cards from Fiji, or Luxemburg, or wherever.

Tim Sylvia is training cardio!

Did anyone else catch this little tidbit this week? Yes, that’s Big Timmeh himself, doing some decidedly non-Superheavyweight cardiovascular training. It’s part of a campaign to get Tim back to the UFC by popular demand (which is a “wait, what? Seriously?” thing in and of itself). Except that Dana White recently said “hell no” (his words, not mine) to Tim Sylvia ever coming back to the UFC.

Which I guess makes this all sort of sad. Still, I think Tim should keep right on training – there’s always the Ray Mercer rematch, amiright?

By Elton Hobson

I remember many a fan laughing when UFC President Dana White claimed a few years ago that the UFC was “going global.” What a hopelessly optimistic pipe dream, fans said. White’s particular brand of fistic action will never catch on beyond (North) America’s shores!

This year, the UFC is looking to hold events in Brazil, Japan, Australia, Sweden, possibly the UK and Canada – assuming they can find a main event, that is. I say they make GSP fight with one leg. That ought to even things out a bit.

If that isn’t the definition of “going global” than what, may I ask, is? The pipe dream is a dream no longer – and the only pipe is the ones all those cynical fans were obviously smoking a couple years back (tobbacco pipes, like Sherlock Holmes, because they’re such snotty know-it-alls. Why, what did you think I meant?).

After a highly entertaining and, by all accounts, quite successful UFC 144 in Japan, Dana White has already announced the UFC’s intention to return to Asia before the year’s out. Lots of options have been bandied about, with many focusing on China as the logical next destination.

I have no doubt that White seriously desires to break into the Chinese market, putting him right alongside every other executive in sports, finance, or business that enjoys making money. But I don’t think the time is right for a “Ultimate China” just yet. There’s a ton of political obstacles to overcome first off. As that guy from Lord of the Rings might say: one does not simply walk into China. As well, the economic reality of China would make the pricing of tickets for this event a tricky proposition.

And finally, it must be asked – just how popular is MMA in China right now? No doubt the sport has a presence and the potential right now, and there are promising promotions and prospective fighters coming out of the Orient. But overall, I suspect the sport just isn’t “over” enough in China yet to make the cost of doing a live event financially feasible.

So where to then? To my mind, the obvious answer is for Dana White to make like Douglas MacArthur, and invade Korea! (No more Korean War jokes, I swear).

First off, we know the sport of MMA has a bit of traction in South Korea. Spirit FC was a promotion that enjoyed some popularity in Korea, being broadcast on cable TV as well as being the home of future UFC fighters like Denis Kang. The promotion is now defunct, but new shows like Road FC are looking to pick up where they left off.

Not to mention the UFC’s fairly deep roster of popular, talented Korean fighters. Ben Henderson immediately comes to mind as the PERFECT guy to headline a show in South Korea. Sure, he’s only part-Korean and was born and raised in America – but anyone who saw this video knows that South Korean MMA fans don’t really seem to give a crap.

Bendo is the perfect man to lead the UFC’s charge into Asia. He has the blood relation, he’s handsome and well-spoken, and he has exposure from headlining UFC 144. He’s also exciting as all heck, which helps on the marketability front.

Could you imagine a Seoul event headlined by…oh, let’s say Ben Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis II? I think this fight is the dictionary definition of “everybody wins”. They could sell the fight in Korea on the strength of Bendo’s Korean lineage, and sell the fight stateside as “remember that awesome fight where the Showtime Kick happened? Yeah, it’s going down again LIVE ON PPV!”.

What’s more, the UFC has some quality Korean fighters that could fill out the undercard. Dong-Hyun Kim, once billed as the hottest prospect in Korean MMA, is coming off an impressive win after conceding his first ever loss to Carlos Condit. If you put him in the ring with an exciting welterweight – someone like Diego Sanchez, Paulo Thiago, or the winner of Alvez/Kampmann – he could draw both interest and excitement in his home and native land.

And let’s not forget about this “Korean Zombie” dude. In terms of popularity, Chan Sung-Jung is the biggest Korean fighter in the UFC, and has a sort of “Forrest Griffin/Stephan Bonner/Chris Leben/Leonard Garcia” relationship with fans. What I mean by that is Jung will always be a “known” commodity to fans, his fights will always be (at least slightly) a big deal, and he can be counted on for excitement like Bob Sapp can be counted on to give it all he’s got from opening bell to…wait, bad analogy.

The timing might be a challenge for Chan, as he is possibly in line for a shot at Jose Aldo’s featherweight title. If it works out for him though, I see Jung vs. any 145’er with a pulse going over like gangbusters. My personal pick would be a rematch with George Roop, but that’s me.

And that’s not even mentioning guys like Dongi Yang, another up and coming Korean fighter who could very easily get “the push” onto the main card of a Korean UFC. And then there’s guys like Sexyama and Denis Kang, who could easily draw with their Korean backgrounds and history with Korean MMA fans.

So I say forget about China for now, and bring the Octagon to South Korea. Put on a great event there that gets local fans talking, and I guarantee the Chinese will come pouring over the Korean border in numbers not seen since…damnit, not another Korean War joke!

By Elton Hobson

I think we can all agree that UFC 144 was a fantastic event. Great fights, great crowd (mostly – more on that later), and no real snoozers to speak of. I love MMA cards where there’s nothing to complain about, mostly because it means I don’t have to listen to a bunch of MMA fans complain about something.

Ok, there was a very close decision to b*tch about, but so what? Only the truly crazy fans are getting up in arms about that, right?

Still, it seems to me there are some fun facts being overlooked in the post-good event glow of UFC 144. Like a lover post-coitus, smoking a cigarette in bed, we’re too caught up in the good vibes to roll over and ask “So that part where you insisted I wear pointy ears, call you Captain Picard and said ‘make it so’ with each thrust…what was THAT all about?”.

Because UFC 144 was a strange card – and not only because it was in Japan, land of Godzilla, holographic pop stars, and soiled panty vending machines. There are some strange factoids about this UFC that, were I to go back in time and tell you just a few years ago, would have you calling BS. Who travels time to brag about weird MMA facts, anyways?

So without further ado, here are 5 fun, surprising, and downright bizarre facts from (and about) UFC 144. Bust one of these gems out next time you’re at a party and want to impress all the fine lookin’ ladies with your knowledge of MMA trivia…yeah…that’s how that works.

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I never fail to marvel at the odd, utterly unpredictable process by which MMA fans choose what “controversial” decisions to care about.

Nick Diaz doesn’t get the nod over Carlos Condit? Robbery, I say! Mike Bisping squeaks past Matt Hamill? Home cooking at it’s worst! BJ Penn doesn’t get the decision over GSP? I hate wrestling! GSP’s a cheater! RAHHHHHH!

And yet other times, the chorus of fans is remarkably silent. Ellenberger vs. Sanchez was a razor close decision featuring a possible 10-8 round – yet not a peep was made about that decision. Anthony Pettis, he of showtime kick legend, had an extremely close fight with Jeremy Stephens that no one got too worked up about. I recall lots of talk about “everybody being a winner” when the ref’s raised Dan Henderson’s hand instead of “Shogun” Rua’s – but switch Dan’s hand for Lyoto Machida’s that gets raised instead of Rua’s, it was an affront to the fight gods.

It’s fascinating stuff. You could write a master’s thesis on the psyche of the MMA fan when it comes to close decisions. Case in point: last weekend’s Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson title fight.

Once again, Frankie Edgar put on one hell of a world title fight – and once again, he had to go through Hell to do it. I joked during the event that after all his fights, Frankie must sit backstage in the dressing room, face mashed into hamburger meat, missing teeth as well as brain cells, thinking “This MMA stuff sucks! Why wasn’t I a plumber or something?”

This time, fate wasn’t so kind to Frankie. By fight’s end, both Dana White and myself had scored the fight for Frankie 3 rounds to 2, despite Benson looking like he stepped off a treadmill and Frankie looking like he lost a headbutting contest with a locomotive. When the judges gave Henderson the nod, you could see the disappointment in Frankie’s face (what was left of it, anyways). The 12 hour flight from Japan looking like Elephant man would have been nicer with 12 pounds of gold to cuddle up to.

Fun fact: last night, the reigning lightweight champion for almost two years, who removed the greatest 155’er of all-time from the title picture forever and handed Gray Maynard the only loss that Gray himself didn’t self-inflict, lost his belt in a very close, very fun fight.

Standard MMA playbook clearly indicated where we go from here. Two words: Immediate. Rematch.

Yet you mention this in regards to Frankie and all you get are eye rolls and disappointed sighs. “Frankie keeps rematching people!” the angry fan complains. “I’m tired of Lightweight getting help up by Frankie Edgar fights! It’s not fair to the division. It’s boring! I don’t like Frankie Edgar! BOOOOOO!”

There’s so much wrong with this sentiment that I don’t even know where to start, but let’s start with a question: have you SEEN any of Frankie’s fights recently? His series with gray Maynard is one of the best trilogies in MMA history, if not the best. Maynard vs. Frankie II was the fight of the year last year, and Maynard vs. Edgar III wasn’t far behind.

And before that, Edgar’s series with BJ Penn was a technical masterpiece par excellence. I’ll admit Penn vs. Edgar 1 was a tad slow, but it was hardly a snoozer by any stretch of the imagination. And Penn vs. Edgar 2 was a master class in all-round MMA that showed fully the evolution of Frankie Edgar. Those were fights that were not only entertaining, but significant to the history of MMA. They represented the end of the “BJ Penn” era of the division.

Now the fan complains about too many-immediate rematches. Apparently, the deluge of world-class, FOTY candidates Frankie Edgar has been having while champion are crap because they’ve been with the same people. Let’s get the division moving again, man!

First off: the division is “moving along” just fine. The time spent on the Maynard/Edgar series last year let the division sort itself out after the influx of talent from the WEC. Benson Henderson emerged as a clear #1 contender, and look how that worked out. Anthony Pettis set himself as a potential contender for the title with his win last night, but Jim Miller and Nate Diaz are right on his heels.

My point is there’s still more “sorting” that can be done, allowing time for the UFC to do the right thing, and give Frankie Edgar an immediate rematch against Ben Henderson.

Ok, I shouldn’t say “right thing” because it makes this sound like some holier-than-thou crusade rather than my personal opinion. And really, there’s nothing wrong with giving Pettis the next shot at the belt. He’s a big name, has history with the champion, and will put on guaranteed fireworks. I could see the UFC going that way and I wouldn’t be (too) ticked off about it.

But to my mind, Frankie Edgar has earned his rematch. Whatever you think of his style or the way he wins fights, he’s gutted it out as champion almost two years now – an eternity in MMA – and given us some absolute classics on the process. He deserves a chance to win back the belt he lost in a close decision.

And it was a close decision, folks, no matter what Frankie’s face looked like post-fight. Many fans seem content to judge a fight by how “damaged” a fighter looks afterwards. That’s a fine system I guess, but it’s not the one the judges use to pick a winner. And if we can give GSP the nod over BJ Penn in their first fight, Diego Sanchez the nod over Martin Kampmann, and Leonard Garcia the nod over most anybody, we have to at least consider the notion that Edgar/Henderson II isn’t ridiculous on it’s face.

FightMetric scored the hotly-debated BJ Penn vs. Jon Fitch draw 29-28 for Fitch, with a performance score of 273-159. That’s a 114-point difference. That’s a fight that, if you recall, was scheduled to get an immediate rematch before Jon Fitch took an arrow to the…no!…must…not make….overused…Skyrim joke. I don’t even play Skyrim. What the hell am I talking about?

Right, FightMetric. They scored Bendo vs. Frankie 388-285 in total performance score, while giving the nod on the cards to Benson. That’s a 103-point difference.

What’s my point? In the aforementioned case, a 114-point difference in a draw, in a non-title fight, was enough to merit an immediate rematch. Yet a 103-point difference, in an extremely close, fun world title match…isn’t?

When BJ dropped the belt to Frankie, FightMetric scored it 373-263 total performance rating for BJ Penn. That difference of 90 points was enough to merit a near-automatic immediate rematch with Edgar for Penn. Yet Benson’s 103-point victory over Frankie is a win set in stone, beyond reproach or controversy?

Frankie’s earned his rematch, folks. I’m not saying it has to happen or even that it will. If he has to go to the back of the line, so be it. Life goes on, and I’m sure Pettis vs. Henderson II will be a barnburner.

But some part of me is hoping that the UFC – and MMA fans, to whom they must cater – give the former champ the respect due a man who’s held a title for two years, best a P4P great to get it, and was in last year’s fight of the year.

What more must a man do to earn your guys respect?

By Elton Hobson

I knew when I started this blog that it was going to have something to do with the welterweight title.

Once the most “stagnant” and firmly held of the UFC belts (GSP modern day hasn’t had a “Silva vs. Sonnen” style close call) today it is the most tumultuous – and talked about – belt in the game.

Full disclosure: I was going to write about Carlos Condit, and the controversy that’s is still swirling more than a week after his controversial win over Nick Diaz for the interim title. After all, it’s what most folks are still talking about, fans and media alike. It would have been a shot across the bow, that’s for sure.

Who’s bow? I don’t know. Maybe Nick’s. Maybe Condit’s. Maybe Greg Jackson’s. Maybe his haters. Maybe I’m amazed at the way you love me all the…wait, sorry, lost track of where I was headed for a second there.

But no, as a responsible member of the MMA media, it’s my responsibility to look forward, not back. Especially with a big event just around the corner. After it’s over, we can spend the next week looking back. That’d be the responsible thing to do.

Still, we can’t stray too far from Diaz/Condit – after all, I want MMA fans to actually read this, right? Good news: turns out tonight’s main event has a lot to do with what happened over a week ago – or more accurately, what likely happened weeks ago and only showed up in a piss test last week.

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In the wake of UFC 143′s “Judging-Gate” (it’s always a “Something-Gate” with you people…thanks a lot, Nixon!) I wrote an article where I spelled out what would remedy the Diaz/Condit situation: immediate rematch.

Well, if anyone needed further proof that Dana White reads my articles and takes every sage word to heart, you got it yesterday. Within just a few hours of my article going up, White and the UFC announced Diaz vs. Condit II…only not…only they did…except it might not happen…I think? Basically either one or both managers are holding out for more moolah, or Nick Diaz has been training at “altitude” again.

Funnily enough, more than a few Condit fans are downright PO’ed at the rematch even happening, for what as far as I can see are 2 reasons:

1) Carlos Condit already beat Diaz! He shouldn’t have to fight him again! This is a lose-lose fight for Condit and a complete slap in the face of his masterful performance to win the title.

AND

2) This is an evil conspiracy from Dana White to get the Diaz/GSP super-fight everybody wants! Condit winning (and winning “boring”) killed all the hype for GSP’s return – and now Dana’s trying to change history! RAAAAGE!!!

So even though I wrote about this only a day ago, I’m going

to take a moment to revisit the Diaz/Condit conundrum. See, I happen to think that an immediate rematch is the BEST thing that could happen for Carlos, short of GSP healing his knee with blood magic or something and facing Condit in the next 2-3 months.

Let’s lay out the options currently facing Carlos right now, and see what his best move is:

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Since the very beginning of Bellator Fighting Championships, Philadelphia’s Eddie Alvarez has been “the trust”. He was the poster boy for the organization. He was the centerpiece of their promotional strategy. He was the most well-known and legitimate of Bellator’s roster of champions.

So when Eddie Alvarez lost his lightweight championship in a shocking upset to Michael Chandler last November, the first question out of most fans mouths was “what now?”. Do you put a star with the profile (not to mention paycheque) into the hustle and grind of a tournament, and squander your biggest star by making him “just one of the guys”? Or do you send Alvarez right back into title contention – and break the cardinal rule of Bellator that title shots are “earned, not given”.

This week, we found out what Alvarez’s and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney’s gameplan was: none of the above.

Instead, Alvarez will rematch top-ranked Japanese judo and BJJ phenom Shinya Aoki, this time in the Bellator cage. These men last met in DREAM’s New Years Eve “Dynamite!!” event in 2008, with Aoki winning via Heel hook. Since then, Alvarez has gone on a tear, winning 7 straight fights and shooting into the top-10 of the Lightweight division before his recent loss to Chandler.

Aoki, conversely has stumbled somewhat, with crushing losses to Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Gilbert Melendez, and kick boxer Yuichiro Nagashima wearing the lustre off his former top-5 ranking. Still, “Tobikan Judan” is riding a 7-fight win streak of his own, winning four times in 2011 against pretty good competition. The timing seems to be perfect for this rematch.

The devil, as always, is in the details. This fight is expected to take place in the Bellator cage, which raises some questions about what exactly Aoki’s contract for this fight will look like. Is this a one-off fight, or is Aoki signing to a multi-fight deal with Bellator?

If it’s the former, there’s a headache looming for Mr. Rebney should Aoki defeat Alvarez in their rematch in April. It never looks good to have your former champion and poster boy lose to a guy making his promotional debut – who is then never seen again.

This is the exact reason (or one of them, anyways) why the UFC never signed those co-promotion deals with Fedor back in the day. If you’re going to bring somebody in to face one of your stars, you need to make sure you have him locked down for a few fights should he win, otherwise he takes your promotional efforts and the big win with him back to Japan (or wherever) and you are left with a damaged goods star and little else.

If it’s the latter, and Aoki is coming to Bellator on a more permanent basis, other questions are raised. How many fights is his contract? How does DREAM feel about their golden goose jumping the coop for stateside pastures? Is there a co-promotional deal being worked out like DREAM once had with Strikeforce? Because that deal didn’t really work out too well for the Japanese promotion in the long run, did it?

And if Aoki is coming to Bellator, why not put him in the Lightweight tournament? Now even if he wins, the path to his title shot is murky at best. In fact, that’s another problem with this fight: it doesn’t really set up either guy for a shot at the belt – unless Rebney goes back on his word regarding tournaments being the only way to get a crack at the gold in Bellator. Otherwise, this is just a fun “superfight” that leaves the winner in limbo until the season is over.

This is big news for Bellator, and has the potential to be one of their most anticipated and highest profile fights in some time. But with that reward comes some significant risks, and Bellator management has some tough choices ahead of them.

It will be interesting to see what they chose to do in the coming days…

By Elton Hobson

So it’s Wednesday, mid-way through the week and a couple of days removed from the UFC’s sophomore showing on the Fox network. And after a couple days reading, writing, and gathering perspective, I think I can safely say that most fans are crapping on this card like a malaria victim on an Exlax binge.

And yet I noticed something kind of strange. It seems like it a lot of cases, fans are complaining about one thing – but really mean something else entirely.

Yeah, I know that kind of makes MMA fans seem like b*tchy girls on their periods. But think about it – this is a group of fans who complain that Jon Jones is too “fake”, take every fighter missing weight as a personal insult, and judges a person’s entire character by how they come off on a reality show. Sometimes, we ARE like girls on their period

And right now, I have a feeling it’s “that time of the month”.

(Ed note: Judging by the early comments, some folks are a little ticked over the analogy I've just drawn here. I'm sorry guys. No really, I am. It was a stupid joke, and it wasn't even funny. Let me make it up to you - we'll watch Ryan Gosling movies all night while I give you back rubs, mmmkay?...Sorry, couldn't help myself. Be kind :p)

So, as a die-hard fight fan I’m here to help you understand what us fans are REALLY mad about when we complain about this latest Fox offering. Let’s start chronologically, shall we?

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If you had gone by the betting lines leading into this fight – some of whom had Sonnen as a -400 favorite – then you’d assume this was as foregone a conclusion as rain, taxes, and the Kardashian divorce.

And in the end, I suppose the oddsmakers got it right. Chael Sonnen got his hand raised after three rounds, like most folks thought he would.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story, which simply put is this: fans, media, pundits, critics, and whoever owe Michael Bisping an apology – and I’m counting myself in this lot, too.

Turns out you can wrestle pretty damn well, after all.

Everyone remembers the argument about wrestling leading into Bisping vs. hendo at UFC 100. Everyone remembers scoffing at the notion that the Brit could compete at wrestling with the American wrestler. Everyone remembers laughing when Bisping threw out that half-hearted shot attempt and was easily stuffed by Hendo.

It would have been a more memorable moment had Hendo not followed it up with the Falcon Punch heard ‘round the world.

Still, that image forms the basis for the “Bisping can’t wrestle” mindset me thinks, even though he held his own with guys like Rashad Evans and Matt Hamill.

And what’s more, Chael Sonnen isn’t just another good wrestler. He’s the best functional wrestler at middleweight. He’s a guy who faced Yushin Okami, Dan Miller, Nate Marquardt, Brian Stann and oh yeah, Anderson Silva, and he wrestled the living crap out of all of them.

He didn’t wrestle the anything out of Mike Bisping last night.

Oh sure, he took him down enough to win a decision, and landed enough ground n’ pound to avoid the “lay and pray” label.

But he didn’t succeed on every shot. And when he did, Bisping was always quickly back to his feet. Even in the third round, after getting the best wrestling effort Sonnen could put together, Bisping ended the round on top of Chael. In the clinch, it was even more evenly matched – so much so that it was tough to tell who was the Greco-Roman national champion and who was the cocky guy from England.

If Anderson Silva had done as well wrestling-wise against Chael as Bisping did, I doubt that fight ends with a Hail Mary triangle choke.

So allow me, Mr. Bisping, to on behalf of the MMA blogosphere (of which I, obviously, am spokesperson) apologize for so totally writing you off in this fight, and ignoring the great strides you’ve clearly made in your wrestling. You may not have won this fight but I think you won more than a few detractors over to your side last night, and proved that you really belong at the elite level in MMA.

If nothing else, you’ve got some fans screaming that you were the one who got “robbed” in a decision instead of your opponent for once, so enjoy that while it lasts.




By Elton Hobson

Of all the fights on the “UFC on Fox” card, none left a bitterer taste in my mouth than the evening’s curtain jerker: Demian Maia vs. Chris Weidman.

Ok, so that bitter taste might have something to do with the fact that I bet $5 on Maia to win in what I felt was a “smart” underdog pick. After all, Maia is a phenom in BJJ, one of my all-time favorite grapplers. He also has more experience than Weidman, to say nothing of Chris taking the fight on two weeks notice. The deck seemed stacked in Maia’s favor.

But honestly, what I really wanted was a Jiu-Jitsu war, a grappling chess match for the ages to match Sakuraba vs. Newton, or even Maia vs. MacDonald (an unheralded classic, peep it if you haven’t). I wanted the kind of dynamic, exciting grappling exchange that would show the network TV universe that “rolling” can be just as fun to watch as “standabang”.

Instead, we got a three-round amateur kickboxing contest in which Weidman came out the winner, Maia came out looking awful, and fans came out asleep.

Hey, don’t take my word for it. From what we’ve been hearing on Twitter for the last 24 hours, this fight sucked the energy out of the United Center like a giant, mirth-collecting Hoover vacuum.

Remember when seeing the words “Demian Maia” on a card meant a surefire highlight-reel submission was in the offing? Remember how he absolutely tore through guys like Ed Herman, Nate Quarry, and Ryan Jensen? Remember that time he once did this to Chael freakin’ Sonnen?

What happened, Demian? You haven’t won by submission in three years now, but more than that you look like you’re not even trying that hard anymore. Against guys you should tie in knots – guys like Mario Miranda, Kendall Grove, Jorge Santiago – you’re tentative.

Now don’t get me wrong, Maia’s stand-up game has grown by leaps and bounds. That’s very much to his credit, except that it seems to have come at the expense of his ground game.

I just don’t see the cost/benefit in trading a world class BJJ game for an alright stand-up one. Put another way, I don’t think a championship is in your future if you can’t outbox a short-notice Chris Weidman.

In fact, the only attempts to bring the fight down were Weidman’s (as far as I recall, I’ve only seen the fight once). This speaks well to how confident he is on the ground, even when he’s gassed. I can’t wait to see what he can do against top comp with a full tank of gas and a full training camp under his belt.

And Maia? I think Maia needs to get back to his roots, pronto. In a funny way, I think the crushing Marquardt KO and the Anderson Silva humiliation changed Demian’s mindset. It showed him that world class BJJ isn’t enough. It forced him to grow and expand his game.

But he needs to remember what brought him to the dance. His wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, everything – it should all be in service of his BJJ game. Otherwise, I fear he’s wasting fans, Dana White’s and his own time.

By Elton Hobson

So many times, last minute injuries or switch-ups can derail even the best UFC cards. Everyone remembers the famous UFC 108: “Catasrof*ck” disaster, where the promotion shuffled through about 50,000 or so main events before settling on Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva. This was back when Rashad was only a year removed from his last title fight, and Thiago’s urine didn’t melt through commission testing cups like acidic Alien blood.

This Saturday’s “UFC on Fox” is the rare example of a last-minute switch-up that actually benefitted the UFC. Now, thanks to the cruel machinations of the fight gods (and the bone chips in Mark Munoz’s arm) we get something of a dream fight: Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping. The ultimate British “bad boy” vs. the gangster from Oregon. The only two guys left at middleweight who Anderson Silva hasn’t completely scratched off his “to-do list”.

Oh, were that this fight had the full two months of build-up, instead of just a couple weeks. The trash talk would have been epic. Instead, we’ll have to settle for “you can’t defend submissions and your balls don’t work!” vs. “you’d be speaking German if not for my forebears!” It’s like either guy went onto the UG, searched for their opponent’s name, and just copied whatever they found there.

Thank heavens Chael Sonnen had the good sense to show up to media events with a fake world title and start calling out everyone with a pulse – otherwise, us fans would have no reason to care about this fight.

From a promotional standpoint, it doesn’t get much better than this fight for the UFC. Sonnen might be the hottest property at middleweight, and having him fight Bisping, who all Yanks seem to hate like tea and taxes, is absolutely ideal. He can spout his ridiculous trash talk, raise hackles, and be as outrageous as he wants – all it will do it get the American faithful even more in his corner some Saturday.

And this is a perfect situation for Bisping as well. For so long, the UFC has tried to find a way to put England’s most popular fighter into a world title fight. A win here would finally make that dream a reality. Plus, a win over someone like Sonnen would add a ton of credibility for Mike’s case for a title shot.

To go by the odds makers, Chael Sonnen should run over Mike Bisping, and this accords with most fans thoughts as well. It’s a simple formula: Sonnen is perhaps the best wrestler at middleweight, and Bisping is British. Case closed.

Except that Bisping has an extremely underrated guard, and Sonnen isn’t exactly immune to getting tapped in the guard. He’s also a better wrestler than most would give him credit for. I’m not saying he’s going to stuff every Sonnen takedown, or that Bisping is going to pull Shinya Aoki-esque submissions off from his guard.

But he has a shot. And if he can answer the challenge of Sonnen’s wrestling, he’ll have as good a shot as anyone at beating Anderson Silva.

Ok, that’s not really true, since Andy won’t be looking to take him down. Rather, he’ll be looking to knock him cold with a move he thought up while he was walking to the cage. And Bisping was once rocked by Charles McCarthy. So there’s that.

By Elton Hobson

This week, I fully expected to write a blog focused, somehow, on all the outrageous trash talkin’ coming out of the Bisping vs. Sonnen “battle of the jerks”. After all, the primary reason I even come onto the Internet is for a good “jerk-off” (a meeting of two jerks – why, what did you think I meant?).

Only one little problem: there really isn’t any trash talk happening at all.

Bisping has gotten on record with some trash talk, hitting the long-awaited “only has one testicle” note that was inevitable in Sonnen’s post-steriods fiasco future. Then he called into question Sonnen’s questionable submission defence. If I wanted wit of that level, I’d go back in time a year and a half and log onto the Sherdog forums.

As of this writing (Ed note: Right after I posted this, Chael went off with his fake belt/hating Kenny Rice warpath...so I suppose there's SOME trash talk now) the only bit of trash talk Sonnen has offered up is this little bon mot:

“They have got the Oxford English Dictionary, and it if wasn’t thanks to us, it would be the Oxford GERMAN Dictionary.”

And it’s a good one, a tried and true zinger that so many Yanks bring up when they want to silence those pesky Europeans. But is it true? Would England be “speaking German” if not for the good old U S of A?

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It was said by many a writer that Georges St. Pierre’s unfortunate gymnastics/Vitor Belfort-induced knee injury was a blessing in disguise for the welterweight division. For years, GSP had ruled the top spot with such authority that the rest of the division seemed laughingly uncompetitive by comparison. It was sort of like how I imagine the Justice League would be like – Superman, and a bunch of other people who are there to get him water, or balance his chequebook, or something.

The irony for most folks (myself included) is that we said the one most blessed by this turn of fate was Jon Fitch. Finally, “The Son of a Fitch” (not his real nickname…too bad) was going to get his (second) moment in the sun! Hendrick’s fist made quick work of that little fantasy.

Sidebar: wow, who would have thought that one month would see BOTH Jon Fitch and Mark Hominick knocked out in the time it takes you to put your pants on in the morning.

In lieu of a St. Pierre title defense – his most hotly anticipated one in a while – we now have an interim title fight that’s almost as good. Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit. Sure, neither of these guys has the distinguished resume of a GSP, but they’re not too shabby. Combined, there’s two world titles and plenty of elite-level scalps between them.

Plus, this fight is a guaranteed war, for as long as it lasts. Like eating bad sushi (and paying for it the next morning) there’s nothing you can do. It’s inevitable. Just grab a comfy seat, and wait for it to come.

And with this fight comes a question that strikes me as seriously silly, but let’s hear it (otherwise why are you reading this?):

“Should the winner of Diaz vs. Condit take another fight before GSP comes back?”

Of course he should. This seems like a no-brainer to me. But before I explain why, lets breakdown the reason why someone might think this was a bad idea.

First off, it’s the interim title. The interim title. Yuck. To most fans, just mentioning those words causes them to go a little queasy. “It’s not the real title,” they say accusingly. “It just dilutes the title lineage, confuses fans, and takes the focus off the rightful champion. Boooooooooooooooooooooo!” And so it goes.

There’s something of a historical precedent there, as the interim champ usually faces the returning actual champ in his next fight. Think BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk, Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar, or GSP vs. Matt Serra II. The interim champ facing the actual champ one fight after winning his “interim” title is usually how business is done in the UFC.

But so what?

Yeah, it’s that simple. So what? So what if it’s an interim title or not? Why argue that the title picture is diluted when by even making the interim title, you already done the “damage”. You’re already calling another guy champion. You might as well let him defend his belt, seeing as how we know he’s going to face that other guy you call champion sooner or later.

And really, that’s the crux of my argument: a strong interim title will create interest, draw fans, and produce readymade storylines for PPV main events that are an easy “sell”.

Just picture it: Nick Diaz wins the belt Superbowl weekend, flipping everyone and their mothers off while he does it. Put a mic in his face and mention the name “GSP”, and watch Diaz sell the s*it (literally, and every other word George Carlin said you can’t say on TV) out of that fight. Cut to GSP in the crowd, fuming in his seat, and a feud is born. Or rather, is enhanced, since most fans want to see these guys scrap anyways.

Then have Diaz defend the belt against…oh, let’s say Jake Ellenberger. That’s another guaranteed fun fight (see the name Diaz? That’s usually a good sign.) with two guys who could offer interesting challenges to the returning GSP.

Joe Rogan: “Alright I’m here with the winner, Nick Diaz/Jake Ellenberger, the UFC Interim Welterweight champ! Tell us what’s next for you…”

Interim Champ: “I may have won tonight, but I won’t consider myself the true champion until I beat Georges St. Pierre… LIVE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND AT THE MGM GRAND GARDEN AND CASINO IN LAS VEGAS NEVADA, LIVE ON PPV, TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE!”

I think you get my point.

If it’s Condit who prevails over Diaz? Even better. The UFC could play up the “both of us used to train at Jackson’s, Carlos once stood in GSP’s shadow but no more, GSP left Jackson’s and is there any bad blood?” storyline until the cows come home. Lord knows the UFC’s got a serious case of “must sell Team Jackson’s drama” blue balls over their inability to put together Rashad Evans vs. Jon Jones.

To my mind, there should be no question about this. The welterweight division is one of the most stacked in the UFC, and it shouldn’t be frozen like Han Solo in carbonite just because one guy is hurt. The division will do just fine without GSP in it – ok, no one will make nearly as much money in their title fights, but aside from that.

All an interim title (and defending it) does is give GSP a built-in opponent, storyline, and PPV super fight when he returns.

Near as I can tell, everybody wins.

By Elton Hobson