SBNation.com User Blog: jw1487

So - Dwayne Bowe is in this Music Video

jw1487 — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:35:30 -0000

Three questions on this:
1) WHY?
2) This is an incredibly strange video. (Not a questioned much as an observation)
3) WHY?

Rob Ryan fired by the Cowboys as DC. Am I crazy, or did we just find a pretty decent defensive...

jw1487 — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 09:14:26 -0000

Rob Ryan fired by the Cowboys as DC.

Am I crazy, or did we just find a pretty decent defensive coordinator for the Chiefs?

I know he didn't have much success with Dallas, but we sure could use his fire.

What happened here? Anybody? Why has no media asked him about this? Would love to know what...

jw1487 — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 21:25:37 -0000

What happened here? Anybody? Why has no media asked him about this?

Would love to know what got Crennel the most fired up we've seen him all season. I was just glad to see emotion on our sidelines.

I died a little on the inside when this happened. Even Breaston, a glimmer of hope for the future,...

jw1487 — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 18:03:47 -0000

I died a little on the inside when this happened. Even Breaston, a glimmer of hope for the future, is self-destructing.

Geno Looks good in Red...

jw1487 — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 05:51:35 -0000

Geno Looks good in Red...

I'm Sick of This...

jw1487 — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 06:11:57 -0000

Raiders+v+Kansas+City+9NfPSbcn4mWl.jpg" align="right" style="width: 320px; height: 250px;"> I'm sick of the Chiefs players. I'm sick of the Chiefs coaches. And I'm sick of this season. This may seem harsh, but here it is:

I'm sick of Dwayne Bowe
If you're going to hold out on the franchise, then play like you've got something to prove. Sorry, Dwayne, you've proved nothing. Jon Baldwin outperformed you today. Dwayne Bowe single-handedly killed the game today, and that's the truth. I'm gonna say this, and you can get mad if you want... Don't pay Bowe. Trade him. Trade him for a first round pick.

I'm sick of Matt Cassel
Enough said. There's a thousand reasons and every one of them is already on this website. Sorry you took a tough shot, but I'm glad you're out. 9/15 passes - 92 YDS - 2 Interceptions. Don't talk to me about how those weren't his fault. He dropped the ball on the 1 yard line. See ya, Matt. I hope that was your last game in a Chiefs uniform. Too Tough? $60 Millions dollars guys. $60 MILLION. Not worth it.

I'm sick of Brian Daboll
Our play calling is about as sophisticated as my high school gym class football games. When something isn't working, stop. How many times did Dexter McCluster touch the ball? How about Moeaki? Steve Breaston? No? Good God... did we run a single Play Action pass after over 100yds in running by Charles in the first half?

I'm sick of Romeo Crennel
... as a head coach. The most fired up I saw him today was about a bad call on defense. Where is your fire when your Offense is self-destructing? Where is your fire at the end of a half - 4th down and 1 yard - and we punt the ball with 12 seconds left. Where is it? Romeo is a great Defense Coordinator. Terrible Head Coach. I'm so disgusted with your propensity to defend a sub-par performance week after week. "We're still early in the season..." is not an answer in the NFL - never should be. Where is the passion? You're a grown man coaching grown men who do this for a LIVING. This is your LIFE. If half of our city showed the same drive and leadership for their jobs as you do yours, we'd have the highest unemployment in the country. Losing 7 of our last 8 home games. And no comment - no sign at all of "urgency".

Redeemable points from today

1) The Defense.
Great Job. That's all you can say. Sorry our Offense is Non-Existant. We held the Ravens to 9 points in our house, and we lost. Please don't stop playing Lights Out.

2) Our Young Guns.
Jon Baldwin has passion. He catches a ball and the crowd comes alive. Everytime. Sign the man. So he doesn't have the name "Bowe" on the back of his jersey. He lights a fire by the way he plays. Awesome. Shaun Draugn. Runs just as hard as Charles, and also plays with a fire I've never seen in Peyton Hillis. Cyrus Gray. He lost a fumble and that sucks. But he made big plays today when Charles was tired. He'll only get better. Dontari Poe. Brandon Flowers - young guys playing with more heart than the big names. Good on you. Terrance Copper isn't a young guy, but he's a "smaller name" - and he played with guts. He deserves recognition.

So What Now? Sorry if this post is too in your face. I just finished watching the game. But here are my honest thoughts. I love the Chiefs, but this is where I'm at - 100%.

Cassel, Bowe, Hillis, and Eric Winston, should all be benched. I'm very serious. Sit their butts. To tolerate their terrible performances is to show that we accept anything, as long as you've got the name or the paycheck. When there is more excellence coming from young bloods that would kill to have your fame and your position in this city, you don't deserve to hold a spot. What are we going to lose? Another game? The city's support? The commentators support? NewsFlash gents, we're already losing games, the stands were far from full today, and the commentators don't talk about us anyway. Watching Chiefs Football games has turned into just waiting for the next catastrophe to happen on Offense. The crowd came alive today when Brady Quinn came in. The whole emotion of the game changed. If not for a "pick" called on McCluster, Brady Quinn would be the topic of the greatest story in KC in months. This tells me the city wants change - that's all. If not wins, we want change.

The ship is taking on water, and we don't want to rock the boat? We're sinking. Time to plug the holes and make the changes we need to make in order, if nothing else, to send a message. We expect Excellence. The city deserves your best effort. You're Grown Men. Take some pride in yourself. Be ashamed, be honest, and work as hard as ever.

Final Thoughts Kansas City has a history of football. The entire city takes PRIDE in the RED & GOLD. As grown men, how can these Kansas City Players put on a uniform emblazoned with that city on their helmets, and NOT PLAY WITH PASSION? How can a coach put on a hat with the city emblazoned on it, a play chart that carries not just the name of the city, but the attention, money, time, and soul of a city and NOT LEAD WITH PASSION? How can you not be ashamed of the showing you had today (Dwayne Bowe) and not pledge to the city in a press conference that you will work harder than ever in your life to restore faith in the program? How can show so little pride in what you do, when an entire city waits for you to take the field.

That's pretty much all I can say. It sucks that we lost today. But it will suck more if we get a few wins, all the uncovered garbage gets swept back under the rug, and we sit in a boat that continues to take on water. If you want to cuss me out, prove me wrong, etc - I sincerely wish you would - drop a comment below. I would love to change my mind about this team. I love Kansas City, and I love Kansas City Football. So after all that... with a sigh and resurgence of the tiniest flame of hope...

GO CHIEFS!

This makes me sad...

jw1487 — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:09:15 -0000

This makes me sad...

"Cassel Passing Leader in First Four Games: With 251 passing yards today, QB Matt Cassel has accumulated 1,058 passing yards in the first four games of the season. That mark ranks him first in franchise history for most passing yards during the first four games of the season. He breaks QB Joe Montana’s record of 1,054 yards in the first four games of the 1994 season."

So on paper - Cassel outperforms Montana. And the fact that he holds any kind of record after these 4 season games... **face-palm**

When you think about it, this is about the worst position a team can put its fans in: hoping for a...

jw1487 — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 07:23:38 -0000

When you think about it, this is about the worst position a team can put its fans in: hoping for a season so bad it forces changes. Here comes Hunt’s chance to show Chiefs fans he shares their disgust in an underperforming team and won’t accept failure.

Your move, Clark.

Sam Mellinger - KC Star.
My sentiments exactly. Hard to say, but I hope this season tanks so that we're forced to fix the problems rather feel OK about a broken system

Did anybody else get the feeling that when Charles lowered his head at the end of this run, that...

jw1487 — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 19:37:44 -0000

Did anybody else get the feeling that when Charles lowered his head at the end of this run, that was the moment he was proving to himself and all his critics... "I've still got it"?

Man - all the questions: "Is he really 100%? Did he lose his open field speed? Can he outrun NFL secondary anymore?" - answered them all when he put that head down.

Good on ya' JC!!!

This dude is WAY too excited to interview Jake Shields. I can't decide if I want to punch this...

jw1487 — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:12:03 -0000

This dude is WAY too excited to interview Jake Shields. I can't decide if I want to punch this interviewer in the face, or engage in one of his trade-mark high fives.

Referees in MMA

jw1487 — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 23:16:45 -0000

So this week, my satellite setup (AT&T U-Verse) decided to bait its thousands of customers into spending more money with them by offering a free preview of their "Showtime" package. What does that have to do with this website? Good question. After 'DVR-ing' about 10 movies for later viewing, I realized that they decided to re-air the "Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery" event (May 15, 2010)! We saw some awesome fights on that card with Alistair Overeem tossing aside Brett Rogers and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva overwhelming Andrei Arlovski, and 2 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Legends got some Mixed Martial Arts W's (Roger Gracie & Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza). But I'm writing this article for a different reason...

The first fight on the card started things off fast, with Rafael 'Feijao' Cavalcante knocking out Antwain Britt. What caught my eye wasn't the knockout punch or the roar of the crowd when it happened, but the AWESOME referee who literally pounced on 'Feijao' to stop the fight. And with all the crap that referees take concerning "too early" this and "too late" that, I figured I'd show some love to the men in black (and white) - the "zebras in the cage" we'll loving call them. These dudes are giving Mr. Charlie Sheen a run for his money in the "winning" department.

Let's start things off on a serious note. These guys seem to only get recognition when then do something WRONG, so let's look at some fights they got 100% RIGHT.

Herb Dean has "elf eyes"

In Lord of the Rings, Legolas - an elf - had the ability to see miles and miles to track his enemy. I'm convinced that Herb Dean - a Lord of the Ring in his own right (Witty right? Oh come on, I'm doing the best I can here...) - possesses the same ability.

Dean officiated a pretty well known fight between Frank Mir and Tim Sylvia. It's well known because of the ending: Frank Mir snapped Tim Sylvia's forearm like a twig. But why is this a win? Because Herb Dean caught it immediately.

You might think that to be an easy feat, but consider the situation. An incredibly charged environment, a roar from the crowd in anticipation of the fight ending - so you cannot hear a *snap*, a very tough angle to see the snap - looking straight on you can't see it bend like you would from the side, and last but not a least, a fighter in danger (Tim Sylvia) who shows NO signs of being hurt - I still don't know how he continued to try and pick Mir up. Put all that together, and you've got a good chance of missing that call.

Herb Dean is an educated dude. He got himself in the best position he could to see the submission, knew exactly what Mir was attacking (meaning he knew what to look for), and reacted IMMEDIATELY. While 99% of the people in that building were screaming and downing their beers, and probably the majority of TV viewers were thinking "that looks strange", 'ol Herb had already stopped the fight - protecting Sylvia from worse injury. Although, he may have been doing Sylvia a disservice by extending his career any further. ZING!

Dan Miragliotta has some 'Kahoonas'

I know, I know... I'm not going to make many friends with this one, but after watching this 50 times by now, Dan Miragliotta got this one right.

Kimbo Slice was fighting his toughest opponent yet in James Thompson. Kimbo was still, at this point, an unbeatable street brawler proving that MMA fighters weren't all they were cracked up to be. Kimbo was tested to the breaking point by Thompson. Thompson was showing that Slice wasn't unbeatable, and arguably, was winning the fight. Kimbo, however, threw flurry toward the end of the fight that rocked Thompson. I mean ROCKED him.

The MMA world wanted Kimbo to lose. Plain and Simple. For that reason, and for that alone, I believe Miragliotta was criticized heavily for stopping the fight. The job of the ref - as we all know - is to "Protect The Fighters". We know it, and we hate it. Let's face it. The majority of MMA fans would rather see every single fight end definitively with a submission, or with one dude lying on the canvas blacked out. But that 'aint the creed, sports fans.

Look at the picture. Look at the video. Watch it more than once, then try and tell me Thompson was coherent. Hogwash. James Thompson could have been blown over by a 10-year-old girl sneezing in his direction. Let's keep in mind that he had freakin' Kimbo Slice coming at him while in that state. It took him about 5 seconds just to focus on Miragliotta! I doubt there would have been such an uproar if Dan Henderson was across from James Thompson and had him rocked. And no - I'm not comparing Kimbo Slice to Dan Henderson, calm down internet land.

I could make more arguments (maybe I will in the comments, if anybody gets ruffled by this), but the point stands - Miragliotta protected Thompson from further injury. If you can agree with that statement then you and I can be friends and enjoy the rest of this article together. If not, I still hope you enjoy the remainder of this post, but you can forget the "Roller-Blade & Ice Cream" filled night I had planned for us.

Mystery Ref could be a long jumper...

A man that needs to introduction. A personal hero of mine. And the man that inspired this post... "Mystery Ref".

He was the referee for the bout between Rafael 'Feijao' Cavalcante and Antwain Britt. Unfortunately, no one has has the 'scrooples' to make an animated gif of this epic fight stoppage, but luckily I found a video of the fight on YouTube. You'll want to skip ahead to 3:30 in the video, after the ref separates the fighters.

This guy is the man. We need more refs like this. When a fight is over, and you know it, then call it like you mean it! Even if that means you jump onto the back of a man that could mop the canvas with your face whenever he wanted. Here's to you "Mystery Ref" - may your reffing days be full of knock outs and ring girls.

OK - enough of this serious stuff. Let's see some bonafide 'referee winning':

Hilarious Double KO Refs

These refs have got it rough. What the crap do you do when both fighters fold in front of you? This isn't a "Rocky Balboa" movie - you don't get a 10 count and hope one of the fighters can climb the ropes. I suppose you do exactly what these two refs did. Run into the middle of them and look shocked. (You've probably seen the video of the second fight, but watch the ref this time) Well, all I know is Herb Dean - while stunned - handled it better than the other dude. The other guy raises looks shocked, then becomes overwhelmed with 'KO awesomeness' emotion, and raises his arms as if to say - "This is going on YouTube, baby! Ima' be famous!" Actually, when I look at that image and put that commentary with it, I literally laughed out loud:

Dan Miragliotta gets it right this time...

You may have disagreed with him earlier, but when it came to his confronting of Anderson Silva, he became Dan "The People's Voice" Miragliotta. "Get 'em Danny!" I especially appreciated his extravagant use of finger-pointing:

"Do a Barrel Roll!"

Is anybody old enough to remember the N64 "Starfox" game? If you're still with me, then you get the "barrel roll" reference in the above heading. If I've lost you, then I'm sorry you never had the pleasure of playing such a legendary game. "Starfox" isn't the only one that can perform a high-speed, fighter-evading barrel roll. Apparently, Yves Lavigne can hold his own, too. 2 things that are great in this image. 1 - The "that's going to end up on the internet" smile that Yves has as he gracefully recovers and 2 - if you look closely, it looks as if Machida actually steps back and relaxes as if he is waiting on Lavigne to get back to his feet. So correction - this one is a "Referee & Machida Winning" moment:

Respect to the "Pride" Guys

Can't forget these troopers. Believe it or not, UFC doesn't own all the MMA referees... not yet, anyway. These headcam-toting, polo and slacks-wearing referees are no slacks. Whether it's bull rushing a fighter 3 times your size, getting thrown around by upset corner men, or catching wayward-thrown "surrender towels" while waving off a fight, these 'men of the stripes' get the job done:

Last, but Certainly Not Least...

You guessed it. Mike Tyson. That's right! Mike Tyson actually officiated an MMA fight as a guest referee. And I'm guessing that the marketing department of that MMA venue loved it. Forget promoting 'no-name' fighters when you can promote the heck out of a Superstar referee!

I've actually come to love this guy. Mike used to make a living by trash talking every person in sight, cussing out interviewers, tattooing other guys' faces with his fists, and finally, tattooing his own face with tribal ink. But after seeing his 'motivational sit-down' on Season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter, and his most recent acting stint in an "Addiction to Angry Birds" skit, you can't help but warm-up to the fella. Seems he's a bit older and wiser. That being said - he's not a good referee! Love the fact that he stand the fight up after maybe 5 seconds of going to ground, and that he completely misses the fighter tapping out to a triangle choke. But other than that, I'd say it was a successful debut. Actually, if things go south for the UFC, I'd say getting Tyson as a referee is an awesome PR move. (Skip ahead to 4:00)

I'm Buying the Whole World a Coke

In a sport that moves a thousand miles and hour and involves the physical well being of two human lives, MMA referees don't have an easy job. Not to mention the thousands - if not millions - of people, watching this highly emotional fight you are officiating, only noticing you if you SCREW UP. Have there been some questionable stops? Heck yes. Have there been some flat out terrible decisions by MMA refs? Sure. But next time you're sitting at home on the couch with a mouth full of potato chips, cussing out the ref while watching the super slow-mo, HD, replay of whether the guy was unconscious or not, try and remember the motto of the 'Zebras in the Cage': "Protect the Fighters". After all, the reason MMA is growing so quickly and becoming accepted all over the world, in large part, is because these guys are keeping it 'safe' for the athletes to compete in the sport we all love.

To all you "Thompson-loving, Miragliotta-hating" readers out there, thanks for sticking with us all the way through the article. And to everyone who made it this far, thanks for letting us take a break from the normal 'grind' of the MMA News world to make a fun and hopefully refreshing article.

Let us know if we missed any "referee winning" moments in the comments. Just go easy on the "gifs" since we're already a little top heavy. I like this site and I'd love to not get kicked off.

And if you liked this article, check out our more 'serious' articles about the use of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Mixed Martial Arts @ BJJ in MMA.

MMA Referees - "Winning"

jw1487 — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 22:47:48 -0000

Let's start things off on a serious note. These guys seem to only get recognition when then do something WRONG, so let's look at some fights they got 100% RIGHT.

Herb Dean has "elf eyes"

Dan Miragliotta has some 'Kahoonas'

I know, I know... I'm not going to make many friends with this one, but after watching this 50 times by now, Dan Miragliotta got this one right.

Mystery Ref could be a long jumper...

A man that needs to introduction. A personal hero of mine. And the man that inspired this post... "Mystery Ref".

OK - enough of this serious stuff. Let's see some bonafide 'referee winning':

Hilarious Double KO Refs

These refs have got it rough. What the crap do you do when both fighters fold in front of you? This isn't a "Rocky Balboa" movie - you don't get a 10 count and hope one of the fighters can climb the ropes. I suppose you do exactly what these two refs did. Run into the middle of them and look shocked. (You've probably seen the video of the second fight, but watch the ref this time) Well, all I know is Herb Dean - while stunned - handled it better than the other dude. The other guy not only looks shocked, he then becomes overwhelmed with 'KO awesomeness' emotion, and raises his arms as if to say - "This is going on YouTube, baby! Ima' be famous!" Actually, when I look at that image and put that commentary with it, I literally laughed out loud:

Dan Miragliotta gets it right this time...

"Do a Barrel Roll!"

Respect to the "Pride" Guys

Last, but Certainly Not Least...

I'm Buying the Whole World a Coke

Let us know if we missed any "referee winning" moments in the comments. Just go easy on the "gifs" since we're already a little top heavy. I like Bloody Elbow and I'd love to not get kicked off.

And if you liked this article, check out our more 'serious' articles about the use of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Mixed Martial Arts @ BJJ in MMA.

Titan Fighting Championship 17: Event Recap & Reflections

jw1487 — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:25:59 -0000

I was proud to be in attendance this past weekend at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, KS. Not only does TFC provide great fights for MMA fans in our local KC area, but they treat their press members great! Special thanks to Joe Kelly (President of TFC) for taking the time to do an interview with us about the event, and to Thomas McCulloch (Director of Communications) for hooking us up all night with fighter interviews, and some much needed bottles of water. But seriously, TFC has a great future here because they've got a great staff.

Prelim Fights (not aired on HDNet)

There were 3 fights before the cameras officially turned on. Being that there's so much to cover on the main card, I'll have to keep this short and sweet.

Marcus Jackson def. Tony Surewood via submission @ 3:00 in Round 1. There's not a whole lot to talk about in this fight, other than Jackson had superior wrestling and evidently knows how to perform an arm triangle choke.

Laura Marcus def. Emily Reed via submission @ 1:50 in Round 2. Yes, this was a female fight. And yes, I would be scared if they shut the cage door behind me, trapping me in an octagon with one of these chicks. I would have approximately 50 lbs on either of them, at least a 5" height advantage, and the advantage (or disadvantage) of facial hair. Still, I'm 100% sure after watching them trade bombs that I would be counting tweety birds while they had their hands raised. Props to these ladies, and to anyone who bashes on chicks fighting, I say we let one of these girls bash on you. (inappropriate comments will be at your own risk)

Isidrio 'Chilo' Gonzalez def. Travis Sveum via TKO (strikes) @ 0:50 in Round 1. Yep - pretty much exactly what it sounds like. 'Chilo' Gonzalez is for real, folks. He completely dominated a good fighter, and we're excited to watch this local talent move up to the 'gooder' competition. Plus, it should be mentioned that we talked to him after his fight, and he's freakin' NICE. (inappropriate comments deserved). But seriously, he's a cool guy and wish him the best. Now to the televised card...

Anthony "Sharkbait" Gutierrez vs. Jon Hollis

These 140 'pounders put on a great fight. Fights in this weigh class are so exciting to watch, because the stand-up is fierce and the ground game is relentless. This fight was actually a rematch from a previous fight that Gutierrez won by Triangle Choke. Jon Hollis - being a kick boxer first - started out with some serious combinations. They didn't land cleanly, however, and Gutierrez was able to get into his realm by taking Hollis down early in the first round. After a sweet arm bar attempt (not sure how Hollis didn't tap) into Triangle Choke transition, Hollis shook "Sharkbait" off of him and got the fight standing again. Gutierrez threw a couple of leg kicks that made Hollis uneasy, and Hollis went for a single-leg takedown. Wrong move. On the way down, Gutierrez threw his free leg over Hollis's shoulder and cinched in a TIGHT triangle choke. With 42 seconds left in the first round, Anthony "Sharkbait" Gutierrez defeated Jon Hollis when Hollis tapped from a well-timed triangle choke.

"Sharkbait" got the win again over Hollis, by way of another triangle. But it wasn't Hollis's repeat mistake as much as it was Gutierrez's impressive BJJ. We got a chance to interview Anthony the day before the fight, as well as after the fight. The day before, at the weigh-ins, Gutierrez 'called it' by saying his ground game was superior to Hollis's and that he planned on winning from the ground. Keep your eyes out for Anthony "Sharkbait" Gutierrez. He's only 20 years old and he's got a passion for the sport. This guy could be a star.

James Krause vs. Nathan Schut

This fight took about as long as it took you to read their names. Seriously. In all honesty, I didn't even see this fight go down. I was looking down at this very computer I'm writing this article on, typing their names when I hear ****SMACK**** | ****DEAFENING CROWD NOISE****, looking up just in time to see the ref pull James Krause off of Schut. Luckily, my partner in crime was watching through a camera lens and filled me in. At 4:20 in Round 1, Krause defeated Nathan Schut by TKO. How? One. Single. Head Kick. He threw it with his right leg, and the blade of his foot collided cleanly on Schut's jaw (hence the huge **SMACK**). Krause did pounce on his opponent in an attempt to put a period on the fight, but the ref was running to stop it by the time I looked up from my computer.

James Krause is a local fighter here in Kansas City, and has some incredible stand-up. He was wearing the Muay Thai shorts and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he prides himself on that Martial Art. Krause also possesses a great ground game, but we didn't get a preview of that on this night. You can watch a video of that head kick here.

Alonzo Martinez vs. Aaron Derrow

Joe Kelly, the President and Founder of TFC, called Aaron Derrow "the best BJJ practitioner in the area". He also predicted that this match-up would get "Fight of the Night" honors. Well, we think he was right. Martinez, surprisingly, came out and took Derrow down pretty quickly. Derrow put his BJJ on display early, attempting a triangle, transitioning to an arm bar, and finally, to an omoplata. Martinez finagled his way out of these attempts and probably took the first round with some fierce elbows and work from Derrow's full guard. Round 2 began with much more striking than what we saw in Round 1. Martinez actually dropped Derrow at one point in this round, but Derrow found a way to survive on the ground. He quickly recovered and, in my opinion, took the rest of the round with some incredibly active BJJ.

I would have given this round to Derrow. He did get rocked early, but after he recovered, he absolutely CONTROLLED the round with his ground game, and had Martinez in some real trouble. Round 3 was ALL Derrow. We start the round with Derrow stunning Martinez with an overhand right. Derrow takes Martinez back momentarily, but loses it because of the sweat. He then threw another Triangle attempt - barely missing. Back on the feet, Derrow had Martinez wobbling all of the cage. The crowd is going nuts sensing this fight is seconds away from stoppage. The fight went to the ground, Derrow in full mount, then to half guard, then side control - the whole time raining down some serious blows. We then moved to North South position, and finally end up with Derrow on Martinez's back. Alonzo is trying to stay alive at this point. Derrow sinks in his best submission attempt with a tight RNC. They're up against the cage, so Derrow only had one hook in from the back. Martinez was able to escape by the skin of his teeth, rolling into the cage and getting to his knees. With only 10 seconds left, they stand up and trade "fight-ending", swinging for the fences blows. Fight of the Night for sure.

The fight went to the dreaded "judges decision", and we got exactly what you can expect from judges when you've got a great BJJ player being active ... from his back. Derrow lost the fight via decision. The scoring went 28-28, 29-28, 29-28 for Martinez. You can make your own decision after watching the fight here. Not sure WE agreed with this decision, but we did get a chance to meet up with Aaron Derrow after his fight. Check out that interview here.

Eric Marriott vs. Willian DeSouza

It's tough to follow a great act. Marriott and DeSouza did pretty well, though. The first 30 seconds of this fight was the most exciting part. They came out like wild men, throwing fists and kicks quicker than my partner and I could type. By the first minute of this fight, you'd have never thought this fight would go the distance. But it did. The first round can be categorized as a 'striking' round. In fact, DeSouza look awkward and 'clunky' in his ground game (at least his bottom game). Marriott's experience (24 professional fights) definitely showed in Round 1. Marriott was calm and intelligent, backing up DeSouza with accurate striking and well-placed kicks. While DeSouza did look more calm in Round 2 & 3 with his BJJ game (some nice leg lock attempts scattered throughout), Marriott was clearly too much for him. When DeSouza wasn't attempting a leg lock, he was mostly taking cover from Marriott's fists, curled up in the Turtle position.

Marriott won this fight easily with all judges scoring the bout 30-27. Eric Marriott could be a strong competitor in his weight class. Pairing his calm and intelligent approach with some great kicks (this kid was throwing spinning back kicks like I throw back Oreo's), Eric Marriott is a strong name for himself in TFC.

Prelim Fights (not aired on HDNet)

There were 3 fights before the cameras officially turned on. Being that there's so much to cover on the main card, I'll have to keep this short and sweet.

Anthony "Sharkbait" Gutierrez vs. Jon Hollis

James Krause vs. Nathan Schut

Alonzo Martinez vs. Aaron Derrow

Eric Marriott vs. Willian DeSouza

"And Now... Page 2"

For anyone from Illinois - you get that "Paul Harvey" reference. Needless to say, with 4 strong fights (2 GREAT fights) already in the books, we were looking forward to the biggest 3 fights left on the card.

If you're interested in reading part two covering the fights of former UFC fighter Phil Baroni, Abe Wagner's upset loss, or Bobby Lashley's disappointing bout, check out the rest of the original article on BJJ in MMA.

Did you catch any of the fights? Tell us your thoughts in the comments...

Titan Fighting Championship 17: Full Recap & Reflections

jw1487 — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:17:04 -0000

Prelim Fights (not aired on HDNet)

There were 3 fights before the cameras officially turned on. Being that there's so much to cover on the main card, I'll have to keep this short and sweet.

Anthony "Sharkbait" Gutierrez vs. Jon Hollis

"Sharkbait" got the win again over Hollis, by way of another triangle. But it wasn't Hollis's repeat mistake as much as it was Gutierrez's impressive BJJ. We got a chance to interview Anthony the day before the fight, as well as after the fight. The day before, at the weigh-ins, Gutierrez 'called it' by saying his ground game was superior to Hollis's and that he planned on winning from the ground. And BE fans, keep your eyes out for Anthony "Sharkbait" Gutierrez. He's only 20 years old and he's got a passion for the sport. This guy could be a star.

James Krause vs. Nathan Schut

Alonzo Martinez vs. Aaron Derrow

Eric Marriott vs. Willian DeSouza

Prelim Fights (not aired on HDNet)

There were 3 fights before the cameras officially turned on. Being that there's so much to cover on the main card, I'll have to keep this short and sweet.

Anthony "Sharkbait" Gutierrez vs. Jon Hollis

"Sharkbait" got the win again over Hollis, by way of another triangle. But it wasn't Hollis's repeat mistake as much as it was Gutierrez's impressive BJJ. We got a chance to interview Anthony the day before the fight, as well as after the fight. The day before, at the weigh-ins, Gutierrez 'called it' by saying his ground game was superior to Hollis's and that he planned on winning from the ground. And BE fans, keep your eyes out for Anthony "Sharkbait" Gutierrez. He's only 20 years old and he's got a passion for the sport. This guy could be a star.

James Krause vs. Nathan Schut

Alonzo Martinez vs. Aaron Derrow

Eric Marriott vs. Willian DeSouza

"And Now... Page 2"

Did you catch any of the fights? Tell us your thoughts in the comments...

The age of UFC Dominance. A picture is worth a thousand words...

jw1487 — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 18:17:43 -0000

The age of UFC Dominance. A picture is worth a thousand words...

The Guillotine Choke: Hall of Fame

jw1487 — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:08:20 -0000

The infamous Guillotine (please don't make an "L" sound while you read that word). It was originally created as a 'humane' decapitation device, used in the execution of thousands unlucky Frenchmen. Boy, the French have it rough. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, however, it can be described as a ... well ... 'humane' decapitation device used in the execution of hundreds of unlucky fighters. It is, fortunately, a little less permanent in BJJ.

Let's take a look at some of the best Guillotine's in MMA and some of the guys, who if they caught you in one of their guillotine's, would have you wishing you were in the 1810 version.

First things first ...

What is the guillotine choke? How do you do a guillotine choke? Is it a blood choke, or is it a neck crank? Good questions.

The guillotine choke is one of the most popular BJJ finishing submissions in MMA. Partly, because you can easily get 'caught' trying to advance positions. We've all seen a guy go for a single or double leg takedown and leave his neck out there with no defense (looking like Goldberg's spear from the WCW/NWO days). You also see a lot of guys put someone in their full guard, sit up to the side of the dude on top as if they are looking for a kimura or omoplata, fish their near side arm back over and under the guy's neck. Enough on how people get the submission... how do you do it? It involves using one arm to encircle your opponent's neck, like putting his neck into a guillotine (makes sense), grabbing your encircled arm's wrist with your free hand, and using your back and legs for leverage. You can do it from the standing position, full guard, or if you're the freakin' HULK, from half guard. You can watch this video to get a better idea of how to perform a guillotine choke.

It is a neck crank. It is also a blood choke. It is also an air choke. And most of the time when someone puts you in a guillotine, they won't care which of the three you choose to tap from. So enough science - let's look at some 'hall of fame' guillotine's.

#5 - Jens Pulver: WEC 31 vs. Cub Swanson

If you're looking for a guy who's got a strong guillotine, Jens Pulver might not be one of the first ones to pop in your head. After watching this video of Pulver almost popping off Swanson's head, Jens absolutely got our attention. (You might call this an armless D'arce, but hey...) Pulver might be showing signs of aging, but at WEC 31 he taught this young cub (get it?) a lesson. Why teach an old dog new tricks when the ones he's got are working juuuust fine. Enough puns - just keep that left hand coming Jens Pulver.

#4 - Brian Bowles: WEC 35 vs. Demacio Page

While this isn't as brutal looking as some of the ones that follow, you have to admire the technicality and athleticism Brian Bowles shows off during this choke. Demacio Page is no gimmick. He is ferocious, and he hangs in this choke longer than most mere men could stand. Bowles locked this bad boy in and wasn't letting go. Bowles went on to knock out Miguel Torres for the Bantamweight title, but you gotta love this little gem that got him to the next fight.

#3 - Cody McKenzie: TUF 12 vs. Marc Stevens

First of all, who doesn't like Cody McKenzie. This kid might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he can freakin' put you to sleep with his modified guillotine (You can check out this video of how to do Cody McKenzie's modified guillotine). Plus, you gotta love the 'underdog' story in this fight. Cody was some punk from Alaska, and Marc Stevens the wonder boy on TUF 12. Cody put him to sleep in literally 15 seconds. You can watch the fight here. So Cody definitely makes the "Guillotine Hall of Fame list" for his overall coolness, and his keen ability to slap guillotine's on arrogant opponents. (Darn you Nam Phan for not being arrogant)

#2 - Scott Jorgensen: WEC 47 vs. Chad George

At this WEC event, Jorgensen was matched up against Chad George. This is one of those cases where we think the guillotine was used as a blood choke, neck crank, and throat crusher all at the same time. Jorgensen picked George up by his neck and held him against the cage. Admittedly, I'm not an MMA referee, but when a dude's feet start flailing like Chad's did, you probably ought to 'mosey' your way over to stop the fight. At any rate, Jorgensen won and Chad was alright. Props to you buddy - surprised your head's still attached after that guillotine.

#1 - Dan Miller: BRUTAL Guillotine vs. Dave Phillips

I would make fun of the IFL, but Dan Miller might hear me. And my neck isn't as bendy as Dave Phillips'. Watching this submission, the crowd had to think "his capa was detated" (Quote from The Office) and probably expected that guy from Mortal Kombat to come out and grunt "Fatalityyyyy". Here is a video of Dan Miller's guillotine on Dave Phillps. It is not for the 'weak-stomached' among us.

I feel so strongly about this guillotine, that we would like to remind the children and adults reading this that... YOUR NECK 'AINT SUPPOSED TO BEND THAT FAR, SO DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! This one lives up to its name. He nearly ripped the dude's head off. Lucky for us, Dave Phillips apparently also moonlights as "Stretch Armstrong". Good guillotine Mr. Dan Miller. Maybe just take it easy on the next one. Humane? Hardly. Effective? Check.

So there's five 'Hall of Fame' guillotine's! Drop us a comment and let us know if we missed some good'uns. Keep rollin' - and for gosh sakes - keep your heads attached.

If you liked this article, read the original with more images and comments at BJJ in MMA.

Did we miss some? Let us know your top "guillotine" in the comments...

The Guillotine Hall of Fame

jw1487 — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 03:50:44 -0000

Let's take a look at some of the best Guillotine's in MMA and some of the guys, who if they caught you in one of their guillotine's, would have you wishing you were in the 1810 version.

First things first ...

What is the guillotine choke? How do you do a guillotine choke? Is it a blood choke, or is it a neck crank? Good questions.

#5 - Jens Pulver: WEC 31 vs. Cub Swanson

#4 - Brian Bowles: WEC 35 vs. Demacio Page

#3 - Cody McKenzie: TUF 12 vs. Marc Stevens

#2 - Scott Jorgensen: WEC 47 vs. Chad George

At this WEC event, Jorgensen was matched up against Chad George. This is one of those cases where we think the guillotine was used as a blood choke, neck crank, and throat crusher all at the same time. Jorgensen picked George up by his neck and held him against the cage. Admittedly, we're not MMA referee's here at BJJ in MMA, but when a dude's feet start flailing like Chad's did, you probably ought to 'mosey' your way over to stop the fight. At any rate, Jorgensen won and Chad was alright. Props to you buddy - surprised your head's still attached after that guillotine.

#1 - Dan Miller: BRUTAL Guillotine vs. Dave Phillips

Here at BJJ in MMA, we feel so strongly about this guillotine, that we would like to remind the children and adults reading this that... YOUR NECK 'AINT SUPPOSED TO BEND THAT FAR, SO DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! This one lives up to its name. He nearly ripped the dude's head off. Lucky for us, Dave Phillips apparently also moonlights as "Stretch Armstrong". Good guillotine Mr. Dan Miller. Maybe just take it easy on the next one. Humane? Hardly. Effective? Check.

So there's five 'Hall of Fame' guillotine's! Drop us a comment and let us know if we missed some good'uns. Keep rollin' - and for gosh sakes - keep your heads attached.

If you liked this article, read the original with more images and comments at BJJ in MMA.

Poll

In your opinion, which of the above Guillotines "takes the cake"?

#5 - Jens Pulver

0 votes

#4 - Brian Bowles

0 votes

#3 - Cody McKenzie

1 votes

#2 - Scott Jorgenson

10 votes

#1 - Dan Miller

32 votes

43 votes | Poll has closed

Anderson Silva vs. GSP: Let's Not Get Our Hopes Up...

jw1487 — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 19:19:40 -0000

Alright - I think I'm more than ready to move away from the 'Fedor Controversy'. Enter GSP vs. Anderson Silva. There's been a lot of talk about this fight around internet land, and even Dana White has been taking questions on it. Surprising. When a reporter brings up anything about future match-ups, Dana usually dodges the question by making the questioner feel like a First Grader at the Bar Exams.

But is this fight really going to happen? According to GSP, it 'aint at the top of the list.

Let's keep in mind that this fight has been made up in the minds of 'couch-matchmakers' and bloggers. We have heard next to nothing from the fighters themselves. Granted, Silva was probably a bit pre-occupied practicing his front kicks on a life-size poster of Vitor Belfort. And St. Pierre is still preparing for Jake Shields, probably throwing darts at the picture of Shields in his Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. Still, let's keep our eye on the ball here and admit to ourselves that the only talk about this fight is coming from us internet trolls, and a few one-liners from Dana White.

When asked about the match-up, White had this to say:

Georges St-Pierre said he would move to 185 (to fight Silva) and stay at that weight and not go back to 170... Should (they) win (their next) fights, that fight will probably happen this year.

I'm guessing White took that GSP quote from the UFC 124 post-fight press conference. What exactly did St. Pierre say? Listen for yourself (start at 2:40).

So, he was asked about his weight, and he made that statement that if he puts on weight to move up, he'll keep that weight on and not fluctuate between classes. Fair enough. That had nothing to do with Anderson Silva. As far as the fight, he said "Alot of people have asked me that question... we'll see." Hardly convincing, friends.

Both fighters are at the pinnacle of their careers and their weight classes. They have moped the floor with everybody in their respective divisions. GSP has not lost since 2007. Silva hasn't lost since 2006. Would a fight between these two "pound for pound best fighter in the world" title contenders be one of the biggest super-fights in UFC history? Absolutely. Would I love to see it? Absolutely (Mostly because I hate Anderson Silva and would love to see GSP mount Silva for 5 rounds, tear another 'Ab.Duc.TOR', and coast to victory). So I would join the thousands and possibly millions of people in jubilation at the announcement of a Super Fight of this caliber.

Just sayin', though. Based on his post-Koscheck conference, we should probably wait and see what George St. Pierre does at UFC 129 before we start putting him across from Silva at UFC 131.

Alright - BloodyElbow'ers. Give me a piece of your mind. Is this fight going to happen in 2011, or should we wait for 2012. Hey - maybe the end of the world will happen in 2012 when these two meet in the cage. Those Mayans probably saw this coming.

Also, if you get a chance, check out this original article on its website: BJJ in MMA. Pretty cool stuff.

Poll

This fight will happen ONLY if ...

Anderson Silva will drop down to Welterweight.

6 votes

GSP decides to go up to Middleweight for good.

9 votes

GSP beats Jake Shields AND decides to go up for good.

63 votes

Dana White is smarter than he looks, and makes this fight happen no matter what.

42 votes

120 votes | Poll has closed

5 Reasons Fedor Shouldn't Quit... Yet

jw1487 — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:51:52 -0000

Immediately after his loss to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, Fedor Emelianenko made the comment that he was considering retirement. As expected, the MMA world went nuts. The biggest websites covering MMA blew up with posts and comments. Heck! Even I, after going through 3 boxes of Kleenex, wrote an article about the possibilities of a "Fedor-less" MMA world. A couple of days later, even hours later, we all took a deep breath when we heard Fedor would not only stick around, but he'd be fighting a Sambo tournament at the end of the month.

With all the controversy following his Silva fight and possible retirement, some 'unbelievers' (as I call them) seized the opportunity to spout their opinions about Fedor's washed-up, over-hyped career. Well, it's my turn to spout. I swear, if I was on an elevator with Fedor, I'd give him the same 5 reasons to keep on fighting I'm about to give you. Who am I kidding... I'd probably be too busy sobbing and letting out screams you'd only hear on the front row of a Justin Bieber concert.

#5 - The Pressure is Off

Carrying the titles of "Most Dangerous Man in the World" and "Pound for Pound Best Fighter in the World" can get a little heavy on your shoulders. Now I'm not saying he held those titles outright - there would be too many hate comments to bear. I am saying, however, he was in the running for those titles along side other greats like George St. Pierre and Anderson Silva. Even after his loss to Werdum, he wasn't really 'outmatched' as much as he was 'outsmarted' - a characteristic shared with both GSP & Silva. So it was hard to take him off that list for getting caught in a triangle.

Silva, however, beat the crap out of Fedor. And yes, being a Fedor fan myself, I have to admit that… (where are those dang Kleenex boxes). Silva sat on him for close to 4 minutes and had him flopping and flailing for an escape, all while performing some serious facial restructuring on Fedor. And with every punch, at least in the eyes of the majority, Fedor lost a point on the "P4P" & "Most Dangerous" Rankings. Now brace yourselves Internet Land… in my opinion, it's one of the best things that could happen for Emelianenko. That's right, I said it. Because while he's nursing that orbital bone back to good health, the world will move on to UFC 127, Anderson Silva vs. GSP, and other 'more relevant' topics. The blogs and comments will fall away and find something else to feature. All the while (my hope is at least) somewhere in Russia, Fedor will be carrying logs, running through snow, and pulling dog sleds in preparation for a world class comeback. Or am I thinking of Rocky IV? Either way, it's a great transition to my next point.

#4 - Everyone Loves a Comeback

C'mon. You and I both know you felt a warm sensation in your heart when Rocky took 'ol Tommy 'Machine' Gunn to the streets and showed him a thing or two about fighting. Or back in the real world, when Vitor Belfort came back after his long hiatus to knock out a few Affliction opponents and put a whoopin' on Rich Franklin. Outside the MMA world, comebacks have written many screenplays and have been the plot of many a movie (you should watch 'Chariots of Fire'). Remember a little known guy named Lance Armstrong? Or George Foreman? Or the Red Sox finally beating the Yankees?

You could probably come up with some great ones right off the top of your head. How great would it be to put Fedor on that list. Who knows… gets a 'replacement' buy back into the heavyweight tourney grand prix, finally getting the Overeem vs. Fedor superfight - wins with a 2nd round knockout, moves on to dethrone the UFC heavyweight champion in a "one-time" Strikeforce vs. UFC card… too much? Can't a girl dream?

#3 - Dana White

Seriously. The guy is a great business man. But he's not the most classy guy in the world. Not to mention his general willingness to take his most vicious jabs at the weakest moments of a fighter's / corporation's career. I'm sure you've seen some of his "Tweets" following Fedor's recent loss. If not, here's a quick refresher course:

"the internet has fabricated this whole fedor thing and scared the living [expletive] out of the media and the net geeks r bummin now

"wtf has he done for the sport!? Ur [expletive] nuts, - responding to a tweet about what Fedor has done for the sport of MMA."

"I honestly believe he has been done for a while but he would have at least gone out fighting the best"

Now I understand why Dana's got his undies in a bunch. He worked for 2 years to get a Fedor-headlined UFC event. But seriously - he's changed his tune on Fedor in between promotions enough times. It would be the ultimate 'crow-eating' display of the century for Emelianenko to get back to his winning ways, and give White another reminder that he'll always be "the one that got away".

--------------------------------------------

For the top two reasons, continue reading this article at it's original post on BJJ in MMA.

Think it's time for Fedor to hang it up? If not, who is his next opponent? Let us know your inner most thoughts in the comments...

The Dark Side of MMA Training

jw1487 — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:09:44 -0000

Dana White has spouted out a lot of craziness in his time as UFC President, but one bit of truth that he continually quotes is "Mixed Martial Arts is the fastest growing sport in the world". Although I don't have the statistics, judging by the revenues and pay per view buys that the UFC is reporting, it's hard to argue this statement.

It's always great to see a sport that you love growing at such a rapid pace but like anything else, you have to take the bad with the good. The good part is that MMA is expanding at a huge rate and it is becoming much more widely accepted amongst the general populous and has even made its way into pop culture. The downside is what I like to call, "The UFC Fan". I'll do my best to explain this person. He bought an Affliction shirt because he noticed Georges St Pierre wore it once, and because Affliction shirt's are so darn shiny. He only drinks Natural Light and the moment the fight hits the ground, he feels the need to shout "Stand Them Up!". He loves the windmill punching style and he thinks Chuck Liddell is the greatest fighter to ever step in the Octagon. And first and foremost, if it ain't UFC, it ain't nothing.

I think one of the greatest appeals of MMA is that most people feel they could actually fight. It's not like the NBA where you need to be a certain height or the NFL where you have to be freakishly huge to really excel. Most people fall into the weight ranges of 135 to 265 and many MMA stars actually had relatively normal lifestyles prior to beginning their fighting careers. This is where "The UFC Fan" comes into play. He feels that as soon as you hand him a pair of 4 oz gloves and point him towards the cage, he will be UFC champ in no time flat. This guy is the reason I am writing this article.

In hopes of giving everyone a reality check, we will be taking a look at some the worst injuries in MMA history. Many times, people look at the glitz and glamour of some of the big stars in the sport and forget the risks involved in training day to day. This sport isn't for the faint of heart.

I remember having thoughts of MMA stardom myself, until I stumbled up a horrendous article from MiddleEasy.com. It was a list of the top ten worst staph infections in MMA. I didn't know and still don't know much about the infection itself except I NEVER want to be within 100 miles of it. If you don't know what Staph is, this picture should let tell you everything you need to know. This is what Kevin Randleman looked like during his bout with staph:

Upon finding that article, I then stumbled upon this video of Kendall Grove getting his leg cleaned out of the infection. Even more nauseating than the picture.

And if all of this wasn't enough, check out Cole Escovedo's story. This young kid nearly lost his life to a nasty staph infection.

If you get past the Staph, then you have to deal with the actual fight itself. Whether you just train BJJ or only fight MMA, competition can go sour very quickly. Check out this video of some guy refusing to tap to a toe hold during a recent jiu jitsu competition and the result of trying to power thru it. Not a good idea. (Warning: Graphic)

Now, you aren't dumb enough to get caught in a toe hold. True. But, you might just find yourself on the bottom in a BJJ match.

OK, so the luckiest guy in the world happens to catch you in a submission. But Jesus Didn't Tap and neither are you. You can escape, no problem.

So maybe you have no interest in "that ground stuff". You would rather stand and trade blows. I'm sure you're going to win every fight by knockout in the first round, but just in case you happen to take a clean elbow or shin to the face, here's what it might look like after.

Hopefully now I have your attention. Maybe you survive the staph infection and you're always on the offensive. No one is even going to have the chance to cut you open. They'd be lucky to even get a punch or kick off.

All it takes is one checked leg kick and you can go from contender to needing rehabilitation just to walk properly again. Just ask Corey Hill.

After all of this, you have still decided you're going to fight. You run off an impressive 5-0 record and now you're stepping into the cage on a big show. But one thing that big shows have is logos on their canvases. Here's what happened to one recent fighter when he went to plant his foot while standing on a sponsor's logo.

Let's not forget that these men are incredible athletes. Yes, most people can throw a punch but few men or women are willing to train there bodies the way these athletes do. Not to mention the fact that they willingly put their bodies in harm's way every day.

You need to look no further than Rashad Evan's reasoning for withdrawing from his bout with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua:

I’m very disappointed. I was at practice on Wednesday, we were drilling wrestling technique, and one partner was going at 100% and the other partner at 30% and the drill was seeing how many take downs you could get in a minute. I was being a partner and someone ran into the side of my leg – two people tried to do a take down – they took my knee and I just fell down right away. I knew right away I was done. The injury is to the medial lateral ligament. It’s a pretty bad strain, so it will be bad for 4 to six weeks, so if the fight had been another month away, then I’d at least be able to train before the fight.

Here's a guy who will soon be fighting for a belt on the biggest stage in MMA. He goes into practice, just like any other day, and in an instant his title fight dreams are crushed at no fault of his own. He was simply standing to close to training partners.

This sport is an amazing thing to watch. Let's not ruin that by trying to put these athletes on our level. Every sport has it's share of unruly fans, but for some reason MMA has attracted throngs of the wrong type of fan. These men are elite athletes and should be treated as such.

P.S. If you needed any more proof that these guys are on another level, remember that guy who tore his foot on the sponsor's logo. Well his name is Justin Salas. He was fighting Rob Emerson for the lightweight title at a Full Force Fighting event. Justin blistered his foot in the first and tore it in the second. He then went on to win a split decision with his injured foot and won the lightweight belt. Hats off to you, sir.

So what do you think... got what it takes? To read the original post, with more pictures and videos, check out our site at BJJ in MMA.

Upon finding that article, I then stumbled upon this video of Kendall Grove getting his leg cleaned out of the infection. Even more nauseating than the picture.

And if all of this wasn't enough, check out Cole Escovedo's story. This young kid nearly lost his life to a nasty staph infection.

Now, you aren't dumb enough to get caught in a toe hold. True. But, you might just find yourself on the bottom in a BJJ match.

OK, so the luckiest guy in the world happens to catch you in a submission. But Jesus Didn't Tap and neither are you. You can escape, no problem.

All it takes is one checked leg kick and you can go from contender to needing rehabilitation just to walk properly again. Just ask Corey Hill.

You need to look no further than Rashad Evan's reasoning for withdrawing from his bout with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua:

I’m very disappointed. I was at practice on Wednesday, we were drilling wrestling technique, and one partner was going at 100% and the other partner at 30% and the drill was seeing how many take downs you could get in a minute. I was being a partner and someone ran into the side of my leg – two people tried to do a take down – they took my knee and I just fell down right away. I knew right away I was done. The injury is to the medial lateral ligament. It’s a pretty bad strain, so it will be bad for 4 to six weeks, so if the fight had been another month away, then I’d at least be able to train before the fight.

So what do you think... got what it takes? To read the original post, with more pictures and videos, check out our site at BJJ in MMA.

Pre-UFC 126: Thoughts on Anderson 'the spider' Silva

jw1487 — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 05:13:38 -0000

We are a couple of days away from UFC 126, scheduled for February 5th, but I can't hold back any longer. This is probably the most, shall I say emotional, post I have written to date. For the sake of the readers, I will do my best to present an informational article about one of the greatest fighters / grapplers in the world - making sure that this post is both fair and balanced, free from personal opinion and hearsay.

I hate Anderson Silva...

Alright, alright, you got me. I'm a dirty liar. This article is going to contain more opinions than a Joe Rogan commentary. But I figure that if you're looking for a purely informational article, you'll go to Wikipedia.

Anderson Silva is a man that needs little introduction. He's the middleweight champion of the UFC (185 lbs), has defended his belt 7 times, has a record of 27-4 (undefeated in UFC), has his BJJ black belt under the Noguiera brothers, and has the unofficial title of "Pound for Pound, best fighter in the world" from many notable fighters and higher-ups in the MMA world. That was a long sentence. Now brace yourselves internet land, because here comes some controversial paragraphs.

#1 - He's Arrogant

This is, by far, the biggest reason I want Belfort to beat the brakes off of him. Yes, I said 'beat the brakes off' of him... thanks Rampage.

Let's not even talk about the Forrest Griffin fight where he acted like a bar fighter, rather than a middleweight champion. Heck, I'll even look past the interview in which he candidly says he's "not impressed" with George St. Pierre or BJ Penn, and that there's really "nothing special" about them (watch that interview here). Let's move rather, to his legendary (sarcasm) bout with Demian Maia. This is the fight where I started to loathe the man. Ever since watching him humiliate himself in this fight, I swore to myself I would desperately cheer for his opponents.

At UFC 112, Maia took the fight in place of Vitor Belfort due to injury. I'll be the first to admit that Maia was probably outmatched, but Silva acted as if he was fighting a girl scout rather than a fellow brazilian. He clowned Maia for the first couple rounds, then came out and 'avoided' his way to a victory for the last two rounds. The ref actually stopped the fight to warn Silva to engage or lose points. Sorry... the P4P best fighter in the world shouldn't have to be encouraged to fight.

And I don't want to hear this "he's earned the right to be arrogant, he's an incredible fighter". I agree he is an incredible fighter, but I disagree that anyone 'earns' the right of arrogance. It's a character flaw, not a Call of Duty badge. No one likes a GQ male model flaunting his stuff at Christmas parties, nor a the computer nerd that treats everyone like they are idiots because they don't know how to fix the printer. It's the same premise - you don't get to be a jerk because you've got skills. Ask GSP, Machida, or Fedor. Ridiculously talented guys, and ridiculously humble guys.

His antics in that fight about got him kicked out the UFC. Don't believe me? Dana White would never kick him out? Think again. White was interviewed just before the Chael Sonnen fight and said of Silva "If he [Silva] ever acts like that again in the ring, I will cut him." Actually, Dana walked out on his own event at UFC 112! After Silva started prancing around and not engaging, Dana White was so annoyed that he handed the middleweight belt to Silva's trainer, Ed Soares, and muttered "you give it to him" and exited the building! In the post-fight conference, White apologized to fans that "bought this [expletive]" and promised to make it up to them. Chael Sonnen swears up and down that the reason White didn't cut Silva was because of him! He begged for a fight before Dana threw him out. Who knows, maybe White gave Sonnen the fight in the hopes that Silva would be brought back to earth. Mission accomplished.

#2 - He's Hypocritical

After beating Sonnen at UFC 117, Silva went on a tirade about Chael dissing the Nogueiras with his "getting a black belt from the Noguiera brothers is like getting a free toy in your Happy Meal" comment. Granted, that was a dumb thing to say. Silva, talking about that incident, says "The thing is we don't disrespect anyone, and Brazil never disrespected anybody. We have a history within martial arts, and Sonnen should be thanking a Brazilian who created the show, for the opportunity to fight in the UFC." Then he drops this bomb. "We can't disrespect other fighters. I submitted him because he spoke ill of the Noguieras."

Little reminder friends... Demian Maia is about as Brazilian as it gets. I'm not even going to make this argument. Just form your own opinion after you watch the Silva vs Maia fight.

He continues that interview with a respectful discussion on Sonnen. "In my opinion, he never deserved a rematch. He stayed in the same position all fight... If he couldn't win in 30 minutes with me injured, could he win in a rematch?" This he said just after the 'never disrespect' comment.

And another thing... "I submitted him because he spoke ill of the Noguieras" ... like he had it planned to get whooped the entire fight and get the submission just before the final bell rang? Never mind the fact that Sonnen hit Silva more times in those 5 rounds, 289, than Silva had been hit in his entire career, 208 times. Never mind that the 3 judges scored the fight in a landslide for Sonnen. And never mind that Silva looked completely wiped when he slapped on that triangle in the last minute and a half of the fight. But hey guys, he did it for the Noguiera brothers.

#3 - He's freaking Great

Anyone who has successfully defended a belt 7 times, in any weight class, deserves some major R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Anybody who holds a Black Belt in BJJ, Tae Kwon Do, and Judo.

I'm not an idiot. When I say I "hate" Anderson Silva, it's alot like how people in the 90s said "I hate the Bulls". Or how you might hear, with the playoffs in full swing, "I hate the Patriots". It's the nature of sports - we hate the untouchables. Inevitably, though, those dynasties fell. I just can't wait until Anderson "falls"... and falls hard... hopefully, to Vitor Belfort. To be fair to Vitor, since we did an entire article on Silva, there will be an article on Belfort. He was called "the phenom" for a reason, and unfortunately for other UFC middleweights, he's starting to look at alot like he did in his early 20s, punching Wanderlei like a punching bag across the entire canvas. Vitor Belfort is a different fighter than Silva, and has arguably the best stand-up Silva has ever seen in an opponent. One more reason I'm shelling out the dough for this Pay Per View event on February 5th.

Alright internet land, let's hear what you've got to say about all of this. Is Anderson Silva arrogant or just plain confident?

If you liked this post, check it out the original article with videos and animated gifs on my site: BJJ in MMA

Poll

Who is going to win at UFC 126... Silva or Belfort?

Anderson Silva

79 votes

Vitor Belfort

31 votes

110 votes | Poll has closed