It's This Week in Women's MMA! A couple of days late, but better late than never! Because seriously, who would prefer never? You would have to be a d**k to rather have something never than late. The only exception might be dairy products, since expiration dates are such a touchy issue. Yuck, spoiled milk!

No spoiled milk ahead of us here! Just women's MMA and...not a whole lot of it! Look, there's really only one pro fight this weekend. It's disappointing, I know, but hey! Less work for me! And don't you want me to have less work to do? What if I told you it was my birthday, would you want less work for me then? God, you people. What's wrong with you today!? Maybe it's just me...

But right, let's look at the big fight in the week ahead as well as results from the big Thanksgiving weekend of MMA action!

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Promoted to the Front Page by Beth

A week of MMA has come and gone and with that, it’s time to look forward to a new batch of women’s fights!  We don’t have the benefit of any Strikeforce or Bellator shows this week, but we still have some good bouts to look forward to.  The North American Allied Fight Series, better known as the NAAFS, is putting on the two most notable fights of the week at their Night of Champions event.  Pancrase also has a 105 pound fight taking place at their twelfth Impressive Tour event.

I’ll also be taking a look at the fights I previewed last week and filling you guys in on the results.  I don’t want to spoil anything but here’s a hint: I’m apparently very good at picking WMMA winners.  I didn’t say I wasn’t going to brag, I’m pleased as punch to be able to brag.  I’m just not spoiling anything.  Unless you remember my picks from last week.  Then I’m spoiling it.  But these fights have already happened so whatever.

So after the jump, read all about a terrible arm injury, successful professional debuts, and the week ahead of us for women’s MMA!

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Recently, I've been spending a lot of time on Gals Guide to MMA and have been enjoying it immensely.  For those who visit this site infrequently, I implore you to stick around on a full time basis.  Donna, Beth, Jackie, Kat, and The Midge are all absolutely awesome.  Seriously, they are.  I'm not just saying that, it's all true.  As some of you from Bloody Elbow might know, I couldn't possibly say nice things about writers I don't like.

Normally, I post my classic UFC and PRIDE write-ups on Bloody Elbow and those seem to be well received by the masses.  But tonight I wondered why not provide something to the wonderful community at Gals Guide?  What better way to show my love and appreciation for these folks than by giving you all something wonderful to read!?  Thus, This Week in Women's MMA is born!  I'll be taking a look at some of the more notable women's fights for the week and provide my input.

You won't find this on any other MMA site, including my own!!  That's right, this is a Gals Guide exclusive feature that you can only find here!  You might call me crazy or you might call be stupid, in which case you can stop reading.  I revoke any right you have to read this post.  I do not have eye blocking technology, so we'll stick with the honor system here.  Please do not read after the jump.  Promise?

Okay, good.  The rest of you can carry on and read about the best in women's MMA for the week of November 14, 2011!

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**This is the 22nd post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first twenty two UFC events.**

The UFC has returned from a Brazilian vacation and is back home in the United States for UFC 18. More specifically, the UFC has returned to its home in the American Southeast.  Little has changed in the homefront in 1999 as the UFC is still a long ways from public acceptance.

Still, that hasn’t stopped the UFC from putting on some good shows as of late.  UFC 18 looks to be no exception and is as star studded a card we’ve seen in some time.  As expected, Bas Rutten will be making his UFC debut against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka but that’s far from all.  Pat Miletich will be defending his UFC Lightweight (170 lbs.) Championship against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner Jorge Patino.

I usually wait to discuss the full card, but this one is too good to wait any longer.  We’ll see three battles between a series of UFC veterans: Mikey Burnett vs. Townsend Saunders, Tito Ortiz vs. Jerry Bohlander, and a great heavyweight bout between Pedro Rizzo and Mark Coleman.  This is a great lineup that is complimented even further by the debut of the late, great Evan Tanner.

The UFC looks to start 1999 with a bang before that dreaded Y2K virus hits.  Then what will happen?  Without power, the UFC won’t be capable of putting on big shows and the fighters will resort to putting on backyard fights.  What a sad, sad reality that would be.  Oh well, I guess we’ll have to get to UFC 18 and enjoy our wired society while it’s still in tact.

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It's with heavy consternation and modest encouragement that I post this.  It appears that some are desirous for an open thread with some precedent having been set.  I don't like to clutter up the Bloody Elbows and try to keep my FanPosts to inane PRIDE and UFC write-ups, so here's a post that's just inane.

So why don't you have a life?  At the very least, why don't you have plans for this evening.  We all have lives to a certain extent, it's just that some of our lives don't require leaving the house on Saturday night.  I like to blog, that's a pretty good one.  It's almost like having a life, just with words.  Granted, I'm not blogging tonight, but I could.  Isn't that the most important thing?

So what will I be doing tonight?  Probably playing Arkham City until I want to throw up!  There's nothing wrong with that since Arkham City is fucking incredible.  Best game ever?  Let's just say it's the best game ever right now.  I'm still working hard to complete this game, though I'll be sad when it's done.  I also have Red Dead Redemption to replay and I've yet to start on Undead Nightmare.

Please note that this comes after a day when I attended the 2011 Pinball Expo in scenic Wheeling, Illinois.  By scenic, I mean there were lots of creeps playing pinball at a fancy hotel.  Seriously, tons of fucking creeps.  Maybe 70% creeps, 15% children, 10% vendors, 3% normal guys, 1% wives of normal guys, 1% prostitutes.  Seriously, there was some prostitute action going on.  I didn't partake, since I don't know how those exchanges go.  Also, as a rule, I don't pay for sex.

But talk about your day!  Your evening!  Gripe about your college football team if they lost!  Illinois did, so they're now 0-1 with my Chief Illiniwek tattoo.  Michigan State won a pretty big one over Wisconsin, so I think every Big Ten team will combine and represent the conference in the Motor City Bowl.  Ugh.

And if you're an admin, don't remove this post!  Please!  kthx!!

**This is the 21st post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first twenty one UFC events.**

The UFC had a really great first half of 1998, putting on two of the better events in the promotions history.  UFC 16 and 17 showed off some lighter weight fighters and more talented fighters than we’re accustomed to seeing as a whole.  I also think the UFC reducing their tournaments from eight men to four men have made for more competitive events.

Unfortunately, it seems that most of the momentum the UFC built has deteriorated.  It’s now October 1998, five months since the last UFC event.  They’re struggling to stay on pay-per-view, are only active in a handful of states in the U.S., and are often relegated to put on international cards to stay alive.

The UFC is in Brazil for the first time ever, but they’ve left the tournament format back in America.  We’ll see just six main card fights, but they all look to be pretty interesting contests.  Frank Shamrock will defend his Middleweight Title and we’ll see the very first Lightweight Champion crowned in the UFC.  Vitor Belfort and Tank Abbott will both be in action against two familiar names making their UFC debuts.

Jeremy Horn and Pete Williams will also be in action during this event and this event looks as packed as any other we’ve seen in the UFC.  Only in the Ultimate Ultimate events did we see this kind of talent, since most of the early, non-superstar tournaments featured bar fighters and unqualified fat men.  Those days are fading away, though we’re getting closer to seeing Sean fucking Glennon in the UFC.  Ugh.

But forget that, we’re still seven or eight years away from that debacle.  For now, we’re in Sao Paulo and it’s time for the UFC!

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Well of course people are going, why else would the UFC sell tickets to this event?  Generally, tickets = attendance, so yes, people are going.  But I specifically want to know if anybody on Bloody Elbow was planning to attend.  I guess this question feeds into a larger question of how many BE readers are in the greater Las Vegas area or are willing to travel to attend events.

Why do I bring this up?  Well, it all started when I made the decision to go into deep credit card debt.  First I expanded my wardrobe, which has nothing to do with MMA.  Oh, except now I own 80 pairs of Dennis Hallman style Speedos that I wear to work on a daily basis.

The next step was planning to travel more.  I've only been recently been traveling west (Phoenix) for work and I absolutely love it.  It's amazing how things are warm out there, but absolutely miserable in Chicagoland on a regular basis.  I've recently got some pretty good Groupon deals for hotels in Phoenix and Vegas (Hard Rock) planning a winter trip - then I remembered 'hey, aren't there fights in Vegas sometimes??'  Or always, whatever.

So here I am, ready to head out west and potentially be at the center of the universe when Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem have a monster fight that will likely propel the earth against its axis and turn the poles upside down.  I'm fairly confident that tickets are pricier for Las Vegas events (confirmation requested, thank you) but I don't care since I want to be warm in December and watch the EPICSMASH2011.

So tell me Bloody Elbowers (Bloddy Elbites?  Bloody Elobowans?) do you plan on going to UFC 141?  If so, where will you be traveling from?  Also, do you have any extra money so that I don't have to go to a debt counselor?  Or, do you know any good debt counselors?  Would you like to buy my house for more than it would likely be appraised for?

You know, simple questions that any MMA fan could answer.

**This is the fourth post in a series taken from my MMA blog.  Similar to my series on the UFC, I will recapping and ranking all things PRIDE beginning with their first event.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings for the early UFC and PRIDE events.**

It’s been far too long since I’ve done one of these posts, but I guess you could say that I’m recovering from a PRIDE 3 hangover.  Seriously, Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Carlos Newton has blown my mind.  As a huge grappling fan, I’m not sure that MMA can get any better than that for me.  Still, I must move on and look forward to other fights.

Like Sakuraba’s next fight!  Kazushi is back to take on UFC veteran and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Allan Goes.  That’s not all, as we have a very stacked evening of fights.  Gary Goodridge, perhaps one of the most experienced MMA fighters based on his time in the UFC and PRIDE, will take on a Ukrainian newcomer to PRIDE in Igor Vovchanchyn.  Fan favorite Akira Shoji will take on yet another former UFC fighter in Wallid Ismail.

We’ve got Mark Kerr and Marco Ruas, but perhaps the most interesting fight is a rematch from the main event of PRIDE 1.  Nobuhiko Takada will give it another shot when he goes up the legendary Rickson Gracie.  How fitting that this fight takes place on the very first anniversary of the PRIDE promotion!  Takada vs. Gracie was a fantastic spectacle, even if the original fight was slightly lackluster.  But hey, maybe Takada’s warm-up fight against Kyle Sturgeon was just what the doctor ordered!  [Insert joke here]

You know who else is fighting tonight?  Those two fuck faces that ruined PRIDE 2, Yuhi Sano and Sanae Kikuta.  Oh Jesus, this is like a nightmare.  Now what?  Is this when I kill myself?  Do I end this blog so I just don’t have to write about their fights?  I have to trudge through this, maybe they’ll both die in the ring.  Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Regardless, it’s still PRIDE and some of the fights will still be good.  It’s an anniversary!  It’s a celebration!  Our little baby PRIDE is now one year old, aww, how it’s grown!  I remember when it was yay high and in it’s weird little freak show phase.  Now…we’ll, the freak shows are maybe a bit more subtle.  Whatever, it’s just been a year.  Let’s carry on.

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**This is the third post in a new series taken from my MMA blog.  Similar to my series on the UFC, I will recapping and ranking all things PRIDE beginning with their first event.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings for the early UFC and PRIDE events.**

Three months after the last PRIDE event and just one month after the last UFC event, we'll be seeing the return of PRIDE with its third card.  So far, I've not been pleased with the PRIDE promotion.  They've definitely had some exciting contests, but at the same time, I've also had to sit through Severn vs. Kimo from PRIDE 1 and the miserable Gracie fights from PRIDE 2.  Yuhi Sano and Sanae Kikuta are absent from this card, meaning that we won't have the pleasure of being completely underwhelmed by their presence.  Unfortunately, this will also be the first PRIDE card without any Gracies.

We'll see the PRIDE return of Nobuhiko Takada after unsuccessfully challenging Rickson Gracie at PRIDE 1.  Kazushi Sakuraba, who has had success in both the UFC and PRIDE thus far, will make an appearance at this event.  Akira Shoji will also compete after putting on impressive performances at PRIDE 1 and 2.  There will also be a number of familiar faces from the UFC including Mark Kerr, Gary Goodridge, Carlos Newton, and Emmanuel Yarborough.

Wait, Emmanuel Yarborough?  You mean the fat guy who fought Keith Hackney in a David vs. Goliath fight?  Yes, he's apparently yet to die of complications from diabetes or getting trapped in a hot air balloon basket as a balloon ascends endlessly toward the heavens.  I have very low expectations for this card, which will somehow have to be good in spite of the presence of such a huge, useless man.  Dare I proceed?  I guess I don't have a choice at this point...

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**This is the 20th post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first twenty UFC events.**

Coming out of UFC 16, the UFC promised us three things at UFC 17: Vitor Belfort’s return, Tank Abbott’s return, and Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman for the UFC Heavyweight Title.  Unfortunately, the only one of those things that we’ll see at UFC 17 is the return of Tank Abbott.  Vitor Belfort is nowhere to be found, while an apparent injury forced Randy Couture off of this card.

We still have some interesting fights ahead of us, as Lion’s Den product Pete Williams is substituting for Couture to take on Coleman in a heavyweight superfight.  We will also see a middleweight tournament at this event featuring four UFC newcomers, two of whom will go on to make indelible impressions on the world of MMA.

Perhaps the most unusual note from this event is that Frank Shamrock will defend his Middleweight Title against Jeremy Horn – except the fight wasn’t featured on the pay-per-view broadcast.  The contest was taped for a later UFC home video release, a very unusual decision considering that Frank Shamrock was becoming a big name in the UFC with his impressive wins.  Nonetheless, I’ve located footage of this fight and I will be including it as part of the UFC 17 recap.

This is the twentieth UFC event and that should be a big deal, except that the numbering is fucked on account of the non-numbered events like Ultimate Japan and the Ultimate Ultimates.  Still, it looks like we’ve got a pretty good card in store for us.  This event has a tough act to follow in UFC 16, but I’m anxious to see what’s in store for us at this event!

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**This is the 19th post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first nineteen UFC events.**

The UFC is back in America with UFC 16 after their first ever event in Japan.  UFC Ultimate Japan was a very strange event, since we saw the same fight happen twice in a single elimination tournament and Frank Shamrock debuted by submitting Kevin Jackson in under 30 seconds.  There were certainly some more unusual circumstances at this event, while UFC 16 should be fairly interesting as well.

The middleweight division will finally be in between two different weight classes as the UFC will debut the lightweight division, which features fighters at 170 pounds or less.  This weight class is of course better known as the welterweight division today, but it will feature the smallest fighters in the UFC to date.  We’ll see a four man lightweight tournament featuring fighters all making their UFC debuts.

Along with that, Frank Shamrock will be putting his Middleweight Title on the line and we’ll see the return of Kimo Leopoldo in the UFC.  Middleweight contenders Jerry Bohlander and Kevin Jackson will also be competing in a Superfight that should make for an interesting battle.  We’ll see all of this and slightly more at UFC 16!

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**This is the second post in a new series taken from my MMA blog.  Similar to my series on the UFC, I will recapping and ranking all things PRIDE beginning with their first event.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings for the early UFC and PRIDE events.**

Five months removed from the first PRIDE event, KRS is back with the second ever event for the new MMA promotion.  The very first event was a mishmash of UFC fighters, members of the Gracie family, kickboxers, and Japanese professional wrestlers in what was a very unusual and somewhat entertaining spectacle.

Unsurprisingly, PRIDE 2 will feature a mishmash of UFC fighters, members of the Gracie family, kickboxers, and Japanese professional wrestlers.  Gary Goodridge, Renzo Gracie, Akira Shoji, and Branko Cikatic all return from the promotion's inaugural event, while we'll also see the debut of UFC fighters Mark Kerr and Kazushi Sakuraba.  Renzo Gracie's cousin Royler, another Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu great, will also make his PRIDE debut on this event.

Looking at the card, I get the feeling that PRIDE 2 isn't going to be much different from PRIDE 1, as KRS is following the same formula from their first event five months ago.  The most notable difference is that I won't have to sit through a fight between Dan Severn and Kimo, but there's always a chance that some other fight could take its place as the worst in PRIDE history.  I'm not saying it's likely, I'm just saying there's a chance.  Let's cross our fingers that we won't see anything like that on PRIDE 2.

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**This is the 18th post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first eighteen UFC events.**

The UFC goes to Japan, how exciting!  The UFC is in Japan for the very first time featuring their latest non-numbered event, UFC Ultimate Japan.  With few friendly locales left for the UFC, Japan is a country that has already been exposed to mixed martial arts.  Pancrase has been putting on successful shows in Japan for years, while we just saw the debut of the PRIDE promotion not too long ago.

Regarding Ultimate Japan, we’ve got some pretty good fights ahead of us.  Randy Couture will challenge kickboxer Maurice Smith for the UFC Heavyweight Title.  Couture shocked the world by defeating Vitor Belfort at UFC 15, while Maurice Smith has won consecutive fights against Mark Coleman and Tank Abbott.  Olympian Kevin Jackson will be making his return to the UFC’s middleweight division when he takes on Pancrase veteran Frank Shamrock in the first ever UFC Middleweight Title match.

We’ll see another heavyweight tournament featuring Tank Abbott and Japanese professional wrestler Kazushi Sakuraba and Vitor Belfort will be participating in a heavyweight Superfight against the man with the best nickname in the UFC, “Ghetto Man” Joe Charles.  Please note that the term Superfight is used loosely when it involved Charles, a fighter who is 5-8 in MMA at this point in his career.  Nonetheless, we still have a nice card taking place in the Land of the Rising Sun.

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**This is the 17th post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first seventeen UFC events.**

Less than a week after PRIDE made their debut in Japan, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has returned with their UFC 15 pay-per-view event.  The UFC has only ever seen competition from Pancrase, a promotion that seemed to have a bit of a working relationship with the UFC.  Ken Shamrock, Maurice Smith, and Yoshiki Takahashi are among the fighters who have competed for both promotions, but things with PRIDE seem a bit different.

PRIDE put on two fights with four of the UFC's biggest names just six days before the UFC's next event and on the other side of the world.  It seems that the UFC fighters were put in UFC style fights just days before a UFC event and it's clear that PRIDE is trying hard to capitalize on the fame of these fighters.  Will there continue to be overlap between the UFC and PRIDE?  Can the two promotions broker some kind of agreement regarding talent?

As previously noted during my PRIDE 1 write-up, Dan Severn was in a unique position for these two events.  Severn was slated to fight Kimo for PRIDE before a UFC 15 Heavyweight Title shot against kickboxer Maurice Smith.  Severn's fight with Kimo went an excruciating 30 minutes, but it didn't seem like Severn had any physical difficulties with the fight.  Will he still be competing on this event?

And long gone are those other big names who fought at PRIDE 1.  We haven't seen Kimo, Oleg Taktarov, or Gary Goodridge for sometime and now there's a new crop of stars in the UFC.  Smith, Vitor Belfort, Randy Couture, and Mark Kerr have recently emerged as the best the UFC has to offer.  Smith vs. Severn has the makings of an interesting striker vs. grappler contest, while we'll see Belfort fight Couture in a Superfight for a heavyweight title shot.

We'll also see a heavyweight tournament featuring Mark Kerr and the returning Dave Beneteau, while the middleweight tournament is taking an event off.  There are only five main fights along with two alternate bouts, so this definitely seems to be an abridged UFC event.

As we've seen in the last few UFC events, rules and formats have been altered to protect fighters and to regulate the UFC in the face of mounting opposition.  UFC 15 will make some more radical rule changes that will directly impact the fights in the promotion.  I'll discuss more of those changes in this write-up, but I can safely say that the UFC is well on its way to going from spectacle to sport.  On with the show!

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**This is the first post in a new series taken from my MMA blog.  Similar to my series on the UFC, I will recapping and ranking all things PRIDE beginning with their first event.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings for the early UFC and PRIDE events.**

PRIDE - one of the most legendary promotions in mixed martial arts history.  Still revered and loved by fans of MMA to this day.  It is the hope of many that PRIDE will never die and fighters like Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, and the Nogueira brothers are still living remnants of a once thriving promotion.

Much like my Ranking the UFC series, I will be recapping all PRIDE events dating back to the very beginning.  However, I'm surely more ignorant about PRIDE than I am about the UFC.  I've been enjoying the UFC for many years, but I was years behind on PRIDE.  I'm certainly familiar with a number of the fighters and the more classic fights, but a lot of this great MMA action is very new to me and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.

Before I begin, some background on PRIDE.  Kakutougi Revolution Sports, a Japanese entertainment company, was working to create some kind of combat sports showcase.  Initially, the goal was to create a series of matches between the Gracie family and Japanese professional wrestlers from the Kingdom wrestling promotion, once known as Union of Wrestling Forces International or UWFi.

The Gracies have long been considered the first family of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the legend only grew with Royce's success in the UFC.  Meanwhile, professional wrestling in Japan may have been staged, but the matches were much stiffer and more realistic.  Japanese wrestlers have been revered as legitimate warriors and stars for many decades, so this competition only seemed natural.

Professional wrestlers like Kazushi Sakuraba and Koji Kitao seemed to be natural fits in such a format, but it was UWFi founder Nobuhiko Takada who was prominently featured at the first PRIDE event.  And rather than a series of matches against the Gracie family, Takada would square off against the legendary Rickson Gracie, son of Helio Gracie.

From there, the initial card would be filled with stars from around pro wrestling and mixed martial arts.  In matches featuring UFC fighters, Oleg Taktarov faces Gary Goodridge and Dan Severn fights Kimo Leopoldo.  Another Gracie, Renzo, will be in action against Japanese fighter Akira Shoji.  Professional wrestlers Nathan Jones and Koji Kitao will also square off, while there are a number of other matches planned for this initial card.  Unlike the UFC, these early contests will be individual, non-tournament fights.

It should be noted that PRIDE was not solely an MMA organization.  Early on, you would see kickboxing matches, grappling exhibitions, and even professional wrestling style contests.  In fact, some of the "legitimate" mixed martial arts contests were also suspected to be fixed.  For the sake of these rankings, I will only be ranking fights and fighters from legitimate mixed martial arts fights.

I will definitely take the time to review the other special rules contests since they are all very important to the evolution and history of PRIDE itself.  But my goal in the rankings is to determine which MMA competitors and competitions were the best of the best.  That's no disrespect to the kickboxing and grappling contests, but these rankings are solely for MMA contests.  Though a number of bouts are potentially worked fights, I won't make those judgement calls and will accept all recorded MMA fights as legitimate.

One last note is regarding PRIDE rules.  Eventually, the rules would evolve to what is detailed here.  The rules for PRIDE were historically more lenient in regards to violence and would encourage fighters to be active with potential purse deductions.  It seems that these early events somewhat closely resemble these rules, though the round structure changed quite a bit initially.  I'll do my best to note rule differences and unusual circumstances as they occur, though I'm sure most everything will be clearer upon viewing.

Without any further adieu, I present PRIDE 1.

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**This is the 16th post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first sixteen UFC events.**

It's July of 1997 and the UFC has returned to the pay-per-view airwaves.  UFC 14 is upon us and it marks the debut of the middleweight division!  Actually, what was once called the lightweight division (fighters under 200 pounds) has simply been renamed the middleweight division.  I'm not sure what the middleweight division is in the middle of since there are now only two weight classes in the UFC.  Nonetheless, long live the middleweight division!

The UFC is sticking with the two tournament system, which frankly, I have been enjoying.  There is still a bit of a gap between the largest and smallest fighters at heavyweight, but the division has still been competitive.  The lightweight/middleweight division has allowed lighter fighters like Jerry Bohlander and Guy Mezger to gain measures of success in the UFC.  Neither of those fighters will be participating in the inaugural middleweight tournament at this event, but we'll see the return of a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu star (not named Royce Gracie) and the debut of another Olympic gold medal wrestler, Kevin Jackson.

The heavyweight division also has a couple of returning fighters from previous UFC events, though Randy Couture is notably absent from the event.  We will see the debut of a heavyweight fighter and wrestler from Syracuse University who defeated Couture for the 1992 NCAA wrestling title at the 190 pound weight class.  1992 was a year of notable champions in the NCAA wrestling championships including Kevin Randleman, Kurt Angle, and the man making his debut tonight, Mark Kerr.

Along with the tournaments, Mark Coleman will defend his UFC Heavyweight Title against kickboxer Maurice Smith in what should be a very interesting contest.  We've got some good fights ahead of us so lets get started.

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**This is the 15th post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first fifteen UFC events.**

UFC 12 was certainly not the promotion's finest hour.  I previously spent some time discussing the political issues accompanying the event, but it should also be noted that the event itself was not particularly good.  At this point, it's the third worst UFC pay-per-view to date - a fine accomplishment for a company that has already put on its fair share of crappy events.

But now we move on to UFC 13, which is now the fifteenth UFC event and the second of 1997.  We last saw a couple of fresh faces win UFC tournaments, with veteran Jerry Bohlander emerging to become the first Lightweight Tournament Champion and Brazilian Vitor Belfort showing amazing boxing to win the heavyweight tournament.  Bohlander won't be back at UFC 13 to defend his tournament crown, while the UFC has capitalized on Belfort's exciting debut and has pitted him against Tank Abbott in a Superfight.  Call it a hunch, but I think Tank and Vitor are going to punch each other really hard.

We will see some very interesting new names here tonight.  The heavyweight tournament will feature a former professional wrestler along with a three time U.S. Olympic alternate for wrestling.  The lightweight tournament will see the returns of Christophe Leininger, who had a very fun and competitive fight with Ken Shamrock at UFC 3, and the undefeated Guy Mezger.  A veteran fighter for Shooto will be making his UFC debut, while a well known member of Tank Abbott's camp will make his UFC debut in an alternate fight.

With one exciting Superfight and some interesting tournament names, UFC 13 should be a pretty fun event.  Then again, I've been disappointed by previous events I thought would be exciting.  It's a fine line between watchable MMA card and total shit sandwich, but I'm hopeful that UFC 13 will be a fine event.

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**This is the 14th post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first fourteen UFC events.**

The UFC is back with its first event of 1997, UFC 12.  As I mentioned at the conclusion of the Ultimate Ultimate '96, this looks like it will be a year of serious changes for the UFC.  Weight classes have been introduced and we will have two different four man tournaments.  We'll also see a number of new fighters in this tournament with only two returning tournament participants.

Some things haven't changed, including government pressure on the UFC.  Prior to UFC 12, United States Senator John McCain ramped up his efforts to have the UFC shut down by sending letters to each of the 50 U.S. governors asking them not to hold UFC events in their state.  This event was originally scheduled to be held in New York, but state legislators voted to ban mixed martial arts effective February 7, 1997, which happened to be the date of UFC 12.  This change forced the UFC to find a new location for the event at the last minute.

I won't spend too much time going over the background, but Dave Meltzer wrote a really great piece about the event (spoilers within).  It's awful to read about the state of MMA 14 years ago, but it's true that the sport needed to make some changes to crossover from full blown freak show to legitimate sport.

It's not all negative for UFC 12, since we'll see Dan Severn return to defend his Superfight crown.  We already know that Don Frye won't be the opponent and there's only one logical choice to challenge Severn: Mark "The Hammer" Coleman.  Coleman has won all five of his UFC fights, including a victory over Frye in the UFC 10 finals.  The fight between Severn and Coleman will actually merge Severn's Superfight Title with the new UFC Heavyweight Title with the winner becoming the inaugural champion.

It still remains to be seen if everything at this event will go smoothly given the last minute changes, but let's cross our fingers and move on to the event.

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**This is the 13th post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first thirteen UFC events.**

In December 1995, some of the all time UFC greats competed in an all star, single night tournament called the Ultimate Ultimate.  At the end of the night, it was Dan "The Beast" Severn who came away as the tournament champion.  And now nearly one year later, we will be treated to a second Ultimate Ultimate event with even more of the greatest stars in UFC history.

That's right, it's the Ultimate Ultimate Ultimate!!  Actually, this event is just called the Ultimate Ultimate 1996, as apparently three "ultimates" is overkill.  I'm remiss to say that Dan Severn will not be back to defend his Ultimate Ultimate crown, but we'll still see some great action in this tournament.

After UFC 11, we know that Ken Shamrock, Don Frye, Tank Abbott, and Mark Coleman will be in action - however, one of these men will be forced to pull out of the tournament due to illness.  The UFC seemed to be pushing for Shamrock vs. Abbott and Coleman vs. Frye in the semifinals, but those plans have immediately been thrown out.

There is still much up in the air, as we still don't know for sure what other fighters will fill out the field of eight.  I can't drag this out any longer, I need me some Ultimate Ultimate!!

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**This is the first entry in a new series on professional wrestling and taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series in the future.**

If it's not entirely clear from my previous musings, let me make one thing known: I love mixed martial arts.  There are few things I enjoy more than watching MMA and I'll look for almost any excuse to enjoy some fights.  But that being said, my first real love was professional wrestling.

I would venture to say that quite a few fans of combat sports started out the same way as I did - with WCW Saturday Night, WWF Superstars, and just about any other pro wrestling I could find on my TV.  Now, I still enjoy tapes and DVDs of the older programming, but I've grown out of touch with the world of sports entertainment.  Perhaps it's something that comes with age, or maybe wrestling is just really shitty right now, but my interest in wrestling has significantly faded.

Still, wrestling was something I've thoroughly enjoyed and I look back fondly at the wrestlers of my youth.  As much as many MMA fans would hate to admit it, professional wrestling and mixed martial arts will forever be linked together.  Make no mistake, these are two very different forms of entertainment.  Professional wrestling is staged athletics while mixed martial arts is a (mostly) legitimate sport.

However, we have two entertainment entities in the UFC and WWE that utilize cable television and pay-per-views as their primary means of reaching an audience.  MMA and pro wrestling also compete for the attention of similar performers, college and professional athletes notable amongst those performers.

This will be the first post in a series where I choose a topic with overlap between pro wrestling and MMA.  It could be a performer, a promoter, a concept, or any other point of interest shared by these two entities.  I'm not interested in converting MMA fans into wrestling fans or vice versa, but it's worthwhile to consider where there are similarities between these powerful industries.

I want to be clear that, in this series, I'm not arguing that mixed martial arts is a sport with a lineal birth out of professional wrestling.  MMA was not solely born from Antonio Inoki fighting Muhammad Ali, nor did it begin with the creation of the Jeet Kune Do discipline or the Shooto, RINGS, or the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotions.  Rather, these were all momentous events on the lengthy and storied timeline of MMA.

I've had some trouble determining who should start this series, so I think it's best to go back to one of the true legends of professional wrestling - Karl Gotch.

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**This is the twelfth post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first twelve UFC events.**

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is now at their eleventh event and the promotion is sticking with a proven formula: the tournament.  For the second event in a row, the UFC has done away with individual bouts and Superfights in favor of the fan favorite eight man tournaments.

The tournament at UFC 11 will have at least one familiar name: Tank Abbott, who confirmed his participation during the UFC 10 broadcast.  I can also confirm that Brian Johnston will be returning from an impressive showing at the UFC 10 tournament, while defending champion Mark Coleman will be back to claim a second consecutive tournament crown.

These aren't the only returning competitors, but you'll have to wait and see the other fighters participating in this, the tenth UFC tournament.

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**This is the eleventh post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first eleven UFC events.**

After a supremely awful UFC 9 card, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is back with UFC 10!  The best news of all is that the tournament is back!  What I’m learning about these early UFC events is that you need a gimmick since the fights themselves are pretty shitty.  Thankfully, the original MMA gimmick – the single night tournament – has returned to the UFC.

An interesting development is that the Superfight that we’ve come to know and dread will not be taking place at this event.  In fact, Dan Severn’s victory over Ken Shamrock will be the last time the Superfight Title was contested in the UFC.  We won’t be seeing Dan Severn for a little while, but I can assure you that his next appearance won’t be insignificant.

Even without the Superfight Title being defended, there’s no way this card can be worse than UFC 9.  Don Frye, Gary Goodridge, and Mark Hall are amongst the returning tournament participants, while we have yet another Olympic wrestler in action.  A former NCAA wrestling champion from Ohio State, who also happened to place seventh at the 1992 Olympics (freestyle, 100 kilograms), will be making his UFC debut tonight.  At UFC 10, Mark “The Hammer” Coleman will attempt to announce his presence in the UFC with authority.

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**This is the tenth post in a lengthy series taken from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first ten UFC events.**

It's the spring of 1996 and we've reached the tenth UFC event.  And this UFC 9 pay-per-view will be very different.  For the first time ever, a UFC event will not feature the tournament format.  Instead, we're going to be treated to a single Superfight between Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn along with a number of other predetermined fights.

The UFC is also facing severe political pressure as this show approaches.  Arizona Senator John McCain was pushing hard for the UFC to be eliminated completely with this event in doubt up until the day it was supposed to take place (spoilers in the link.)  In the end, this event took place with a restriction on fighters striking with closed fists.

Before even watching a minute of this event, I know it's going to be...different.  The rules changes and elimination of the tournament are both straying from early UFC norms, though we've got a highly anticipated rematch in the Superfight.  Don Frye and Gary Goodridge will also be in action so let's get these fights started!

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**This is the ninth post in a lengthy series lifted from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first nine UFC events.**

After the Ultimate Ultimate, we're back to the numbered Ultimate Fighting Championship events with UFC 8.  The Ultimate Ultimate was good, but was a bit lackluster.  To make things interesting for this next event, the event has a "David vs. Goliath" theme, pitting larger fighters against smaller fighters.  You see what weight classes and sanctioning have ruined?  Perfectly good freak show fights!

We know to expect the Superfight between Ken Shamrock and Kimo, while the ninth ever tournament will also take place.  Though there aren't a lot of familiar faces, we've got some new, interesting names in this event.  There's a former college wrestler with professional boxing experience who will be cornered by Dan Severn.  We've also got another boxer with arm wrestling experience who practices kuk sool wan, but I'll discuss that a bit more later.

I think the biggest lingering question we have is whether or not Rich Goins will be doing the ring announcing.  I'm almost scared to know the answer, but we've got to find out eventually.  On with the fights!

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**This is the eighth post in a lengthy series lifted from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first eight UFC events.**

The eighth Ultimate Fighting Championship event is upon us and is the first of many unnumbered UFC events.  This is only the second most redundant event name in UFC history, as Ultimate Ultimate 1996 is the winner of that competition.  Seriously, how can there be two Ultimate Ultimates?  What sense does that make?  The UFC labeled this 1995 event the Ultimate Ultimate and should really stand by the label.

That is, unless this event is really bad and there needed to be a second Ultimate Ultimate to make up for this one.  Oh no, I hope that's not true.  I've been looking forward to this event since we have twelve returning UFC fighters in competition.  Both preliminary fights feature UFC veterans, while seven of the eight tournament participants are previous tournament finalists.

There will be no Superfight on this card, but who needs it?  We've got the SUPERTOURNAMENT.  Just wait until you see these first round fights, it's like you've died and gone to heaven (in the mid-1990's.)  Four former champions will look to claim another tournament crown in what should be a very exciting night of fights!

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**This is a special feature from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more posts with MMA news, event previews and results, and my Ranking the UFC series.**

As some of you have seen, I've been working on a series where I recap and rank UFC events back to the very beginning.  I've just completed UFC 7 and that means one thing: we've seen the last of Harold Howard in the UFC.

I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to my hero, and yours, Harold Clarence Howard.

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**This is the seventh post in a lengthy series lifted from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first seven UFC events.**

Ken Shamrock and Oleg Taktarov are coming off of strong showings at UFC 6.  Shamrock conquered "The Beast", as he was able to submit the very dangerous Dan Severn.  Oleg Taktarov managed to win the UFC 6 tournament, with the most notable win over newcomer Tank Abbott.  At UFC 7, these two men will meet in the third ever Superfight.  Taktarov and Shamrock are both notable submission fighters, so we're likely to see someone tap out - but who will it be?

Though we have a pretty exciting Superfight, the tournament for UFC 7 is shaping up to be a real shit sandwich.  Marco Ruas is a new exciting face, while we'll see a couple of returns to the octagon.  Remco Pardoel and Paul Varelans are back, while a true UFC legend will be making his long awaited return.  Ladies and gentlemen - it's UFC 7: The Return of Harold Howard!

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**This is the sixth post in a lengthy series lifted from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first six UFC events.**

The sixth UFC event marks a bit of a shift in the promotion.  The UFC was once a vehicle for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Royce Gracie, but Gracie is now gone from the UFC.  UFC 5 was one of the poorer events to date.  Dan Severn won the fifth tournament to some fanfare, but the botched Superfight between Gracie and Ken Shamrock left a bad taste in the mouths of fans.

The UFC has to come back strong with this event after a lackluster UFC 5.  We'll see the return of the Superfight, now pitting Ken Shamrock against Dan Severn.  The tournament will feature familiar fighters such as Oleg Taktarov, Dave Beneteau, and the returning Patrick Smith.  From the tournament, a surprising fighter will almost instantly rival the popularity of Royce Gracie in a single fight.  We go from a world-class BJJ practitioner to a bearded bully who taunts his victims, as Tank Abbott will be making his UFC debut.  The face of the UFC is changing, so this should be quite the interesting event.

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**This is the fifth in a lengthy series lifted from my MMA blog.  Be sure to check Fight Rankings for more in this series, which includes cumulative fight and fighter rankings from the first five UFC events.**

We’re about eighteen months removed from the first UFC and not a whole lot has changed.  There are still tournament fights with some very limited fighters (with some exceptions) fighting under very limited rules.  Some of the faces are different, but these events have stayed largely the same.  As I mentioned in my UFC 4 write-up, this event will introduce us to the Superfight with the two biggest names in the UFC: Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie.  The UFC has tried to make this match happen and they were close at UFC 3, but the match was derailed by injuries.  Now, we’ll finally get to see these two men square off in the octagon.

After this event, we should have crowned the fifth UFC tournament champion and the first UFC Superfight Champion.  Of course, you know what they say about the best laid plans…

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