Something needs to change. And quick.

Ray Easterling, a former Atlanta Falcon, just committed suicide a week or two ago. Wade Belak, Derek Boogaard, and Rick Rypien, all NHL enforcers, committed suicide during this past offseason.

Today, Junior Seau was found dead in his home due to a self inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.

There's something that all of these men have in common, and that's numerous concussions and/or head injuries during their playing days.

Now, I'm not looking to completely change the landscape of professional sports. The NFL is looking to completely eliminate kickoffs in the coming years. The NHL is considering outlawing fighting entirely. While both of these aspects of their respective sports are important and, quite honestly, fun to watch, this is getting ridiculous. These men put their bodies on the line for their teams, coaches, families, and fans in what is, in all actuality, a game. Unfortunately, they're apparently putting their lives on the line, too.

What does this have to do with MMA? It's only a matter of time before this starts happening with MMA fighters. Sure, every knockout does not result in a concussion, some assuredly some of them do. I would hate to see Chris Leben, one of my favorite fighters, and a man who we know already has issues, cut his own life short due to his fighting style.

I think that frequent CT scans should be required for all professional athletes who participate in a contact sport (and yes, that should include baseball and basketball) and once a certain level of brain damage is detected MANDATORY RETIREMENT is implemented. Not just a 90 day precautionary no-contact ruling.

Maybe 20 years from now when I'm in my 40s and the age of many of these retired athletes, I won't have to read about the players I grew up watching killing themselves...over a game.

I just had a nice long discussion with my sports journalism professor. The main purpose of the meeting was as a networking opportunity, but within that, we got into my love of MMA, something he was already well aware of. He told me how back in the day, he would frequently spend money to watch a big boxing match. He has resigned himself to the fact that boxing essentially has one foot in the grave at this point, but has yet to jump on board the MMA bandwagon. He, admittedly, hasn't seen much of it, but has deemed it more brutal and less technical than boxing. I've spent a semester with this guy, and he's an open minded guy that knows his shit about 99% of sports and has a very well-known name in the business regionally. He has told me flat out that he doesn't hate the sport, and that his non-appreciation for MMA probably stems from his lack of understanding. So I pose this question to you - before I complete this course, I want to take the time to show him one or two MMA fights featuring CURRENT fighters that best exemplify all the skill and excitement of mixed martial arts. What fight, or fights, would you show a brand new viewer, a potential fan who is already immersed in the world of sports, to make them begin to fall in love with MMA?

Alright, obviously I lied to get you guys in here.

The post today on Bob Reilly not seeking reelection got me thinking, despite the fact that has been brought to my attention that Reilly is a mere mouthpiece for the union's interests, about what the card would look like for the UFCs first foray into the Big Apple. The card would assuredly be stacked with NY fighters, 8 of which are currently under contract by Zuffa. So follow me after the jump to see what I think this card would/should look like, and feel free to post any alternatives you might like better.

Continue reading this post »

There's always a lot of talk about rankings in MMA, but most often they only include the established fighters. Prospects don't get a ton of love from most MMA fans, especially the casual ones, however the majority of them are every bit as exciting as those you see in the Octagon. This list is of the top 25 "prospects" in MMA.

My criteria for a prospect (completely subjective, just a simpler way to compile the list) is as follows: 1. They must be under 25 years old, and 2. Not employed by Zuffa. Of course, there are people who are over 25 and Zuffa-employed that could be considered prospects, but at this point they are probably already fairly well-known, so for the purposes of this list they are excluded

This is part 1 of 2. In this first part, I will list prospects 11-25 and in part 2 I will list the top 10. Follow me after the jump for the rankings.

Continue reading this post »

Super Bowl weekend just got a little more interesting.

That's because rising featherweight prospects Dustin Poirier and Erik Koch have been matched up for a fight that could potentially solidify the next challenger to the 145-pound strap. The bout has been penciled in for UFC 143 on Feb. 4, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The promotion brought word of the pending match-up just last night.

Poirier was last in action just this past weekend, running through fellow contender Pablo Garza with a gorgeous D'arce choke. The 22-year-old Tim Credeur protege is now 4-1 under the Zuffa banner and 11-1 overall.

Time to take the next step.

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The grudge match between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans is finally set to go off next year.

"Suga" has been the one doing most of the talking, thus far, and "Bones" said after his recent title defense at UFC 135 against "Rampage" Jackson that he would be doing no such thing in the build-up to this one.

I guess he decided he had something he wanted to get off his chest to MMA Weekly:

"He's flapping his gums, talking to himself, to try and convince himself that he's ready and he has this and he has that over me. Rashad is saying he has my number, he knows what he can do, and he knows all this stuff. I know all this stuff as well (about him). I do really good on improv. I'm excited to see what I can do with somebody I've went with several times before. When I spar my team, there's a level of respect that's always there. To let that clutch off for the first time and go into turbo mode on him, it's gonna be interesting. I know where he's open and I know where he's gonna try and take the fight.

Sounds like Jones isn't too concerned about his past training with Rashad coming back to haunt him in their highly anticipated match-up, tentatively scheduled for early 2012.

But should he be?

What do you think Maniacs?

Well it's Tuesday, so you know what that means...the football week is officially over. Time to go over some fantasy stats. Without further ado...

magicmike     105     (Top Performer: G. Jennings - 21)

Jersey Devil   117     (Top Performer: T. Brady - 45)

I was winning this game by 33 going into last night and, well, we all saw what Tom Brady did...and in case you didn't, he put up 45 motherfucking points. I talked to VM earlier in the day and he said that Brady had about a "20 percent chance" of putting up 33...I wonder what he woulda said the chances were of him putting up 45. In other news, don't start Austin Collie when Peyton Manning isn't playing - he doesn't do shit, and pray that Steven Jackson comes back sooner than later; he put up 11 points on one play, just imagine what he could do with a whole game...

Donkeypunch         104     (Top Performer: T. Romo - 21)

PHISH_NATION    125     (Top Performer: M. Stafford - 28)

This game was already sealed up going into last night's action, but Phish used Darren McFadden's solid night to run up the score a little bit. Both teams in this game performed strikingly close to their projected scores this game, so if anybody pays attention to those things (I know I won't anymore), Phish knew he was going to win this game by about 20 points immediately after the draft. Score one for peace of mind.

OJR                       126     (Top Performer: R. Wayne - 23)

doonerthesooner   83      (Top Performer: D. Jackson - 22)

In this week's resident B-league blowout, OJR won by 43 points over our...let's just say "interesting decision maker" dooner. Our favorite Sooner followed up his first round pick of DeAngelo Williams by sitting Cam Newton (smart move, but 36 points) and Drew Brees (dumb move, evidenced by 37 points) in favor of Matt Schaub (10 points). And knowing what's coming up this next weekend, and being a FSU fan, this made me happy.

ClayMMAn            146     (Top Performer: K. Britt - 30)

AintNoSunshine    111     (Top Performer: K. Kolb/Ravens D - 22)

No real big story coming out of this game; ANS decided to start Arian Foster even after it came out that he was sitting...now that's some confidence in your star player. But even had he decided to start one of his backups (Green-Ellis and Spiller), with the majority of Clay's team overachieving, namely the aforementioned Bayonne, NJ native Mr. Britt, the game was already out of reach.

David W-S                              127     (Top Performer: M. Vick - 26)

littledemons (aka Brutus892) 142     (Top Performer: A. Rodgers - 30)

This is another game that was all sewn up going into last night. Brutus had the lead and a player to go when MNF started last night. Despite Brady going for 517 and 4, though, Chad Ochocinco only had 2 points anyway. Shocker. Davey really coulda gotten some help by Pitt's D not shitting the bed and picking up negative points for him, had the score been flipped, this games outcome coulda been very different. Don't believe me? Go back up and check out ANS' top performer(s)...

GriffinFan05        151      (Top Performer: W. Welker - 36)

YouveGotGold     153     (Top Performer: M. Forte - 26)

Our top scoring game of the week was also our closest. Both teams went about getting their 150+ different ways; GriffinFan went with some guys going HUGE and some guys going muy pequito, while YGG went with all his guys having solid games. This matchup also featured the most players going last night (5 combined), including one in the late game, and Kyle Orton was able to pull it out for Goldie.

Great week of football. I will always take a win from my real team than my fantasy team, so Sunday night was a thing of beauty for me. Some other great games and great performances this week as well, and idk about you guys, but I'm very excited for this season. Let's look ahead to next week's fantasy matchups, shall we...

magicmike - {115 proj}

vs.

PHISH_NATION - {130 proj}

donkeypunch - {114 proj}

vs.

ClayMMAn - {128 proj}

OJR - {97 proj}

vs.

David W-S - {120 proj}

doonerthesooner - {94 proj}

vs.

GriffinFan05 - {115 proj}

AintNoSunshine - {111 proj}

vs.

Jersey Devil - {104 proj}

littledemons - {113 proj}

vs.

YouveGotGold - {129 proj}

In the words of the always eloquent Bart Scott...CAN'T WAIT!!!

As VM already mentioned, both leagues drafted last night. The B-league had 11 of its 12 participants live at the draft; Phish was the only one who autopicked the whole draft. Before the draft, I had spoke of autodraft actually not being a bad way to pick a team. Well, Phish proved me right - as of right now, his team's Week 1 projected stats are the highest. Towards the end of the draft, Hurricane Irene roared back and made a sharp left turn and knocked ANS' internet connection out, thus forcing his last 3 picks to be autodrafted, as well, and leaving him without a kicker. Anyways, the draft was solid overall, with even Davey, B-leagues resident Englishman, making some good picks. Without further ado, the draft results from last night...

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Man what a bunch of pussies

That’s it, I may not know the first thing about the NFL or the yahoo fantasy league (can the English even enter?) and I don’t even know what time the draft is in my timezone nor do I have much money to throw away in a league that I have no chance of winning but I’ll step up. You yankee doodle “football fans” should be ashamed of yourselves.

OJR what’s your paypal address?

Anderson Silva is the P4P GOAT
31-4 (14-0 UFC), 9 successful title defences, 10 championship wins
The numbers don't lie

by David W-S on Aug 30, 2011 5:18 PM EDT reply actions  

^^^BOSS^^^

I'll do it.

I’d be interested in the last spot if you guys wouldn’t mind.

by Brutus892 on Aug 31, 2011 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions  

Alright, so Davey stepped up from another motherfucking COUNTRY...one where they don't even play American football. One day later, Brutus came to bat for the Maniac community, and it was greatly appreciated, my man. The rest of you have NO EXCUSE not to get in line right behind them now. Please refer to the rest of the post if you need another reason aside from the example David and Brutus already set.

This is bullshit. The Mania Fantasy Football B-League Draft is coming up in just over 24 hours, and we only have 10 FUCKING PEOPLE SIGNED UP TO PLAY!!!

I'm not coming with the booty pics that OJR does. Because I'm playing bad cop in this scene; I mean fucking business. Unfortunately, some people have decided that, despite their love of football and steady income, they are too pussy to spend the $25 dollars to join the league and have some fun (Scotti, Cali, LJ...I'm looking at you). I seem to remember redfox inquiring as well, but as of now has NOT signed up, so I will lump him in with the pussies as well.

Alright, obviously I'm being over the top. But in all seriousness, Fantasy is going to be a lot of fun, more fun than should preclude you from spending $25 dollars. Please join, everyone in B-League would appreciate it.

Now to answer a couple FAQs, if you will...

Yes, ANYONE can join. Whether you're a regular like some of the gentlemen I mentioned above, or a lurker who has less than 120 comments, you're more than welcome to join the league. If you're going to have fun with it, while still taking it somewhat seriously, we have no reason to exclude you.

No, the B-League is NOT the worse of the two leagues. The fact that it is the B-league does not mean it is number 2. How could it be the number 2 league when the best fantasy football participant (myself) is a member? Think about that for a moment...

Now for some of the logistics. The payouts are as follows:

Super Bowl Champ - $150

Runner-Up - $75

Most Points during the regular season - $75

The current members are as follows:

ANS

Brutus892

Clayman

David W-S

Donkeypunch

doonerthesooner

Griffinfan05

OJR

PHISH NATION

magicmike

As I said...2 spots left, with basically anyone and everyone eligible to play. And lets be honest guys, $25 dollars is not that much. I'm a broke college kid, and I can afford it. Granted, I'll be making $225 back, but that's neither here nor there. Anybody wanna prove me wrong? Be my guest, all you gotta do is join...

The draft is fucking TOMORROW, and as much as the league works with 10 people, we'd really like a full 12 to match up with the number of participants in the A-hole League. Just know, if you want to join, and you're going to make number eleven, it's just as much of your job to recruit as it is mine, because if we have an odd number of teams so the league won't run as smoothly. Let's go children, step up to the plate. At least act like you don't have gaping vaginas...

via konews.net

Fedor Emilianenko is the greatest heavyweight mixed martial artist of all time. Say what you want about him fighting cans, that streak and that skill set can't go unnoticed. However, his first (T)KO loss at the hands of 40+ Dan Henderson, who is possibly the first fighter Fedor has fought that he had a significant weight advantage on, should, and hopefully will, spell the end of his decade long career. And I'm not saying this because I think he sucks; I'm saying this because I think he's too good to go out like this.

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain" - Batman

Obviously, this quote is slightly altered when it comes to MMA, but the concept still rings true, especially in this situation. When you look through history at the number of great athletes who held on too long, and there are a lot of them, none of them have had the disastrous drop-off that Fedor has. Has Brett Favre tarnished his legacy by coming back so many times? Sure, but the man was still putting up career highs in Minnesota. And while other great athletes (Muhammad Ali, Jerry Rice, Willie Mays, etc.) who hung around when they shouldn't have are still considered at the top of their sports all-time, they're careers suffered a hill-like decline, not one similar to falling off a cliff like Fedor.

It started April 6th, 2001. Fedor defeated a man named Mikhail Apostolov by RNC in the first round. Sherdog lists his record at 0-1 with Fedor being his only career opponent. Not a very important fight, had it not been for it being the first in Fedor's 28 fight unbeaten streak. Over the course of said streak, Fedor defeated Babalu Sobral, Semmy Schilt, Big Nog x2, Mark Coleman x2, Kevin Randleman, Mirko Cro Cop, Matt Lindland, and Andrei Arlovski. Those names don't encompass half the streak. As great and dominant as this streak was, this fanpost is not about his past. It's about his present and his future.

It happened June 26th of last year. The first loss of Fedor's three consecutive losses. The man who is 31-4-1 went into his fight against Fabricio Werdum with 75% less losses than he does now on his still incredibly impressive record. The fight with Werdum was short and sweet. The two men exchanged early with Fedor stunning and dropping Werdum. Whether or not Werdum was ACTUALLY baiting him or not, we'll never know, but either way, Fedor jumped on Fabricio and less than a minute later tapped out to the Armbar portion of a Triangle/Armbar hybrid.

"So what? He got caught. Some of the greatest fighters ever have been caught. GSP has been caught. Surely, its not the end of the world that Fedor got caught." Except, it kinda was. At least the beginning of the end. His next fight was against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva. That nickname would play a major role in this fight, as Silva used his size to utterly dominate Fedor, in the second round especially, to earn himself a doctor's stoppage.

"Okay, so its just a slump. He's still reeling from the Werdum loss a little bit, no big deal. He's still never been stopped, I mean, he was ready to come out for the third before the doctor stopped it against Bigfoot." Wait, back it up to that "never been stopped" part. Because that all changed Saturday night. After Fedor dropped Hendo, "Dangerous" Dan was able to use his superior wrestling to get off his back, get to his knees, and blow up Fedor's chin. I don't care what anybody says - Fedor was fucking out. Not when the fight was stopped, but when the punch landed Fedor went unconscious.

Fedor, it's over. It's not up to God, it's not up to your corrupt management, it's up to you. Take control of your career for once and hang it up. I don't give Fedor a ton of props on this site, I never have, but I will take this opportunity to say that he was, and to an extent still is, a phenomenal mixed martial artist. But his time has passed. Why go out there, and continue to fight, when the only people with names and resumes worthy of being in the cage with you will beat you at this stage of your career. What would your fans say if you went out and fought someone like Gian Villante next? What would a win against him even mean for your career at this point? Even worse, what would a loss mean? Fedor Emelianenko is in a no-win situation. The great fighter's will beat him. The not-so-great fighters would probably lose to him, but he gains nothing from a win like that and loses a ton with a loss. The best thing for Fedor right now would be to quit while he's still ahead. Losses to Werdum, Bigfoot, and Hendo don't hold a candle to all of his wins. But the more he hangs on, and the more (inevitable) losses he racks up, that flame gets bigger. You're your own fire extinguisher Fedor, make the right move. For your sake, and the sake of the history of MMA.

After a two-year hiatus from MMA, Pete Sell won the Ring of Combat Welterweight Championship last night defeating Elijah Harshberger via armbar in round 2. Drago showed a ton of heart in coming back to win the fight in the second round after being rocked and mounted in round one.

Al Iaquinta also won a very exciting split decision against Gabriel Miglioli. Iaquinta also showed his spirit after losing the first round but bouncing back to win rounds 2 and 3 on two judges scorecards. Fellow Serra-Longo product James Jenkins also won on the night, defeating Jason MacLean via UD.

Also on the card, Aljamain Sterling defeated Claudio Ledesma to win the ROC Bantamweight Title.

Great night of fights in general, and a big night for Team Serra-Longo.

Friday again - time for a nonsense thread. Basically I was home for Easter break last week and the second half of the break I watched a ton of movies. Some good, some not so good. Here's the list of movies I've watched this past week, in no particular order:

The Adjustment Bureau

The Lincoln Lawyer

Shutter Island

Glengarry Glen Ross

Alpha Dog

Casino

That's all I can remember right now, but I'm pretty sure there was at least one or two more.

Anyway, there's been some talk of movies on the site recently as well, and since I'm a huge fan, I just wanted to open up a thread to hear your opinions. What are your favorites, your least favorites, what are you looking forward to, what were you disappointed in, favorite actors and actresses, favorite directors, etc. Any and all things movies right here. Fire at will maniacs...

Superfight? GSP? Who speaks of such things?

Anderson Silva will not be waiting for the result of Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields and will, instead, take on Yushin Okami on Aug. 27 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Dana White confirmed the booking to Sergio Non.

This will mark the ninth time Silva will defend his middleweight title with the UFC, this one being a rematch of a 2006 bout that saw Okami defeat the Brazilian via controversial disqualification.

That loss marked the last time the 185-pound champion has tasted defeat, as he went on to defeat Tony Fryklund before beginning his historic run in the UFC.

"The Spider" was last in the cage front-kicking Vitor Belfort into oblivion, retaining his strap and leaving the world in wonder of who can possibly stop this machine who looks like he came straight out of the Matrix.

Is Agent Smith a Japanese Judo specialist?

Continue reading this post »

Let me preface this by saying I am NOT trying to rip off Sergio's ALN post. That's a great post, and I encourage all of you guys to go read his newest installment on Diaz vs. Daley - it's up right now. This isnt going to be an annual post either for every night of fights, I was just very opinionated last night and this is honestly just some of my thoughts while watching both Bellator and Strikeforce last night...

 - Michael Chandler is a pretty impressive wrestler. Very strong, reminds me a lot of Joe Warren stylistically. Looking forward to watching him against Patricky. Don't know how to call that one yet; leaning towards Chandler, though the Pitbull brothers have looked mighty impressive thus far.

 - The heavyweight fight they showed was kinda fun to watch actually. Both very big boys, just having fun punching each other in the face. They were genuine friends and it was nice to see that they could put that aside to try to make a fight entertaining. It almost got in the way, as the one guy, Prindle, wasn't really throwing inside leg kicks after he caught his boy in the cup a couple times, but he ended up winning anyway via a valid doctor's stoppage.

 - I like Jay Hieron, and the only other time I've seen Brent Weedman fight was in the first round of this tournament. That being said, Weedman won that fight. This fight was a clear example of a fighter winning a close round due to name recognition, and not by what actually happened. Either way, I picked Hawn to win the whole thing and I'm sticking to that.

 - I hate Ben Askren. So frustrating to watch, much worse than Jon Fitch. Some examples of what the announcers said about him during that fight. Keep in mind that they were saying this in a complimentary manner..."He doesn't really do much once he gets you down; he does just enough to not get stood up." "He's like a blanket."

 - Speaking of Bellator announcers, their play-by-play guy is terrible. It makes me appreciate Goldie so much. One piece of advice for him that I took from last night - every time a fighter has his arms near the neck of his opponent, HE'S NOT NECESSARILY GOING FOR A D'ARCE CHOKE!!! I mean good God, I honestly think he used it right once and then just thought it had a funny name so he kept saying it. Ben Askren was in North/South at one point, "He's trying to lock in that D'arce choke!" No, no he's not.

 - If it wasn't just Frank Shamrock blowing him up, I'm actually kinda impressed to hear that Gus Johnson is taking BJJ now. He still has no business commentating MMA, but it's nice to see that he's actually taking somewhat of an interest in the sport.

 - Spotted: Dana going back on his word again. During his whole "business as usual" week and a half, he said that you'd never see him at a Strikeforce show. Cut to the VERY NEXT ONE - Dana front row in a SF t-shirt. Unbelievable.

 - I found it HILARIOUS that every single joke or funny metaphor that Mauro Ranallo tried to make last night fell on deaf ears. Never any laughter, usually no acknowledgment at all.

 - I'm not a big Shinya Aoki fan and I do like Fancy Pants, but I'll admit, it was kinda nice to see a Japanese fighter pick up a win. Their home country needs it. I honestly think it had alot to do with what they were saying during his entrance; he was the one Japanese fighter to put the earthquake on the back burner and focus on his fight. And it showed. Very impressive win.

 - Another fantastic display of judging from last night. Any way you slice it, Gegard Mousasi won that fight. Not denying the heart that Jardine showed, and he did come in with a pretty good game plan, especially on short notice, but even with the point deduction by the Z-Z-Top member officiating that fight, Mousasi wins 29-27. Sure, Jardine got him down, but he did NOTHING with those takedowns. Nothing at all. More than anything I feel bad for Gegard; he deserved a win there and didn't get what he deserved.

 - First of all, Cecil Peoples is a ref?!?!? Had no idea. Anyway, Gilbert Melendez is a motherfucking monster. And not that I'm the be all and end all of rating fighters, but that's high praise from me; the last person I said that about is Jon Jones. Gilbert dominated Crusher in every aspect last night. I was so impressed, and he stated his case that he's the number 1 lightweight in the world. I'm not going to lie, right now, I'm inclined to agree. And by the way, good stoppage by Big Cecil. Maybe he should spend more time inside the cage than on the outside. I'll always be a little wary if he's a judge, but strictly going based off last night, I think he's a capable ref.

 - Nick Diaz and Paul Daley both impressed me last night. Nick Diaz has a great chin, and Daley put him on the mat with his patented left hand twice. What impressed me more, though, is that Diaz put him on the mat...for good. I'm not going to lie, I thought that Nick would stand and trade with Daley and take the worst of it. He got the best of a lot of their exchanges and finished a striker on his feet. His striking is better than I ever thought, and I'm not a fan, but I don't think he's as dumb as I used to. As far as the stoppage goes, everyone who thinks it was too soon needs to stop crying. It was perfectly legitimate. Daley had his hands down at his sides and Nick landed 4 or 5 right on his face. This coming after all Daley did was shove Nick away, and the brute physical exertion of that act caused him to fall FLAT ON HIS FACE. When Diaz was down he was covering up, Daley wasn't, good stoppage cut and dry.

Overall it was a great night of fights and I'm more than glad that I ordered Showtime for this lol. Hope everybody else enjoyed the fights as well. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend guys. Take care.

Sorry for the delay, guys. Crunch time at school these days. Anyway, 27 ballots for the 185ers...can you guess who's #1???

1. Anderson Silva

2. Chael Sonnen

3. Yushin Okami

4. Jacare Souza

5. Nate Marquardt

6. Demian Maia

7. Vitor Belfort

8. Michael Bisping

9. Wanderlei Silva

10. Hector Lombard

Others receiving votes: Tim Kennedy, Jorge Santiago, Rousimar Palhares, Mayhem Miller, Mark Munoz, Brian Stann, Robbie Lawler, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Tom Lawlor, Chris Leben, Dan Miller

Notes

 - Yes, Anderson Silva was our first unanimous #1

 - Both Wanderlei Silva and Hector Lombard were ranked as high as #2 and as low as unranked

 - The closest race was for #2, where Sonnen and Okami were separated by 13 points, followed closely by the race for #6, where Maia and Belfort were separated by 14 points

 - More fighters received votes in this weight class than any other so far

Welterweight Rankings

1. GSP

2. Jake Shields

3. Jon Fitch

4. Thiago Alves

5. Josh Koscheck

6. BJ Penn

7. Nick Diaz

8. Carlos Condit

9. Paul Daley

10. Diego Sanchez

That's my list and I'm sticking to it. Time to hear yours...

What's up children. So, I just woke up, I drank way too much last night, and I'm currently paying for it. No great story or anything, just a lot of alcohol. It's Friday, so I have no class, and I have nothing to do until Red Sox Opening Day. I thought this would be the perfect time for me to start up a Friday thread so we can talk about anything and everything. So I'll start it off. Since I don't have any great stories from last night, and since I need more words for this fanpost, I figured I'd post one of my best drunken stories of all time - my first and only one night stand.

So the night started off normally. Freshman year, college frat party at an apartment complex, went out with just one of my other guy friends and two girls. Party was alright, nothing special, but it was a good enough time. So at one point I'm standing on line to take a piss, and this girl I know stumbles out of the bathroom. She hugs my boy that I went with, and then give me a hug...and lingers. So I was like "hmmmm..." I kept talking to her a little bit, and sure enough, in her drunken state that night, she was into me. Not the BEST looking girl in the world, but not ugly either, she was a solid 6 lol, so I went for it. So we're making out a little bit at the party and she bails to go play a drinking game. That was fine with me, so I just went about the rest of my night at the party. As I was leaving though, I said goodbye to her, and she was like, "let me come with you." What am I gonna say, no? So we go back to campus and we get out of the car and she asks me if I wanna go back to my room. I said that both of my roommates were asleep and that I'd rather go to hers if we could. Her response was, "I don't have any condoms at my room." Game on. I told her to come back to my room with me so I could grab one and then we'd go back to hers. Got condom, back to her room, we did our thing, and went to sleep. The story gets hilarious the next morning. So I wake up next to this girl and her roommate had come back while we were asleep I guess, and was now awake getting ready for class. I had never spoken to her roommate with more than a hello before, so needless to say, this was slightly awkward. Her roommate asks me if we had sex, I said yes, and she just smiles, gives me this really cheesy thumbs up and says "Nice!" Thanks for your approval, I guess. I guess through the commotion of us talking, my girl wakes up. She rolls out of bed, makes ZERO attempt to put clothes on, walks over to the mirror, brushes her hair, and gets right back in bed. At this point, me AND her roommate are cracking up. She, somewhat drunkenly, yells for us to stop laughing at her. Her roommate goes to class and says "You two kids have fun." It's at this point that my girl asks me if we had sex last night. The thoughts of a date rape charge dancing through my head, I say yes. She says that she thought so, and then, the highlight of my year, asks me, verbatim "Can we do it again so I really remember it?" And that we did, and I had a great day.

Anyway, I'm well over the fanpost minimum now, so I'm gonna post this bad boy. Friday thread people, go wild!

Okay, I know that today is supposed to be the MW results with the WW ballot. However, this Saturday's event has caused me to switch my game up a little bit. My sig a little while ago stated who I believed would be champion in the UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight division by the end of 2011. My Light Heavyweight pick has already come through, as Jonny "Bones" Jones ran through Shogun Rua at UFC 128 this past weekend. My Heavyweight pick was Brock Lesnar; that is yet to be seen. I wanted to hear all of your opinions on who you think will be holding the strap in all 7 weight classes come New Year's. Will any change hands? Will a few? Will Anderson and Georges be vacating their belts in the next 8 months? No one knows for sure. But everyone has their opinions. Below are mine. Let's hear yours...

Heavyweight: Brock Lesnar - So his hype train got derailed in a BIG way against Cain Velasquez. But I am under the assumption that getting his ass kicked hurt his ego and lit a fire in him. I can't see him NOT playing to his strengths now. I see Brock outmuscling JDS for a GnP victory in June, and then doing the same (though definitely having a harder time doing so) to Cain in the rematch and taking back the belt that was once his.

Light Heavyweight: Jon Jones - No one can beat this kid. Not Shogun, not Shad, not Page, not Machida, not Davis, not Couture...No. One. Maybe one day someone will come along who has the skills or the style to hang with Bones, but as of right now, and assuredly for the next 8 months, this person does not exist. We never saw the "Machida Era." We will see the "Bones Era." Count on it.

Middleweight: Anderson Silva - It obviously depends on this whole vacating thing. Something tells me that this title won't be getting vacated before year's end, though, especially if this Okami fight happens. Even if it happens, I don't see Anderson getting beat. Okami's best gameplan would be to come with the same one as Sonnen's, and Andy would surely have better defense for it this time.

Welterweight: Georges St-Pierre - This also depends on him moving up to fight Anderson. I doubt it's going to happen, though, and I can honestly see this fight with Shields next month being the last time we see GSP fight in 2011.

Lightweight: Anthony Pettis - This was my ballsiest, and hardest, pick. I think if Maynard beats Edgar, he would also beat Pettis. I also think that Clay Guida is an interesting style matchup for "Showtime" and has a good shot to win that fight. But finally, I think the stars will align for this bright young talent. I see him besting Guida, Edgar besting Maynard, as well, and Anthony "Showtime" Pettis coming away with the strap in an exciting matchup with Frankie Edgar in the last quarter of this year.

Featherweight: Jose Aldo - There's simply no one to contend with him currently in the UFC 145 pound division. Every time someone fights this guy, people say that "________" has the style to give him problems. News flash - no one has given him any problems yet. His biggest test right now, in my opinion, would be Kenny Florian, and though that fight may happen this year, and KenFlo could push him harder than he's ever been pushed before, I think he'd survive the challenge.

Bantamweight: Dominick Cruz - Regardless of whether he coaches TUF with Faber or not, Cruz will enjoy his title reign through the end of 2011, at least. If that fight happens this year, I think that Cruz has simply come into his own and evolved too much for Urijah at this stage of his career, and will most likely outpoint him to a decision victory. Also, there is a very good chance that those two WILL be coaching TUF, in which case that fight won't be happening until 2012 anyway.

Sidenote: MW ballot results and WW fanpost will be posted next week. Happy Monday everyone...

Another one down. 26 valid ballots for this one. Here's what we thought the 205 pound landscape actually looks like...

1. Shogun Rua

2. Rashad Evans

3. Rampage Jackson

4. Lyoto Machida (sorry OJ)

5. Jon Jones

6. Forrest Griffin

7. Dan Henderson

8. Thiago Silva

9. Ryan Bader

10. Phil Davis

Also receiving votes: Randy Couture, Gegard Mousasi, Lil Nog, Matt Hamill, Rich Franklin, King Mo Lawal, Feijao Cavalcante

Some interesting notes about the voting...

 - Jon Jones finished 5th, despite being the only person to prevent Shogun from attaining a unanimous first place vote (Bones was #1 on 2 ballots, one of which had Shogun at #3)

 - Lyoto Machida either finished above or below both Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson, never in between the two

 - Rampage Jackson and Jon Jones were separated by 15 points total

 - Randy Couture finished in 11th place by 1 point behind Phil Davis

 - Wingblade had an incredibly bizarre ballot (no criticism, it was just a huge anomaly). His ballot included the highest ranking for both Dan Henderson and Forrest Griffin, the lowest ranking for Rampage Jackson, the second highest ranking for both Randy Couture and Matt Hamill, and the second lowest ranking for Jon Jones

 - Thank you to those of you that included Rich Franklin on your ballots; it made me feel better about myself.

On to the Middleweights. Same rules apply as previous, only include those CURRENTLY participating in that weight class. As much as I'd love to see Rich drop back down, he's a 205er right now, so don't include him in your ballots. Anyways, here goes nothing. This is my ballot.

1. Anderson Silva

2. Chael Sonnen

3. Yushin Okami

4. Nate Marquardt

5. Vitor Belfort

6. Jacare Souza

7. Demian Maia

8. Hector Lombard

9. Michael Bisping

10. Robbie Lawler (so close to putting Wandy here)

Alright guys, your turn...

What's going on, guys. Muck Fondays. Got alot of feedback on the Heavyweight portion of this series. 28 (valid) responses later, and without further ado, here is the consensus list that you guys came up with for who the world's top ten Heavyweight MMA fighers are...

1. Cain Velasquez

2. Junior Dos Santos

3. Fabricio Werdum

4. Brock Lesnar

5. Alistair Overeem

6. Antonio Silva

7. Shane Carwin

8. Fedor Emelianenko

9. Frank Mir

10. Roy Nelson

Others Receiving Votes: Josh Barnett, Sergei Kharitonov, Minotauro Nogueira, Brendan Schaub, Mirko Cro Cop (fuck you, Ulf, I shouldn't have asked), Stefan Struve (danago at its finest)

Some interesting notes about the Heavyweight voting:

 - Cain Velasquez finished first in all but 3 ballots; he finished second to Fedor, Overeem, and JDS one time apiece

 - Alistair Overeem finished 5th in the consensus voting, even though only one person voted him in 5th place

 - Fedor Emelianenko had the largest range of results, being voted as high as first (once) to being unranked (also, once)

 - Through the first 18 ballots, Josh Barnett's name appeared only once. Barnett was voted in the top ten in 8 of the last 10 ballots.

 - Only 9 points separated 3rd and 4th place, 18 points separated 4th and 5th, and 11 points separated 5th and 6th

All in all, I'd say that the heavyweight voting went very well. I don't agree with some of the results, and I'm sure you guys won't either, but all things considered, they're not too bad. Now on to the 205ers.

A lot has changed in the past year in this weight class. We've seen Shogun take the belt that was rightfully his thus ending the Machida era, the meteoric rise of Jon "Bones" Jones, the Shad-Page beef get (anticlimactically) settled, and this past weekend Hollywood Hendo put the stamp on Feijao to be the 4th man to hold the SF LHW strap in the past 365 days. So let's get to it, here's what my rankings look like...

1. Shogun Rua

2. Jon Jones

3. Rashad Evans

4. Rampage Jackson

5. Lyoto Machida

6. Forrest Griffin

7. Dan Henderson

8. Ryan Bader

9. Phil Davis

10. Rich Franklin

I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but sometimes I feel the need to explain mine. This is one of those times. I've got a couple of omissions and inclusions in my list this time that I'd like to clarify. My bottom 4 was originally Henderson, Bader, Thiago Silva, and Davis. I took Thiago off because of the steroid issue; I don't think he's THAT much better than Brandon Vera, so I do believe the juice helped him win that fight. I also included Phil Davis on the list because I believe he will beat Lil Nog in a couple weeks. Finally, I put Rich Franklin in the 10 spot because I believe that he would also beat Lil Nog, and that while he did get pretty easily handled by Forrest, size was a huge factor in that fight, and Forrest is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, in the division.

(I'm fully aware that Ace PROBABLY doesn't deserve to be in the top 10, but he's my favorite fighter of all time, so fuck off lol.)

Finally, before you guys get to your ballots, one little rule I'd like to include. As you can see, I did not include Anderson Silva on my list. For the purpose of this series, I'd like you guys to only include fighters in their PRIMARY or CURRENT division of competition. So, Andy at 185, BJ and Shields at 170, etc. Alright, I've taken up way too much of your time, your turn now. Let's hear your votes...

Wanted to do this for a while...

The last time I saw this done on the site was about a year ago, and I believe that Phish Nation was the author of that series of fanposts. I rarely see Phish around here anymore, and I love stuff like this, so I've decided to take the reins.

A lot has changed in this past year. Fedor lost...twice. Strikeforce has had two titles change hands. The UFC has different champions from a year ago in more than half their weight classes (3 of 5 in the older classes, 4 of 7 if you count the new WEC-adopted weight classes). Japanese MMA - officially in the tank.

Something tells me that rankings this year will be DRASTICALLY different than they were last year. And no weight class brings up more vocal opinions for or against certain fighters than the heavyweight division. Fedor. Lesnar. Overeem. The opinions of the masses vary greatly on many of the top heavyweights in the game right now. So, let's hear them...

As you can see, we'll start with heavyweights. What I want from you guys is just a simple top 10 list. I'll start it off...

1. Cain Velasquez

2. Alistair Overeem

3. Brock Lesnar

4. Junior Dos Santos

5. Antonio Silva

6. Shane Carwin

7. Fabricio Werdum

8. Fedor Emilianenko

9. Frank Mir

10. Roy Nelson

For each pick, I'll assign a point value, and then add it all up at the end. You put somebody as #1 on your list, they get 10 points. #10 = 1 point. I'll tally up all the votes and then post the MMA Mania consensus rankings all together once we finish all the weight classes. Have at it guys...

I don't know if any of you guys have ever seen the show "Gangland." It airs on either A&E or the History Channel, and reruns are sometimes shown on Spike TV. Either way, I'm currently bored out of my mind watching and lo and behold I see a story about a gang (shocking). A gang called...Brown Pride. Now, obviously that doesn't mean that Cain is a member, but an inordinate amount of the gang members have the EXACT same "Brown Pride" tattoo that Cain has. Different lettering, sure, but almost always in the same crescent pattern along the collarbones. Now, the gang is said to be from Tennessee, and Cain is from Cali originally (I believe), but obviously it would not be the first time that a gang has been found all over the U.S. (Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, MS-13, Hell's Angels, Warlocks, etc.) Just wanted to get some of your guys thought. I'm completely aware that this was a dumb fanpost, but I find gangs very interesting and I obviously love MMA, so this just makes me curious. Below I've posted a picture of Cain (tattoo visible) and a link for the Gangland episode. Happy Friday Maniacs!

via api.ning.com

Video:

Gangland Episode

via mmadiehards.com

Rarely in this world are we afforded the chance to have a front row seat to the birth of a star. Fortunately for me, training back home on Long Island, I was afforded this opportunity. 26-year-old blue chip prospect Chris Weidman began his formal BJJ/MMA training just over 2 years ago, and the progress he has made is absolutely astonishing. Chris has stepped in to face Alessio Sakara at UFC on Versus 3 on March 3rd in Louisville, Kentucky. But how did he get to where he is today?

Chris won the New York State High School Wrestling Championship at 189 pounds as a senior at Baldwin High School on Long Island. Still not very highly recruited, he then went to Nassau (County) Community College in Garden City to wrestle, and was a two-time All-American, finishing 3rd in the national championships both years. He then continued his education and wrestling career at Hofstra University (literally a mile away from NCC) and really began to prove his doubters wrong. After redshirting the 2004-2005 season, Chris took to the mat at 197 pounds in 2005-2006. At the 2006 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships, Chris went from unseeded to All-American, taking 6th place in the tournament, bouncing 1-seed Wynn Michalak and UFC superstar Ryan Bader in the process. He was injured in his loss to another current MMA fighter and eventual winner of the tournament, Jake Rosholt, and was forced to forfeit his consolation bracket matches, thus only coming in 6th, rather than a potential 3rd place finish. The next year, Chris was once again overlooked by the seeding committee, and was given the 11-seed in the tournament. And once again, he proved he was better than everyone else thought. He made it all the way to the semifinals where, for the second year in a row, he was defeated by eventual champion Joshua Glenn. Already a two-time All-American, Chris won the consolation bracket to finish 3rd in the tournament, ahead of fellow stud prospect Phil Davis, who finished 5th, and Max Askren, the 1-seed and brother of current Bellator WW Champion and former NCAA Champion Ben Askren.

It was at Hofstra that Chris met and became friends with Gabe "Monsta" Toribio, a BJJ purple belt and budding MMA fighter at the time. He encouraged Chris to start training, and he took the bait and hasn't looked back since. In June of 2009, after just under a year of MMA/BJJ training, Chris qualified for the ADCC World Championships, a feat that the likes of Renzo Gracie, BJ Penn, and John Danaher said is unheard of. He qualified by defeating talented grappler James Brasco in the East Coast Trials via Anaconda Choke. He then defeated Daniel Tabera in the first round of the Under 88kg (194 lbs) division to set up a match with BJJ Black Belt and world-ranked submission fighter Andre Galvao. Although he lost, so impressed were the tournament officials with his performance (Galvao's closest match until he lost to #1 ranked BJJ practitioner Braulio Estima in the finals) that he was granted a place in the absolute division. He defeated BJJ black belt Antonie Jaoude in the first round before losing to eventual 3rd place finisher and BJJ wiz Vinny Magalhaes.

Chris came back from his impressive showing at ADCCs to continue his MMA career. Already with a 2-0 record (1 win via sub, 1 win via TKO; both finishes inside of 3 minutes), his next MMA fight would be his biggest - he would be scheduled to fight Uriah Hall for the Ring of Combat Middleweight Championship. Over a year of ring rust played no factor, as Chris would win the strap with another 1st round TKO stoppage. His next fight would be this past December, as he defended his belt with a dominating UD over Valdir Araujo. And now its time for the big show. But how will he fare once inside the octagon?

Chris is a purple belt from Matt and Nick Serra at Serra BJJ on Long Island. He also trains striking and is the head wrestling instructor at Ray Longo's Martial Arts Academy in Garden City. Given his credentials, it is clear to see why his wrestling is the basis for his success. Blessed with heavy hands and a scary knack for submissions, Chris uses his wrestling to take the fight anywhere he sees fit. His defense is phenomenal, with an incredibly quick sprawl for someone his size (Chris cuts about 20-25 pounds to make 185). He also has a borderline unstoppable single-leg, a very solid double-leg, and outstanding greco throws (as evidenced by the first 10 seconds of his MMA debut). His base, while on top, is suffocating. Matt preaches "shoulder pressure" to all of the students at the academy, and I don't think anyone takes that advice to heart more than Chris does. His Jiu-jitsu game is also top notch. I would tend to say that he has more dangerous MMA Jiu-jitsu than pure BJJ, due to his stellar wrestling pedigree. I don't believe he would've fared nearly as well at ADCCs without his wrestling being as top-notch as it is. That being said, this is not somebody you want to roll with if you like your arms. While Chris has mastered most of the BJJ game to date (as I said, belted purple belt in about 1 year of training), its armbars and kimuras that are his most deadly. I have rolled with some great grapplers, but none are quite as imposing as Chris Weidman, on top, in side control. He's stronger than me, more talented than me, and I know it's going to take a Herculean effort on my part to keep my elbow or shoulder joint in tact. The weakest part of his game is striking, but it is in no way weak. His straights are crisp and his hooks are devastating if they connect. Unfortunately, he's just not as fast as the rest of the 185ers in the UFC, including Sakara. However, he does have a very good chin, so as much as I don't see him winning a standup war with Legionarius, I don't see him getting knocked out either.

Prediction for the fight...

Chris always comes in with a good game plan, and not only fights to his strengths, but fights to his opponents weaknesses. I'm sure he'll feel out Sakara on the feet for a little while, but I don't envision him standing very long. Look for Chris to duck under for a takedown sometime mid round one and work some GnP or possibly go for a submission. The ground game WILL work and he'll go back to it in round 2, if the fight gets that far. This wont go to a decision, and if it does, it won't be boring. But, I'll say Chris by armbar in round 2. Below, I've posted some videos of Chris. Enjoy, and if anyone has any questions or feedback about Chris or the post, I'm all ears. Take care.

Chris wrestling at a dual-meet against UPenn in his senior season at Hofstra. Don't know too much about collegiate wrestling or the point system, but I'm pretty sure he dominated.

197 Jack Sullivan (Penn) v. Chris Weidman (Hofstra) (via theschneid13)

Chris qualifying for ADCC 2009 with submission victory over James Brasco. The guys filming the match are friends with Brasco...sorry fellas.

James Brasco vs. Chris Weidman - Finals North American ADCC (via GrapplersQuest)

Chris' MMA debut in February 2009. The video is the 5th installment of a 6-part series by the Fight Nerd on Chris. The other kid wasn't even in the same league.

All-American: The MMA Debut of Chris Weidman ep. 5 (via TheFightNerd)

Props: ESPN

Quoteworthy:

"Right now, I'm thinking about [Buchanan]. But listen, there's another guy that's been opening his mouth that's in MMA -- and that's Nick Diaz. He's been calling me out saying he wants to fight me. I'm like, 'Who is this guy? You're not an elite mixed martial artist. You're not even in the UFC.' That's definitely a fight that interests me. He got my attention."

So Nick Diaz wants to test his might in the sweet science, huh? Well Fernando Vargas, who hasn't fought since November of 2007 and hasn't tasted victory since August of 2005, says he's interested in welcoming the current Strikeforce welterweight champion to the boxing world. Diaz has been in negotiations with Don Chagrin for a 2011 debut in the ring and "The Aztec Warrior" is a name that's been thrown around as a potential opponent. Both men are currently booked for big fights however, with Vargas scheduled to make his return from a three year absence against Henry Buchanan while Diaz will defend his 170-pound strap against "Cyborg" Santos. If both guys get past their respective opponents, would you be interested in a boxing match between the two? The war of words has already begun but is Vargas underestimating Diaz by saying he's not elite because he's not in the UFC? Is there anyone else that feels that way?

via www.mmatko.com

The other day in ANS's most recent riveting fanpost, he, Andrew Keller, Ulf, and myself were having a discussion about future fanposts. It came up that some of the other members on this site might want to read about some forms of martial arts that they may be less familiar with. The suggestions ranged from judo to capoeira. I personally have no experience in either of those disciplines, but one discipline that was suggested that I also have some experience with is Sambo. I have trained in it and have learned about its history from the man who trained me. Not only does the sport have a very interesting history that comes with it, it is also very effective in the ring or the cage.

Sambo is a Russian martial art. The word sambo was actually originally an acronym for a Russian phrase, which loosely translates into English as "self-defense without weaponry." Sambo is most closely related to judo among the martial arts, with various elements of Greco-Roman wrestling, Savate (French kickboxing) and karate visible as well.

Sambo was originally developed by two men, Vasili Oschepkov and Victor Spiridonov, as a hand to hand combat system for the Red Army of Russia. The two men actually came up with two different styles working towards the same goal - a revamping of the Red Army's hand to hand combat system. Their independent goals were to create a fighting system based on practicality, incorporating the most efficient maneuvers and techniques from various martial arts around the world. Oschepkov even traveled to Japan to learn judo from its creator, Kano Jigoro. Both men worked separately teaching their techniques. However, through the integrating of their pupils, the two styles merged. After WWI, Vladimir Lenin began a program to train the Russian Army in a variety of tasks, including hand to hand combat. The styles of Oschepkov and Spiridonov were supplemented by the instruction of a man named Anatoly Kharlampiev, who had traveled the world learning different styles of fighting. Kharlampiev is known as the "Father of Sambo" and is credited with the naming of the martial art. To this day, the Russian military's main form of hand to hand combat is a style of sambo known as Combat Sambo.

There are three distinct styles of sambo, each of which come with an increasing amount of techniques permitted. The most mild form of sambo is known as Sport Sambo. This form is almost a carbon copy of judo, the only major difference being that sport sambo allows leg locks, which judo does not, while disallowing chokes, which judo permits. The next form of sambo is known as Freestyle Sambo. This version of sambo follows a rule set derived here in America. It was developed in 2004 by the American Sambo Association. The major difference between this form and Sport Sambo is that Freestyle Sambo allows chokes. The final, most intense, form of Sambo is the aforementioned Combat Sambo. This form is the only form of sambo that employs striking, as well as all the permissions of freestyle sambo on the ground.

In today's world of MMA, Sambo is a highly effective, yet underutilized martial art. Obviously, the most famous Sambo practitioner is Fedor Emelianenko. He is a 6 time Russian Combat Sambo Champion, and a 3 time World Champion.

However there are many other MMAists that are highly touted Sambo practitioners. Fedor's brother Aleksander has been a Russian and World Champion 3 times.

At age 19, Andrei Arlovski won the World Junior Sambo Championships. Dean Lister and Amir Sadollah have both been U.S. National Champions in their respective weight divisions. Even Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was a former national champion in his weight division, and holds the title of Master of Sports.

The title Master of Sports leads me to the next interesting fact about Sambo. There are no belts, rather you receive a title based on your promotion. The rankings range from Third-Class Junior Sportsman to Merited Master of Sports. A Third-Class Junior Sportsman is essentially equivalent to being on your high school's JV Sambo team, while Merited Master of Sports (the rank Fedor holds) is equivalent to being a World Champion who has also contributed significantly to the development of the sport, for example parlaying your knowledge of Combat Sambo into a mixed martial arts career that saw you become the greatest heavyweight of all time using predominantly that very martial art.

I have never stepped into a gym with a certified Sambo trainer. Instead, I have learned from one of my dad's coworkers, Yuriy, a former member of the Russian Army. My father is a police officer and introduced me to Yuriy when I inquired about Sambo. He possesses a staggering amount of knowledge about the art, despite not being a certified instructor. If any of you have any interest in learning Sambo, I encourage you to look at www.ussambo.com, the American Sambo Association website. There you can find a gym in your area. If there are none near you, then I would suggest asking ANYONE that is Russian ex-military; they are all taught the art very extensively, and I know from experience that you can get great instruction from someone like this. I hope you all enjoyed the piece. Please let me know if you would like to see more pieces like this in the future.

In light of Dana White's most recent example of "Indian Giver" matchmaking, which granted Gray Maynard a rematch with Frankie Edgar within hours of their second installment and within minutes of the announcement at the press conference that gave Anthony Pettis the next shot at the belt, I'd like to look at the circumstances behind the recent influx of immediate rematches within the UFC. Now, there's a number of fans who are steadfast against this policy; I am not one of them. In my opinion there are two legitimate reasons for an immediate rematch:

Reason #1: The judges got it wrong

Reason #1a: The judges MAY have gotten it wrong, and the fight is close enough to warrant a second look

A prime example of this reason is Shogun-Machida. I personally believe the judges got this one wrong, and I was in the majority, the majority that included Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, and Joe Silva. Some people don't believe this. One thing that can't be denied, however, is that Shogun came closer to unraveling the Dragon's mystique and solving the puzzle that is and was his unsolvable, elusive style than anyone else had up until that point. There was tremendous fan response after this fight. It might have been because fans wanted to see the Shogun of old, dominant and holding a belt. Or maybe fans were as frustrated watching Machida in main events has those standing across the cage from him were. Either way, Shogun got his rematch and the rest, as they say, was history.

Shogun-Machida II is an example of a good immediate rematch. Even though someone had their hand raised at the end of the first fight, it was NOT decisive. Another example is Couture-Rizzo II. Couture was given the first fight, and many thought he did not deserve to win it. The second fight went differently - Couture won via TKO in the third round. A TKO in the third, or Machida getting KTFO by Shogun in the first, is a definitive answer to the question of "Who won that fight?".

As I said, there is another reason that an immediate rematch could be in order:

Reason #2: The original fight was scored correctly, but the losing contender still poses the greatest threat to the champ

This is the category that Edgar-Maynard III falls under. Saturday night, the fight was, ultimately, judged correctly. The majority of folks saw the fight as a draw. However, look at the lightweight division. There is Anthony "Showtime" Pettis, recently acquired in the WEC merger and a young man who was promised a shot at the winner of Edgar-Maynard's title fight in order to unify the UFC and WEC straps. There's George Sotiropolous and Jim Miller, very talented fighters with stellar records. There's a surging Clay Guida, the steady Kenny Florian, a young Evan Dunham, a reinvigorated Mac Danzig, and a number other fighters in a very deep division, with BJ Penn still looming above, waiting to see how his run at 170 works out. Not one of the fighters I just mentioned has as good of a shot as the Bully does at taking the belt away from Frankie. Not one. The number one contender for a belt should be the man with the best chance at dethroning the champ; Gray Maynard is that man, regardless of how the last fight went. I love Anthony Pettis. I've been a fan of his since before "the" kick and before the "World of Jenks" episode (Sidenote: I have a secret shame. When I'm not in school, the gym, or training, I watch a solid amount of TV. Aside from ESPN, Sons of Anarchy, and House, I watch a solid amount of MTV programming. World of Jenks was new this year, and I watched most episodes. Putting aside the fact that I am a budding MMA fighter myself, the episode with Pettis as the subject was the best of the season. I would encourage you guys to watch it if you havent already). However, "Showtime" does not have as good of a shot to beat Edgar as Maynard does. He's been playing Triple-A ball until now. He could be champ one day, but not yet. I don't like Gray Maynard, yet he is the most deserving fighter for a shot to win the title at 155. Still.

An example of a bad immediate rematch WOULD HAVE BEEN Silva-Sonnen. Yes, Sonnen won the first 23 minutes of that fight. But by jumping into a triangle, he proved to everyone that he is still not as complete or as talented as Silva. Immediate rematches are for those fights that are inconclusive. The official judges said that one person won, and a good amount of the unofficial judges (aka, everyone else watching the fight) aren't so sure. There was dispute as to whether Shogun beat Machida the first time, and there was dispute as to whether Edgar defeated Penn the first time. There was little dispute as to who won Silva vs. Sonnen; Chael Sonnen tapped out to a triangle by Anderson Silva. Story over, case closed. I wanted Sonnen to win that fight. I was pretty apathetic towards Silva until he started turning title fights into dance battles ala Leites and Maia. Then I disliked him, and being that I love a good trash talker, I was praying that Sonnen would walk in and put his money where his mouth was and win the belt. He almost did, but he didn't. There shouldn't have been a rematch. The judges didn't screw it up, and Vitor presents a challenge for Silva, just as Sonnen did. Sonnen should, and most likely will, get a rematch with Silva, but he should have to work for it again.

Edgar-Penn II is another example of a bad immediate rematch. Some fans thought that Penn won, and were vocal about it. Dana made the mistake of giving them what they wanted. Fan reaction is never a good reason for a fight like this to be made. There are reasons to make fights the fans want, and there are reasons to not make fights the fans don't want to see. Fans may call for a fight because it has the potential to be exciting, or because a fighter calls out another and the fans agree. Fans may call for a fight not to be made because it is of no interest to them - this could cost the company money and therefore it would be smart for Dana and Joe Silva not to book an "uninteresting" fight. This recently happened with Mir-Lesnar III, a sentiment shared by many fans, including myself. Often times, fans are unable to separate their feelings for a fighter from his skills. This doesn't mean as much in an undercard fight, but when a title fight is the fight in question, the validity of the fighters skills takes precedent. And since the majority of fans, including myself sometimes, have a hard time remaining unbiased, fans simply calling for a fight of major importance is not enough.

I don't have an exact count, but there have probably been 20-30 rematches of top-tier fighters in UFC history. There have probably been just as many of lower tiered fighters, but once again, I did not count exactly. Only recently, however, have these rematches been coming immediately. Aside from Couture-Rizzo, I cannot think of any other immediate rematches off the top of my head that took place outside of the past couple years in the UFC. Now just in the past year, just off the top of my head, I can think of 6 that were scheduled: Shogun-Machida, Edgar-Penn, Silva-Sonnen (scheduled; Sonnen suspended), Bonnar-Soszynski, Danzig-Wiman (scheduled; injury, but can't remember which fighter), and now Edgar-Maynard.

Immediate rematches are not a bad thing in and of themselves. The problems people have with them stem from the fact that people think that they are about to see the same thing they just saw. But lets go over the recent ones.

Shogun-Machida I -Machida wins via controversial UD

Shogun-Machida II -Shogun wins via 1st round KO

Edgar-Penn I - Edgar wins via slightly less controversial UD

Edgar-Penn II - Edgar wins via very definitive UD

Bonnar-Soszynski I - Soszynski wins via 3rd round TKO (cut)

Bonnar-Soszynski II - Bonnar wins via 2nd round TKO (punches to the face)

3 sets of rematches. Now some stats. In two of them, the winners were different. The Shogun-Machida fights couldn't have gone any differently. The Edgar-Penn fights were somewhat similar, aside from the fact that the rematch wasn't close. The Bonnar-Soszynski fights were also somewhat similar, except the winners and round of victory were different. Now lets look at some other rematches in the UFC that did NOT take place immediately.

Liddell-Babalu I (UFC 40) - Liddell wins via 1st round KO

Liddell-Babalu II (UFC 62) - Liddell wins via 1st round TKO

Hughes-Trigg I (UFC 45) - Hughes wins via 1st round RNC

Hughes-Trigg II (UFC 52) - Hughes wins via 1st round RNC

Liddell-Ortiz I (UFC 47) - Liddell wins via 2nd round TKO

Liddell-Ortiz II (UFC 66) - Liddell wins via 3rd round TKO

Liddell-Couture II (UFC 52) - Liddell wins via 1st round KO

Liddell-Couture III (UFC 57) - Liddell wins via 2nd round KO

Silva-Franklin I (UFC 64) - Silva wins via 1st round KO (knee)

Silva-Franklin II (UFC 77) - Silva wins via 2nd round TKO (multiple knees)

5 sets of rematches with strikingly similar results. Rematches with plenty of time for the fighters to grow, evolve, and change gameplans in between. Only the Hughes-Trigg fights looked noticeably different, yet still finished with the exact same result.

Immediate rematches are not bad when they are booked for the right reasons. The fact that I have seen numerous people on this site say that they are getting tired with the UFC for doing it is bullshit. The job of the UFC is to put on the best fights. That typically means having fighters that are evenly matched get in the cage together. That is exactly what they are doing by booking Edgar-Maynard III. It is the best possible fight we, the fans, can see for the lightweight belt at this juncture in the UFC. Complaining about it makes no sense. So what if those two just fought each other? It was a great fight! And no matter if Gray gets his first round KO the next time, or if Frankie locks in that guillotine of his in the 4th, it will most likely be a great fight the next time too. It's easy to complain about matchmaking. I heard Chris Leben complaining about how Brian Stann was below his level after that match was made too. And then he knocked him out in the first round to prove how right he was. Oh wait, is that not how it went? Exactly. If a fight was incredibly one sided, then yes, fans would have every right to throw a shit fit about an immediate rematch of that fight. However, unless Joe Silva was delusional, that fight wouldn't get booked.

On the basketball court, my friends and I have a saying. If there is a dispute about a call, no matter the call, that we can't solve by talking, someone will inevitably say "God never lies." That means "Give me the ball. I'm shooting a free throw. If I make it, we're right, if I miss, you are." Now I know some people don't believe in God, and that's all well and good, but the logic still applies, in my opinion. Shogun "won" the first fight. The judges went the other way. Well lets have them do it again to see if the judges, or the fans, were right. Shogun by KO. Edgar vs. Penn shouldn't have gotten an immediate re-booking. Edgar won the first contest. But why not, let's have them meet again. And Edgar dominates. I guess that one was right the first time. The matches that are supposed to be made, are 9 times out of 10, made. Just sit back and watch what happens. Because as much as people complain about matchmaking, or judging, or reffing, or Dana's personality, or Brock's sword/penis tattoo, or GSP's half-retarded attempts at english, you're going to keep watching. Enjoy it.

I'm not sure if you guys heard, but the WEC has recently merged with the UFC, with the last WEC event taking place this past Thursday. Now I think it's pretty safe to assume that the 145 and 135ers are pretty safe, at least for a while, since the UFC doesn't currently carry these weight classes. However, the UFC already has a stacked lightweight division. It's been said, and there is probably some truth to it, that if the WEC LWs were "that" good, they'd already be in the UFC. While I'm sure there are extenuating circumstances when it comes to this, I also believe that there is something to be said for the verity of that statement. So seeing as were coming down to the end of this year and are about to embark upon year numero uno with 7 weight classes in the UFC, which WEC lightweights do you guys think will still be employed when the year 2012 rolls around? Below, I gave my opinions, but they are just that - opinions. Feel free to give yours and discuss.

DEFINITELY

Anthony Pettis - even had he LOST the fight to "Smooth" the other night, I still don't think he'd be in any danger of getting a pink slip from Dana. Always exciting, and very well rounded for someone his age. He'll be in the UFC 'til he retires, possibly with a strap around his waist at some point.

Ben Henderson - I'm sure he wasn't planning on going into the UFC on the heels of a loss, but he is without a doubt one of the true talents of the WEC lightweight division. Has got some slick subs and has arguably been in the past two MMA "fight(s) of the year."

Donald Cerrone - brings it every time in the cage. Only career losses are to Henderson (twice) and Jamie Varner when he actually had some merit. Crazy good submission game, especially his triangle, and no slouch when throwing his hands either.

Anthony Njokuani - despite his recent rough patch, I personally think very highly of this young man. Fantastic striker; can stand and bang with the best of em. Always put on exciting fights, which Dana recognizes almost as much as wins. Might not retire in the big leagues, but I say he still has his name on a dotted line come 2012.

PROBABLY

Shane Roller - division 1 collegiate wrestler at a powerhouse school - not a bad way to get into MMA. Great offensive and defensive wrestling and a very solid grappler. Only WEC losses came at the hands of Henderson and Pettis. Unfortunately the UFC is full of 155ers of their caliber. Would be willing to bet he could string some undercard wins together and hang around for a little while.

Kamal Shalorus - another great wrestler. Comes equipped with heavy hands and a big fat goose egg in the loss column. Only problem is he hasn't faced top flight competition yet, with his best win coming the other night against Bart Palaszewski. That could spell disaster once he starts fighting some better guys, or he could surprise some people, which I think he definitely could.

Tiequan Zhang - not as impressed with his game as I thought I would be when he first came to the U.S. However, I think he might stick around for a little bit longer than he deserves so Dana can possibly make some more money in China. Coming of a decision loss, I think he has a better shot to stick around if he drops to 145.

UNLIKELY

Jamie Varner - will undoubtedly get at least one fight in the big show due to name recognition, but something tells me he'll be one and done. Simply has not been the same since he beat Cowboy at WEC 38. On a 4 fight winless streak; if he makes it 5, its a wrap for Mr. C-4

Danny Castillo - exciting fighter with fast hands and losses to only the top tier of fighters in the WEC. However he has some cardio issues and is very streaky. He cannot afford to be streaky in the UFC. Might hang on if he strings together a couple of wins, but seeing as he's essentially been relegated to gatekeeper status in the WEC, things do not look good in the long term for "Last Call."

Chris Horodecki - a lot of fights under his belt for someone his age, but unfortunately, no big wins. Decent hands and decent wrestling, but I just don't think it'll be enough to hang with the big dogs. Coming in off his loss to Cowboy, probably needs to win his debut to see another fight in the UFC.

Bart Palaszewski - this highly experienced fighter just had his 4 fight winning streak halted by Kamal Shalorus this past Thursday. Good all around game, but I don't think he'll be able to put together enough wins in the UFC. He does have a decision victory over "Showtime" Pettis, however, something that not even Ben Henderson could achieve, so you never know.

NO CHANCE

Ricardo Lamas - despite a good record, does not have a key win in the WEC. Coming off a loss and not very exciting to watch. I don't see him with a contract much past one fight, if at all.

Dave Jansen - good ground game, but is on a two fight losing streak in the WEC against less than spectacular competition. All three of his WEC fights have gone to the judges, as well, and the only thing worse than an boring fighter is a boring fighter who loses.

Will Kerr - another fighter 1-2 under contract by Zuffa, with his only win coming against someone who was cut by the WEC (Karen Darabedyan). Been stopped twice in his career, both coming in the WEC at the hands of Kamal Shalorus and Danny Castillo. Will most likely get stopped, and then cut, if he gets a fight in the UFC.

Ed Ratcliff - besides a great nickname, he doesn't have much of a case. Despite good hands, he is lacking in his ground game and is on a 2 fight losing streak. "9mm" can be exciting to watch, but he will have to really come with it in his UFC debut if he wants to see a second fight in the Octagon.

Tonight I went to the Bellator 33 event in Philly. I was real excited and was hoping to see some good fights, and the night did not disappoint.

Rick Hawn, who has world class judo, made his Bellator debut. I had never heard of him before tonight but he won pretty impressively. The guy he was fighting, some black guy named Lavar or Lavon I believe, was winning for most of the first round. Granted it was close, but had it gone to the cards he should have gotten it 10-9. Hawn through a high kick that Lavar caught and dropped Hawn. Unfortunately for him, he decided itd be a good idea to hand a judo olympian his arm while trying to get his back. Oops. Hip toss, GnP, TKO. Textbook. This kid Hawn is gonna be somebody to watch at 170 if he can improve his stand up a little bit.

Ben Askren is INCREDIBLY boring to watch but the kid has some tremendous wrestling. He mustve had mount on Lyman Good for about 18 minutes of the 25 minute fight. Couldn't finish though and, disappointingly, wasnt really trying. Good mustve offered him an arm triangle on a silver platter at least 5 times, but Askren was content to just lay on him. In the 5th round Good caught Askren right on the jaw with a real nice upkick and almost locked in a Triangle/Armbar (i.e. Werdum) but it didnt work out and Ben Askren is the new Bellator WW champ. As boring as he is to watch I have to give credit where credit is due - Good knew exactly what he was going to do and still couldnt stop his takedowns.

Eddie Alvarez dominated Roger Huerta. Outstruck him big time in rounds 1 and 2. But Huerta has some heart and some chin because he would not stop moving forward and attacking Alvarez. He made the fight interesting; at any moment Huerta couldve landed a shot that turned the whole fight around. However, after the second round it looked as if Huerta wasnt gonna make it out of his corner for the third and my prediction was right as the fight was called after 2 rounds. Alvarez was punishing Huerta with leg kicks, it looked like Huerta was having a hard time standing, let alone walking back to the dressing room.

During the Alvarez fight they showed Frankie Edgar on the screen and so me and my friends decided to see if we could get down to cageside and meet him. With very little effort we were able to get close to him and get handshakes and pictures. He was at the fights with Kris McCray, who was a great guy. So was Edgar, but he was mobbed with people trying to meet him so he was pretty brief with everyone he spoke to. The card had some other fights after the Alvarez fight which I thought was a little odd, including one with Luiz Azeredo, one of the few men to legitimately beat Anderson Silva (he won btw). My friends and I watched the Azeredo fight from the 2nd row, I was sitting directly behind Kris McCray, who was on his phone the entire time.

We moved closer to the entrance ramp after that fight, and I was able to speak to Joe Warren a little bit. He is legitimately one of the nicest people I've ever met. He said that his next fight was going to be on the Dynamite card in Japan on New Year's Eve. Right now they are in talks to get him a rematch with Bibiano Fernandes, though thats not set in stone yet. I was also able to talk to Chris Weidman a little bit, the new Ring of Combat MW champ. I know Chris a little bit from training back at home on Long Island, but had never gotten the chance to have an actual conversation with him since hes lightyears ahead of me in all aspects of the fight game and therefore we dont cross paths much in the gym. He alluded to the fact that he might be headed to a bigger promotion soon. I asked him when he thinks his first title defense might be and he said that he might be going somewhere bigger before that even comes up. Hopefully the UFC, because this kid is an absolute stud and I think could make some waves. Maybe not a title challenger yet, but soon enough.

Ben Askren, his brother Max who recently won his weight class at NCAA Nationals, and Eddie Alvarez all walked by and stopped and said hi to everyone who was around. Askren looked BEAT UP, Good definitely got the better of the few stand up exchanges. His brother Max was apparently very nice to my friend who wrestled in high school; I was talking to Joe Warren at the time so I didnt get a chance to speak to him. Before we left I was able to say a quick hello to Ricardo Almeida, who was cornering one of the fighters in the last bout of the night. I had met Ricardo before and he's a great guy. I would have loved to have spoken to him longer but it looked like he was in a hurry to get back to the dressing room with his guy.

Overall it was a great night. I never expected to meet any fighters when I first got to the arena, and I ended up meeting a top 5 pound for pounder, a top 10 featherweight, a TUF finalist, and a few others who are sure to be big names in the sport soon enough. I can't wait to go to another event soon. Hope you enjoyed the read maniacs. Deuces.

Okay, so, its been about a month since the last quarterfinal matchup was posted...my bad. I was very disappointed that Anderson Silva lost to BJ Penn in the last matchup, honestly because I think it was mostly because of peoples hate for Silva that he lost the poll. Anyway, moving on. Shortly after those poll results were finalized, my personal life became very hectic. Not going to bore you with the details, just going to move on with the tourney. One more quarterfinal left - Fedor Emelianenko vs. Jose Aldo. You guys know what to do...

1 GSP

16 Shields                    1 GSP

8 Fitch                          8 Fitch

9 Brock

4 Shogun

13 Koscheck                4 Shogun

5 Edgar                        5 Edgar

12 Sonnen

6 BJ

11 Rashad                    6 BJ

3 Silva                          3 Silva

14 Melendez

7 Fedor

10 Machida                   7 Fedor

2 Aldo                           2 Aldo

15 Alves

Halfway through the quarters, and both matchups were blowout. In the closest matchup on paper in the quarters, 4 seed Shogun Rua smoked 5 seed Frankie Edgar. The next matchup is between two longtime UFC Champions. 3 seed and current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva takes on the 6 seed, the former and longest reigning UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn. Both BJJ Black Belts, both tremendous strikers. Who wins though?

1 GSP

16 Shields                    1 GSP

8 Fitch                          8 Fitch

9 Brock

4 Shogun

13 Koscheck                4 Shogun

5 Edgar                        5 Edgar

12 Sonnen

6 BJ

11 Rashad                    6 BJ

3 Silva                          3 Silva

14 Melendez

7 Fedor

10 Machida                   7 Fedor

2 Aldo                           2 Aldo

15 Alves