Nick Diaz is a rebel, and he doesn't give a shit.

He doesn't give a shit about his Honda.

He doesn't give a shit about the English language.

He doesn't give a shit about beauty pageants.

He doesn't give a shit about wrestlers or joggers.

He doesn't give a shit about baby leg kicks.

He doesn't give a shit about computers, because he has no intention of chatting with you whores.

He doesn't give a shit about what ... uh, the year... fuck year is it?

He doesn't give a shit about some bitch offering him a piece of hydrogenated chocolate, because real fighters eat real chocolate.

He doesn't give a shit about the commission.

He doesn't give a shit about smoking up before a fight or getting caught.

He doesn't give a shit about all the money he's going to lose because he smoked up.

He doesn't give a shit about sitting on the shelf for 6 - 12 months.

He doesn't give a shit about title shots.

He doesn't give a shit. And that's why Nick is a rebel. He sure showed everyone, huh? Fuck right he did. Fuck the man.

WAR DIAZ.

Brock Lesnar retired Saturday night after getting the liver kick of doom from Alistair Overeem. I will admit I will miss him. He's had a rough couple of years, and it's amazing that he never once shied away from a fight. Yes, he looked less than impressive against Carwin, Valasquez and now Overeem. But he fought the murderer's row of heavyweights. Is he a "fighter?" I don't really know. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. But I still maintain Lesnar's complications with diverticulitis changed him. I have a friend who was diagnosed with diverticulitis, so I have seen what that illness can do to someone, which makes Lesnar's willingness to fight all that more impressive.

Health issues mess with your head. When you can no longer trust your own body, it's scary. When you come across your first real health scare, you realize you are not invincible, and that can be frightening. I just recently had a heath scare, and while it turned out to be something easily handled, for 6 months I felt incredibly vulnerable, because I expected the worst

Some people will always dislike Lesnar, and some of those people will never give him the respect he deserves. That's fine. But it was sort of disheartening to read comments about how people were happy the Lesnar circus is finally over. Personally, I loved it. I loved it because it brought real attention to the sport of MMA. There are some defining moments in MMA, and I believe Lesnar's entrance into the sport marked a real, and massive bump to the exposure of the sport. Yes, he'd built his popularity from fake wrestling, but he drew massive numbers of casual eyeballs to the sport, and for that, he needs to be thanked. There is a progression to how things break out into the popular culture. Sometimes it's instant and blinding, other times it's a slow growth with real moments of opportunity that needs to be capitalized on, of which Lesnar's hiring was one. A lot of people have to be thankful for Lesnar; other fighters, hardcore fans, etc.

Will he come out of retirement a year or two later? Maybe. But this does feel sort of final, and it did seem to ring true when he announced it. In a way, I think many people expected it. He's got a lot of money. He doesn't need to be punched in the face anymore. And to those who suspect Brock threw the fight? C'mon. Whether he showed up to just collect a final paycheque, or whether this was some sort of agreement with the UFC that he'll show and then he would be free of his contract, who knows. But the point is, Lesnar deserves respect.

Thanks Brock. It was a fun ride.

I appreciate a good joke. Who doesn't? I've laughed at jokes about race, about religion, about war, about torture, and yes, even about rape. Jokes about sensitive topics usually elicit a laugh-gag reflex from me. I start to laugh, then a catch myself and my laughter soon turns to feined outrage. But I laugh. And I can appreciate a comedian who can make me laugh. We've all probably at one point or another laughed at jokes that were deemed offensive to some. For me to deny otherwise would make me a hypocrite.

These past few weeks, we've seen fighters getting into trouble for saying or tweeting some disturbing comments about the topic of rape. Forrest Griffin did it, Rashad Evans did it, and now Miguel Torres did it, but unlike the former two, Torres got fired over his tweets. Let's get this straight: I personally do not believe any subject is out of bounds. I can laugh at anything. When you make a topic out of bounds, that sets it up to be untouchable in some way, that you cannot criticize something, and for me, criticism is a healthy part of what makes society move forward. Without criticism, beliefs turn to dogma and dogma can create sheep. It is important for humanity to continually question its beliefs, and jokes in a way play their part in such criticism.

But what makes a successful joke is context. Context is key. What the fighters fail to realize here is that you cannot just deliver a punchline. There's a context you need to develop and create - the set up before the big punchline. And unfortunately for these fighters, Twitter is not the appropriate forum to set up such jokes. Fighters do not have 2 hours during an HBO special to set up their jokes. They have 140 characters on the limited public format that is Twitter. So if you're going to joke, or say something in general, it has to be thought out. There is a reason why you don't see comedians simply deliver punchlines all day.

Griffin failed to set up his joke. Not only did he fail to set the context, he responded poorly to those criticizing him. Dana White finally had to come out and set the story straight, but the question is: why didn't Griffin just set it straight himself? Why did we have to hear it from Dana, whose word is dubious at best to begin with? Rashad's comment was different, since it was in the context of hyping the fight. For me, it was just another unfunny Rashad joke. Was it appropriate even in that context? No, and that's why he got roasted for it. As for Torres, he just should have known better. By taking a joke out of context from a TV show, he can't have reasonably expected people to have seen that show and the joke, especially when he made no mention of the TV show. I've seen the show he refrenced, and I am a fan of its tasteless humour, but even I don't recall that particular line. If he did expect people to know, that's his stupid fault. And really, that's what it comes down to: we cannot read minds. You cannot assume people will just "get it."

Whether you believe it was fair of the UFC to punish Torres and not the other two is besides the point. And of course Torres wasn't making some grand commentary on society at large: He was being stupid. The crux of the matter is that fighters are using a public forum to make jokes, and it is their responsibility to set the context before they make their jokes. When there is no context, all bets are off, and if you're going to joke about subjects like rape, then you'd better be prepared to take what's coming to you. Bottom line: Torres got fired and it is entirely his boneheaded fault.

Some quick notes on what I noticed:

- I had goosebumps hearing the Fox Sports theme song and then seeing the UFC and Fox logos together. Christmas has come early.

- Joe Rogan looked nervous.  He seemed to have trouble talking without saying "cunty" or "rape choke."

- Dana apparently thought Ariel Helwani was breaking the news, cause he left his suit at home.  Therin lies his charm, I suppose.  At least it was a FOX shirt.

- Chuck looked awake and conscious (sort of).  That was a plus.

- Looks like Frankie Edgar is the new GSP.

- After years of crusty old white guys bashing MMA, how fucking awesome was it to see FOX's crusty old white guys talk about how awesome MMA the UFC was? 

- TUF edited the week of, with a live fight at the end.  The coach's training camp during the show. Awesome.

- 32 weeks of live fights on FX.  Cool beans.

- lol at Josh Gross asking the first question.  It'll be interesting to see main stream media dealing with Dana Fucking White.

- Nov 12.  1st show!

- No Gladiator! YUS!  Robots maybe? Hmm... not sure if like...

-  I kept hoping Joe would say, "The UFC is FOR REAL!"

- There will be so much more scruitiny wih the UFC by the media.  Everything from the stuff Dana says, to the fighters and how little much they get paid. I hope Dana and crew are ready for it.  I hope the hardcores are ready for it.  Our baby is all growed up and is about to go through the gauntlet.

- I know there are a lot of haters out there - of Dana, of the UFC, etc.  But if you're genuinely not excited about this deal, then I don't know what to tell you.  It's one thing for Strikeforce to flop on CBS.  It's another if the UFC flops on FOX.  We gotta support this.  This is a great day to be an MMA fan.  I am buzzed.

I've been thinking a lot about Jon Fitch lately.  (Not in that way).  A lot of MMA fans don't like Fitch.  They don't like his style, they don't like the string of decisions, and some of them even want him to be dropped by the UFC (which is incredibly asinine).  I've been thinking a lot about Jon Fitch lately because I'm been trying to figure out why people don't like him.  It's not all the decisions that I believe bothers people, it's how he gets those decisions.  It's because he risks nothing.

I like fighters like Carlos Condit who will take risks.  Fighting is risky, but to have a guy like Condit go all out in his stand-up with no fear of being taken down because he is so confident in his ground game, is why I like fighters like him.  He's willing to give up a safe, positional game for the finish.  He's fearless.

But I like Fitch too.  I don't expect others to like him, and I'm definitely not going to sit here and be condescending with lines like, "You just don't understand his fighting style..." or "The quality of opponents is incredibly high, thus harder to finish..." I just like him because of who he is.  He's humble, he's a hard worker, he's methodical, he's probably one of the toughest fighters out there (both physically and mentally), and he's relentless.  It's rare to find all these qualities together in one exceptional fighter.  And he is exceptional.  You don't go 13-1-1 in the UFC if you're a chump.  There is something absolutely intruiging and special in watching someone with a fighting style that all but a couple of the absolute elite have been able to figure out.

But he absolutely refuses to give up a safe position to go for the finish.  And that's his problem.  The decisions, the fan hate - they're all symptoms of the disease. He's a wrestler, so I understand the need for control and positional advantage.  But I wish he would incorporate more submission attempts into his fighting. 

Look, Jon Fitch is quicksand.  The more you struggle under him, the worse it becomes for you as you tire out and enventually break mentally.  Just look at BJ Penn's expression right after their fight.  He knew he was drowning.  I believe Jon Fitch would do better to just attempt more submissions.  He doesn't have the KO power to knock people out standing.  But he has the smothering top control to wear people down and eventually submit them if he tries.  I believe even if he loses position for a finish and doesn't get it, he has the skill to take almost anyone back down, and regain position.  Take down, get position, some ground'n pound, then try for a submission.  Wash, rince, repeat. 

But he won't do that.  He absolutely refuses to give up positional control, mostly because it is counterintuitive to him.  And that is why he will forever be chasing a title shot.  Sure, eventually if he keeps on winning, the UFC has no choice but to give him that shot.  But they'll delay it for as long as they can, making him take fights against high risk, low reward fighters.  If he loses, he may never get back to where he is in the welterweight division, which is why I see this as a self fullfilling prophesy. 


I love Fitch.  He's a brilliant fighter and I'll always be a fan. But he frustrates me sometimes. 

Last night I watched parts of my city get torn apart by a small percentage of idiots over of all things, a hockey game.  The Vancouver Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals to the Boston Bruins, 4-0.  Before the game was done, the riot had begun. I knew it would happen, I predicted it would happen, but I still marveled at the amount of idiocy on display, to the point where it hit every major news outlet in North America, and even internationally, from Britain to Australia to India.  Rioters overturned cars, burned them, started fist fights and broke windows of various businesses. As an example of how incredibly stupid things were last night, I watched footage of a young man run onto a burning car.  He tried to jump over the flames, but slipped and fell into the flames.  He managed to jump out with his arms raised, screaming with glee as to what he accomplished.  The most ironic thing I heard last night, was the mantra "Boston sucks!" by rioters as they tore apart their own city. The saddest thing I saw, was a man trying to prevent people from breaking a store window, standing in front telling them to stop and screaming that this is his city.  Half a dozen men turn on him and start punching and kicking him.

I watched all this from my home, but my girlfriend was working during the riots.  She works as a nurse at St. Paul's Hospital, which is in downtown Vancouver.  She was on the graveyard shift last night, working through the night under a "code orange" with the hospital under lockdown.  This basically means they were prepping for mass casualties.  She spent most of the night watching people getting dunked, which means tanks of water were set up in front of the hospital, and people who had been pepper sprayed were made to take off their shirts, get dunked in the tanks, wash their faces with soap and then get their clothes bagged. 

It is clear now that there was a small group of people intending to riot, regardless of the score.  They brought their own pepper spray, their own incendiaries... The good will built up by successfully hosting the Olympics last year was destroyed in a few short hours over a silly hockey game.  So what does this have to do with MMA?  I am not above using this to outline that MMA itself does not breed violence.  Before UFC 131 came to town, the police chief, Jim Chu requested the UFC pay for extra security.  A request the UFC righty denied.  The reasoning was that when UFC 115 was held in Vancouver last year, there were incidents caused by MMA fans, including a supposed gay bashing against two gay men by men who, "supposedly" attended the event.

My point is that morons are morons.  It doesn't matter what sporting event is on.  What happened last night had nothing to do with hockey.  It's not a reflection of how Vancouverites are in general.  Vancouverites are showing their support by starting facebook pages calling for the outing and tagging of idiots responsible for the riots last night, as well as a call for volunteers to help clean the city up this morning. But there is a small portion of people in Vancouver who have in the past, and will do so again in the future, continue to cause problems.  Vancouver endured a riot the last time the Canucks lost in the 1994 playoffs, there were small riots in 2002 when the Guns'n Roses concert was canceled, there were problems in the first couple days of the Olympics, and now this.  As a Vancouverite, I cannot deny that there is something about this city that lends itself to these types of actions.  Let's put it this way: Calgary didn't riot when their team lost in the Stanley Cup finals in 2004.  Do we just seem to have a deeper pool of idiots to draw from?  I don't know.  It certainly doesn't represent the majority of citizens here, but this is a problem that exists and needs to be addressed.

As a final note, Dana White, a man who is no stranger to stupid behavior, tweeted this:

Hey morons stop ruining ur beautiful city of vancouver!!! Its just a fucking hockey game!!!!!!

When Dana calls you a moron, you really are a moron.

Let's get this out of the way.  GSP beat Shields.  I'm glad he won.  A couple of the judges had GSP losing two rounds, but I don't see it.  It doesn't matter, because GSP ultimately won the decision, and he hurt Shields a few times.  But if Shields could take bombs from Hendo, he sure as heck could take GSP's punches.  We all knew this.  (Forget Sports Science.  There is a world of difference between managing to put in powerful punches in a controlled environment, vs a real fight when your opponent is trying to take your head off).  But on a night when you had some amazing finishes (especially Machida's wonderful KO of Couture), you had the main even suck the life out of the card.  This time, it wasn't Shields' fault.  Shields came to fight.  No doubt.  The blame is on GSP.

This performance was nowhere near as bad as Anderson Silva laying an egg during the Demian Maia fight. But it wasn't terribly exciting.  It is clear GSP is afraid to lose.  While that can be healthy to a degree, it is causing GSP to fight way too safe.  Now I'm not saying one should risk their life and career for a win, but there were many chances when GSP could have finished, but he didn't.  He avoided using his best weapon: his positional control and ground and pound.  All because he didn't want to roll with Shields.

GSP got his eye injured midway through the fight.  I understand his panic, as eye injuries are nothing to scoff at.  In the immediate future, I don't think his eye injury is serious, but I think this will effect GSP in the long run.  GSP has fought through adversity before.  When BJ beat him up in the first round of their first fight and made him bleed, GSP dug deep and gutted out the win.  When GSP sprained his groin against Alves, he still pulled off takedowns like nothing happened.  However, I am afraid that this eye scare will change GSP yet again.  I think this eye situation will make GSP MORE conservative in his fights. This man puts his health above anything else, and that is something to applaud.  However, I believe this will only make a more cautious GSP.  If that's even possible.

Look, I'm not knocking the guy for wanting to win by taking the least amount of damage possible.  My gut feeling after watching the event is that even though GSP won, why do I feel like he lost?  I've tried to explain it, and I apologize if I failed to articulate my grievances appropriately (I've had a beer or five) but there is something deeply unsatisfying about his last few fights.  It's not a feeling easily described.  Do I hold GSP to a higher standard than other fighters? Yes.  Is that fair? No.  But can I help the way I feel?  No.  Am I a spoiled fan? Probably. I might feel different tomorrow morning, but in this moment, as a diehard GSP fan, I am disappointed.  The card overall was amazing, and I figure in time, people will look upon this as one of the best cards. Ever.  I just wish GSP got the finish.

EDIT: So what do I think has to happen?  Someone has to push GSP.  GSP is so far ahead of the curve it's not even funny.  Someone has to hurt him and put him into troubled situations.  Put him down on the score cards so he has no choice but the finish.  Unfortunately, I don't see anyone in the WW division that can do this.

An estimated $100 billion to $500 billion of wealth globally was destroyed by the earthquake that rocked Japan last week.  While the exact extent of the financial damage is ultimately unknown, since the spread of losses depends on whether the damaged assets were owned by domestic or global investors, it doesn't take a genius to see that eventually this will hit the pocket books of the Japanese government, the businesses, and ultimately the Japanese people. 

Financially, the Japanese government had massive debt and deficit before the quake even hit.  Now?  The government will have to find ways to fund significant rebuilding programs - some of which can be done with the help of foreign governments and investors.  Ultimately, how does this effect Japanese MMA?  This may be the death nail, that's how.

Some of the financing of the rebuilding efforts by the government will probably be done through various policy options that the government has due to the large net savings the Japanese people as a nation have.  This isn't some minor event; this is a massive natural disaster that will effect every Japanese citizen one way or another.  Specifically their spending decisions.

Which brings us to the Japanese MMA scene that lacks credibility and is seen as corrupt after the downfall of PRIDE.  You have promotions like Dream failing to pay fighters on time, or at all, and you have a domestic MMA scene that is struggling to produce new stars as old stars lose and/or get older.  (Did I say struggling?  I meant not producing any new stars.) On top of that, if you add the earthquake that not only shook Japan, but may have shaken the Japanese psyche, you have to figure that this will negatively effect what remains of Japan's willingness to spend money on MMA. 

Japanese MMA has been hurting for some time now.  It's like watching a family member who has been sick for a long time, with the only question of death being when, not if.  This earthquake may finally cause the book to close on MMA in Japan.  At the very least, you have to figure a resurgence is out of the question now for the forseable future.

I used to be all about multiple organizations and co-promotion.  However, a couple years ago I changed my tune.  I wanted one organization to take over.  All of it.  The UFC was leagues above the rest, so I was all for the UFC taking over.  It makes things simple, you know who the world champ is, and you get the best fighting the best, all the time.  Sounds great, right?

So the UFC goes out and buys out Strikeforce, the only other strong promotion out there.  This is what I had been dreaming about.  This was what I wanted.  But sometimes you get what you've been longing for, only to find yourself wondering why you wanted it in the first place.  I was confused, and I had mixed emotions about the purchase.  I still do.

The UFC clearly now owns MMA when it comes to the highest level fighters.  I'm not saying that there is no chance that another promotion might come along to become another solid #2 and give Dana and the boys headaches.  Far from it.  But there is a lot to be said about the power that the UFC has.  If a promotion won't sink under it's own overspending or incompetence, then the UFC will throw money at it.  If you can't drown them with counter programming, poison pill fighters, or shear superiority of product, then you buy them out.  Everyone clearly has a price, and bravo to Coker for recognizing his.  As someone who wants to see people get their share of the pie, I'm certainly not going to begrudge a man for making a good business decision. Let's face it.  Most of us would have done the same.

What this shows, however, is that if there is another promotion that comes up in the world, there will always be a part of fans wondering, "So when will they sell out?"  Seriously, why should fans commit to another promotion if, in the back of their heads, they're wondering when said promoter will mess up, or sell out?  I mean, who are we kidding?  The UFC is so far ahead, that the axe they wield hovers above the heads of every promotion. All roads lead to Rome.  And for fans that refuse to believe this?  Well, tough shit.  Deal with it.

We have all our eggs in one basket now.  As a person who deals with people's finances and retirement savings on a daily basis, diversification of investments and risk is the way to go.  We have the opposite now with the UFC's purchase of Strikeforce.  Don't get me wrong, I am happy that we are that much closer to one organization ruling them all, but the paranoid fanboy in me still fears the worst.  If the UFC goes under whether it be a huge scandal or bad business decisions, where does that leave MMA? With a strong #2 like Strikeforce, there was always a way out.  When I invest money for clients, I always have an exit strategy, a plan B.  We lost Japan, and now we've lost our plan B.  As an investment advisor, I should punch myself right in the face.

For better or worse, deep down inside I think we all knew the long term success of MMA was directly tied to the success of the UFC.  It's just a complete reality now.  To think otherwise, is silly. And to think that the UFC will continue to have Strikeforce's brand out there is ridiculous.  Yes, the UFC has too many fighters on roster right now, but you heard Dana; They're expanding, they'll eventually need more fighters, and you can be absolutely certain it isn't going to happen under a brand other than the UFC.  And two sets of champs?  Forget about it. I give Strikeforce a year.  At most.

The other day, I had someone tell me, "I train UFC" with a straight face.  I wanted to smack him.  But that line, as stupid as it is, doesn't seem so far fetched now.  Dana, it's all on you now.  Don't fuck things up for us.  And please, let us see the rest of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.

via upload.wikimedia.org

Yes, yet another fanpost about Fedor.  Please bear with me. There has been a lot of talk lately about Fedor's legacy, and what it means.  I'm going to keep this short and sweet.  This is my take on Fedor's legacy and whether it will even last:

History is written by the victors.  re: UFC.

This is Fedor's big problem.  As of right now, most of the MMA dialogue is being written by Zuffa.  If you're on bad terms with the UFC, your legacy is erased.  At least that's what seems to be going on to past UFC castouts.  Hardcores and sites like Bloody Elbow will always remember guys like Fedor, but most casual fans probably won't.  So when you have a guy like Fedor who actually chose not to fight in the UFC, it should not come as a surprise when most new fans don't know or care about Fedor and what he has accomplished.  Guys like Jonathan Snowden can write as many MMA history books as they want.  As great as they are, in the end, in this day and age of the internet and new media, when you see so many news outlets already "co-opted" by Zuffa, I don't have much hope for someone like Fedor to retain his legacy.  Once Fedor finally retires, in a year or two, you won't hear anyone but hardcores talking about Fedor.  At least not like how they talk about Royce Gracie.

Is Fedor the greatest of all time?  Is he even the greatest heavyweight to ever live?  Not if the UFC has its way.  If the UFC becomes the be-all, end-all of MMA like they are planning to, expect to see plenty of other fighters erased from the mainstream historical record.  So much of this is not actually about what Fedor accomplished, but what the perception of him is.  And the one thing the UFC does well, is control perception.

Last weekend in Burnaby (a suburb of Vancouver, Canada), an MMA tournament was held by Western Canadian Martial Arts Championship, which allowed participating children to engage in "ground and pound."  The organizers created a new division which allowed youngsters to be hit in the head while on the ground, despite existing rules prohibiting it.  The current rules allow for children to hit each other in the head, but only while on the feet.  If this sounds dangerous to you, it is, despite the children wearing headgear.  Chris Franco, owner of Vancouver’s Franco Kickboxing-Pankration gym, was a coach during the event and he had to step in to stop a couple of the fights:

“There was one child who is 95 pounds competing against another child who was 150 pounds,” Franco said. “They were both 12 years old, but I stopped the match because I thought the [smaller] boy might be snapped in half.

“One of my students, who is a seven-year-old girl, had a bigger boy on her in what is called a mount position. The referee wasn’t stopping it and the boy just kept hitting her in the head.”

Franco, who has coached martial arts for more than 20 years, said he stopped the fight before the girl was hurt because he believed there was potential for severe injury.

“She was very feisty and competitive, but the boy was on top throwing hooks, which caused me concern. Her mother was watching, and looked concerned,” Franco said.

While Don Whitefield, who organizes the new division and is an MMA coach, said in an email that the new rules were better and safer:

“In the past during this tournament ... there always was lots of blood on the mat and it was not safe,” Whitefield wrote. “The only problem I can think of was that some poor-fitting head gear [could slip] and impair the vision when clinching and grappling, since some parents hope their kids ... grow into the gear rather than buying properly fit gear.”

I would have to vehemently disagree with this assertion.  Joe Ferraro, from MMA Connected on Rogers Sportsnet, agrees:

“I personally don’t condone children grounding and pounding each other in tournaments,” Ferraro told The Vancouver Sun. “That’s something that has to be taught and learned, and your body has to get conditioned to that. You don’t throw somebody learning how to play hockey straight into a bodychecking system. They have to learn how to skate first.”

I have to take issue with servaral things that went on at the tornament. 

1) Adding ground and pound to the rules does not make it safer, in my opinion.  It's like adding more ways to hit people in Hockey.  Adding more ways to damage someone more does not make a competition "safer." 

2) Two children, one 95 pounds and another at 150 pounds, despite the same age, should not be competing together.  That's like throwing a lightweight in with a heavyweight. 

3) Children should only be point fighting.  Adding ways to dammage each other is not how kids should be competing. 

If it were up to me, there would be absolutely no strikes to the head either standing or on the ground.  A child would get points for strikes to the body, takedowns, positional control, guard passing, and submissions, which are okay by me so long as the ref is keenly aware of what is going on.  The focus should be on aggression, control and position and not on damage.  So basically how Jake Shields fights. :D

The parents also have to take some blame for this.  While I personally would allow any future children of mine to train in various aspects of MMA, I take issue with parents willing to put their children into such a tournament where direct damage can be done.  Children's bodies, especially their brains, are still developing and are not yet full formed (some adults aren't fully formed either, but that's a different issue).  Children are worlds away from being consenting adults, and I question whether they realize just what kind of harm they are putting themselves in.  It is up to the parents, as well as the organizers, to make sure the children are protected.  And for crying out loud, what cheap parent buys a child headgear that doesn't fit?  If a child has headgear that doesn't fit, they should not be allowed to compete.

For the record:

Paul Lazenby, senior instructor at Franco Kickboxing-Pankration, a Vancouver MMA school, and a former Canadian kickboxing champion, is a founding member of MMA B.C., which oversees some amateur events to make sure the athletes are safe.

Last weekend’s tournament was not sanctioned by MMA B.C. Events and schools are overseen only if they opt into the association, Lazenby said.

Tonight I got to watch history being made.  Fabricio Werdum did the impossible: he submitted Fedor.  There is nothing I can say here that hasn't already been said in the aftermath of the explosion of a collective "HOLY SH*T!" by the MMA community, but what I can say is, I felt something I hadn't felt since Matt Serra knocked out Georges St. Pierre.  It was chills.  Pure chills down my arms as I got to see possibly the greatest of all time, Fedor get trapped deep into a triangle choke / armbar by Werdum.  We've seen Fedor in trouble before, but somehow this one felt different.  I remember watching how deep it was, how much trouble Fedor seemed to be in, watching his head turn purple, and all I could say was, "Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod..." And then complete and utter shock as Fedor taps.  Once. 

Wow.

There will be plenty of debate online regarding where Fedor goes from here, what does this all mean, etc.  The internet will beat this topic to death for years to come.  And yes, history was made, not only because Fedor lost, ending a brilliant win streak, but because the UFC now holds all the top fighters in all the major weight classes, as Subo pointed out.  With Fedor's loss, there is no other #1 ranked fighter outside of the UFC.  It's game over.

But I digress.  All I wanted to say was, regardless of what you thought about Fedor, Dana White, M-1, etc.  I believe we, as fans, can all agree, that MMA is the greatest sport there is. I felt like I, as a fan, also won tonight. I love this sport. 

via pud333 i88.photobucket.com

This Saturday, the so-called "No Fun City" welcomes the UFC to town with open, but albeit tentative arms.  Vancouver is a strange place to be.  If you're on the outside looking in, Vancouver seems like a great place.  Gorgeous mountains, great mild weather, picturesque city scapes... But the idiosyncrasies that define Vancouver are hard to grasp unless you live in the city to experience the many... personalities that encompass it.  Vancouver sometimes suffers from a sense of identity disorder: confused as to what it wants to be.  On one hand, you see the Vancouver presented in the Olympics: open, embracing, ready to be a world class city.  On the other, you have a city so repressed in its desire to remain a small city, that any big event has the ability to result in a riot.  It's like a kid who lived under very strict parents who just goes nuts at the first little bit of freedom. A city, where the city council is more interested in passing bylaws to permit citizens to have their own chickens in the backyard, rather than taking on more pressing, important concerns.

Enter the UFC.  UFC 115 is coming to town under a cloud of concern that it would be so financially demanding on the UFC that it won't ever want to come back to town.  The bulk of this concern is the rumored ridiculously high insurance premiums that the city is demanding because a few council members are afraid the liabilities may cost the city financially, and potentially hurt their political careers.  You will never hear anyone mention those in city council as having the courage of their convictions.  But I feel the fear is unfounded.  Yes, it's a concern, but the crowds will be there.  Everyone will be excited come Saturday night.  And the fighters will deliver.  You won't see Chuck Liddell or Rich Franklin "juking and jiving."  Sure, when you look back on the history of Vancouver, there is some merit in council's concerns.  Stanley cup finals?  Vancouver riots.  Guns'n Roses cancels?  Vancouver Riots.  Monster Trucks?  Near riots.  (In our defense, a lot of these people are from Surrey, so they're barely Vancouverites anyway.) 

All these concerns seem to be based on the assumption that the UFC is afraid of financial losses.  They're not.  Zuffa understands that in order to make money, they have to spend money.  I mean, millions were lost for years when the UFC was first purchased before they ever got back into the black.  Yes, UFC 115 will be costly for the UFC, but it's a means to an end.  If UFC 115 goes as well as expected, and people behave themselves, I'm pretty sure we'll see another show here in about a year's time, this time with much more reasonable insurance demands.  The UFC didn't just recently open an office in Toronto just for the heck of it.  Canada is a huge piece of the overall MMA puzzle, and the UFC means to stay. 

It's in the hands of Vancouver citizens now.  Post-Olympics Vancouver was supposed to be a new era.  After the Olympics, everyone was taking about how to keep the party going.  Vancouver was supposed to be a changed place.  We'll see in the coming few days if Vancouver really is ready for a change, or if the city is destined to remain in the shadow of other world class cities.  My prediction?  UFC 115 will KO Vancouver with a great showing.  Because if Vancouver wants to truly be a world class city, it needs to learn to embrace big events like the UFC, as well as behave itself while hosting.  Because no one wants a drunk, surly Surrey girl as host.  If you know anything about Vancouver and its suburbs, you'll understand my meaning.

I haven't picked up the new UFC Undisputed 2010 game yet, but I was playing last year's game yesterday and I had an experience that messed me up.  I'm not a huge gamer, but when I do play, I'm usually pretty reserved about these things.  I'm the guy that zones out when he plays.  I usually just sit still and play quietly, so I'm not very animated when I play.  I've had friends who freak out when they play, who if I am sitting next to them, they will start to elbow me and shoulder-check me cause apparently there is an imaginary link that requires the player to react physically the same way the character does on screen.  I never understood that, and to be honest, I find it kind of annoying.  Amusing, but annoying.

Last night, my girlfriend decided she wanted to try UFC Undisputed 2009 with me.  Sure.  Why not, I thought?  I figured I'd go easy on her because I figure I'm pretty good at the game.  I had been on a winning streak lately where I hadn't lost in months.  So I pick BJ Penn and she picks GSP, cause he's her favorite.  Obviously.  What happened next was... unbelievable.  I thought some of my friends were bad with their animated play, but she blew them all out of the water.

She's not very good.  Obviously, cause this was the first time she ever played.  The problem though, was how loud she was.  I'm jabbing GSP to death and all I can hear is her screaming, and I mean, screaming, "NO! NO! NO! C'MON YOU BITCH, NO! NO! NO!"  I take GSP down and start some ground'n pound, and she's screaming, "GET UP! GET UP! GET UP!"  Now what happens next takes me by surprise. She gets up off the couch and starts jumping up and down, slamming the buttons with her fingers screaming at GSP to get up. 

At this point, I'm thinking, "WTF is this?  Who are you?"  While I'm staring at her speachless, she starts swinging the controller wildly.  Her face is flushed red, her curly hair is all over the place and she's gritting her teeth and clenching the controller in a kung-fu grip that turns her knuckles white.  As the round progresses, she's inching, closer and closer to the TV until she's only two feet away, reeling back with the controller as if she's pulling in a giant Salmon with a fishing rod.  I'm watching her sweat, and I mean really sweat, it's almost disgusting.  Next thing I know, I'm caught in a submission and she subs me.  This brings screams of jubilation.  She says something to the effect of, "In your face!"  I am speachless.  What a freak of nature.

We go for the rematch, and my girlfriend then starts taking off her pants.  I know.  When I ask her what she's doing, she says, "I'm really hot.  I need to take my pants off."  So we play the next two times with her screaming and jumping and gyrating her hips towards the TV, all the while she's wearing just her t-shirt and panties.  Now, usually this would be sexy, but the string of obscenities that spewed from her mouth, coupled with her proceeding to both KO me and submit me two more times, had me truly scared to ever play her again.  Normally when you play other people, they have a pattern of fighting, certain habits, that you can figure out and beat them eventually.  But there is no method to her madness.  It's like trying to play against a tornado.  By the end, she was a sweaty, half-naked mess and I didn't even get laid.  True story. 

Now I ask: Has anyone ever seen anyone behave like this?  She's now addicted to the game, but I refuse to play with her until she learns some self control.  It's downright scary.

The WEC is having their marquee event tonight on pay-per-view.  It's billed as the biggest fight in the WEC's history, pitting newly minted champ, and featherweight wrecking machine, Jose Aldo, against the former featherweight king, and arguably the WEC's only major draw, Urijah Faber.  There has been a lot of talk over the past year about merging the WEC's lighter divisions into the UFC.  There are a plethora of reasons for why this should and shouldn't happen, but the focus here is on one aspect: the fighters, and the need to make them famous now, instead of later.

The reality is, no one is really watching the WEC beyond hardcore fans.  WEC ratings, beyond a few big matchups, have been going down lately.  During the last few years, guys like Faber have been carrying the promotion on their backs, putting on amazing fights.  The problem is, who knows about Faber?  Hardcores and the Sacramento crowd.  I don't believe his appeal is widespread, mostly because most people don't know, or haven't seen him fight.  This, when he was the most dominant featherweight champ.  If a fighter is the champ, and no one notices, does it even matter? 

Then you have the case of Jose Aldo.  He's been destroying guys at his level for a while now, yet no one knows about him.  How much of a shame would it be if he went on a long title run, only to have his achievements go largely unnoticed by the casual fanbase? 

Dana White says he has a three year plan for the WEC.  That's all well and good, and I am the last person to tell a guy like White how to run his business.  However, to play devil's advocate for a second: White has said in the past that fighters have a small window of opportunity to make money.  Big money.  He used that argument back when he and Quentin "Rampage" Jackson were having their dispute due to the A-Team movie.  Well, let's turn this around on him.  If you're a guy like Faber or Aldo, you take this kind of comment to heart.  White is right: there is a very small window of opportunity.  Three years from now, the WEC could be huge, and Faber and Aldo could be mega stars.  I don't know.  But what I do know is, Zuffa has the ability to make them stars right now.  Not three years from now.  To quote a fellow Bloody Elbow community member:

If the Aldo massacre series were all done in a UFC event, Aldo could be a decent PPV draw by now. - vivero

This isn't like 2001 when the Fertittas first purchased the UFC, when no one wanted anything to do with mixed martial arts in North America.  This is 2010, where the WEC is owned by Zuffa, who ownes the biggest and arguably the best MMA organization in the world.  It would be so simple for Zuffa to pull the switch.  Give it six months of Zuffa promotional know-how, and one or two big PPV's later, guys like Aldo and Faber would be able to carry their own card.  A fighter like Aldo, who has that "holy shit!" factor, deserves to be on the big show, and deserves to get paid well.  We all know the WEC fighters always deliver fast paced, exciting fights with devastating KO's and sick submissions.  And in a promotion like the UFC, where fighters are expected to perform right from the get-go, without any build-up (unless you're a TUF winner of course), it's interesting that Zuffa wants to take this slow approach to building stars.  These guys are already stars.  The rest of the world just doesn't know it yet. 

This coming PPV may change things.  Maybe White pulls it off and things go very well.  If that's the case, I'll be the first to admit it.  I guess we'll see soon enough.

via www.cdn.sherdog.com

Say what you want about Strikeforce: Nashville.  There are many losers from Saturday night, but the big winner was the amazing display of wrestling. Specifically American wrestling.  I know we've seen these displays of brilliant wrestling in the past, many times, but I am constantly amazed at how under appreciated wrestling is, even today. Typical accusations of "Lay'n Pray" do have some validity when it comes to certain fighters, but what I find that what gets overlooked is all the technique and brilliance that a great wrestler can portray.  Sure, some of the fights on Saturday Night left something to be desired, and in most cases were very one-sided, but as I re-watched the fights today, ignoring the drama, I noticed that we got to see three great wrestling performances.

First you had King Mo, who took Gegard Mousasi down at will.  It wasn't even close.  Mousasi's sprawl was nonexistent.  Then you had Gilbert Melendez absolutely mauling Aoki when there was action.  He even fearlessly jumped into Aoki's guard once or twice.  Aoki was not strong enough to keep Melendez down, nor did he have a backup plan when it was clear he could do nothing to stop Melendez's wrestle/boxing style.  And finally, we saw Jake Shields out-wrestle a tired, shell of his former self, Dan Henderson.  Now I don't feel Henderson ever used his wrestling as effectively as he could have during his career, but Shields showed what can be achieved when you marry great wrestling skills with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  Sure, he didn't get the submission, but Shields showed resiliency under pressure during the first round and came back to score four straight dominating rounds to take the decision by easily wrestling Henderson to the mat and more importantly, holding him there with great positioning and guard passing to the mount. I wouldn't call myself a Shields fan, but I do appreciate the skills he brings to the table.

I would have to say that the most important discipline in MMA is wrestling. Even more so than BJJ. That ability to control your opponent and dictate where the fight goes – keep it standing or take it to the ground – is probably the most important tool to have when in a fight. If a fighter can become an expert at position control, it gives them a distinct advantage, not to mention it scores points.  If a good wrestler can learn some good submission defense, he’d be nearly unstoppable. We've also seen how far a fighter with great wrestling and good stand-up can go.  Just ask Chuck Liddell, who for years used his wrestling to keep it standing and KO guys.  If you were in the cage with him, you had no choice but to get KO'd.  On top of that, if you have someone like Georges St. Pierre, who you can't take down, and who can keep you guessing by taking you down at will, or clocking you with punches or kicks – forget about it.

The stage was set with everyone in the bar.  UFC 112 had just started on the big screens, everyone had their beer and food, and everyone was pumped to see two P4P champs defend their titles.  Of course the live show had already played, and this was the 7pm pst replay.  That didn't matter though, as the hardcores in the crowd like myself had avoided all internet and news sources to avoid being spoiled.  The casuals in the audience probably didn't know any better that this was a replay.  It was, as they say, "all good." 

There were half a dozen screens in the bar, with one lone TV in the corner playing the Canucks hockey game.  This was, after all, the home of the Vancouver Canucks.  The Canucks had already clinched a playoff spot by locking up the third spot in the Western Division.  For all intents and purposes, this was a meaningless game.  The only thing up in the air, was Henrik Sedin, one half of the Swedish all star twins, who was one point behind Alex Ovechkin for the scoring title.  This would be his last chance to take the lead. Nearly everyone in the bar could have been considered Canucks fans realistically, but the truth was, most were there to watch BJ Penn and Anderson Silva destroy their respective opponents.  There were about a half a dozen fans amongst a hundred, who were wearing Canucks jerseys and were huddled around the one TV.  When UFC 112 started and the heavy metal music started blaring, the Canucks game was forgotten. After all, the Canucks' regular season narrative had been written.

Kendall Grove and Mark Munoz put on the fight of the night.  Munoz puts on a gutsy come from behind performance to win some new fans in the bar.  But what happened over the course of the next two and a half hours was... confusing, to say the least.  Matt Hughes vs Renzo Gracie failed utterly to entertain.  Neither fighter would commit to much for most of the fight, and both fighters just looked... old.  Then came the BJ Penn vs Frankie Edgar fight.  I told my friends to get ready to watch a clinic.  Edgar was dead meat.  Instead, we saw a flat footed BJ chase a much more energized and active Edgar all across the ring.  We didn't have the benefit of Fightmetric, but it seemed BJ was landing the harder shots, but Edgar was like a bee, darting in and out and stinging Penn.  Penn seemed lethargic, almost like he had no energy and no sense of urgency.  By the forth round, he was noticeably more tired than Edgar.  I personally didn't think Edgar did enough to beat Penn, nor did I think Penn did enough to hold onto the title, so the outcome was no surprise to me.  Could have gone either way. In the end, Penn fought Edgar's game.  Hats off to Edgar!  Too bad his brilliant win was overshadowed by the main event.

By now, the crowd was already a little dissatisfied.  Most came to watch the fight, but the Canucks' meaningless hockey game was now starting to get more attention.  As the fights went on, most people were gravitating towards the game, and I admit, so was I.  I haven't watched a full hockey game in years (besides the 2010 Olympics, of course), having lost all interest since there are no rear naked chokes or head kicks allowed in the game.  But I found myself getting into Henrik Sedin's scoring aspirations, as he got point after point. 

Then came the Anderson Silva fight.  I don't know what to say.  But what I saw, was for two rounds people were amused with Silva's dancing.  Laughing out loud even.  Demian Maia had no chance.  That flying knee was sick!  But then those laughs turned to outright boos.  By the forth round, the whole bar was resoundingly booing Silva, as was the audience at the event.  Silva says Maia disrespected him.  No, I think it was the other way around.  I've always felt with the Leites fight and the Cote fight, there was something bothering Silva, like he was trying to send a message, that he was bored, that he wanted to fight Roy Jones Jr, etc.  It was almost like he was throwing a tantrum because he wasn't getting his way.  I got the same impression tonight.  I know Silva has said he wants to go to the Heavyweight and Welterweight divisions, and Ed Soares has said they are only looking for the big fights.  And maybe he is bored.  I don't know.  The thing is, he's the Middleweight champ.  Dana White, and the fans, have an expectation of Silva.  Not necessarily to finish all the time, but to not clown around.  White doesn't feel inclined to indulge Silva if Silva isn't living up to his end of the bargain.  And I don't blame him.  The most amusing point in the fight was when referee Dan Mirgliotta chastised Silva for inaction.  If the "Mirg" has to tell you you're doing something wrong, then you must be doing something really wrong.  Hardcores will understand the significance of that.

I guess what it comes down to is I don't "get" Silva.  I just don't.  Which is why I'm not a fan.  He's amazing, he's the best fighter out there, he's an artist in the cage, but I'd rather watch Kimbo right now than Silva.  At least with a Kimbo fight, I know what I'm gonna get (mostly).  And I don't think Silva "gets" the fans, or understands the promotion game.  Indeed, maybe he does know, but just doesn't care.  What Maia said was just talk.  Nothing more.  He's hyping the fight.  If Silva thinks that was disrespectful, he should go talk to Frank Mir.  Mir would probably say something about sucking out eyeballs and skull fucking someone to death.  By comparison, look at someone like Lyoto Machida.  Machida gets the fans.  He knew what he had to do, which was to start finishing more fights, and, let's face it, learn English.  It's the effort people appreciate.  Maybe that's unfair, but it's unfortunately true.

No one can reasonably expect Silva to finish his fights all the time, but as Rome pointed out, at least GSP tries to finish his fights.  Say what you want about GSP taking the "safer" (ie: smarter) route to win by going to his strengths and attacking his opponents weaknesses, but at least he tries to finish.  People complain they'd rather not see a wrestling match.  Well, would you rather see "Dancing with the Stars?"  After last night, with what happened to Penn and Silva, the shine on GSP's belt just got a bit brighter.  If that makes me a "nuthugger" to like my champs to be hard working and humble, then so be it.  It's why he's getting the Gatorade and Under Armour sponsorships.

At any rate, I digress.  Back to the fights: by the forth round, everyone, including myself, was fully invested in the hockey game.  Henrik Sedin put on a hockey show, netting four points and overtaking Ovechkin for the scoring lead. Daniel Sedin matched his brother, scoring a hat trick, with his third goal being a "holy shit!" inducing backhand-to-forehand, between-his-legs play that was definitely the goal of the Canucks' season, and highlight of Saturday night.  It was actually unreal, as the bar alternated by cheering every Sedin point, and booing every Silva round. You could see on the faces of the hockey fans: You're showing this mess over the hockey game?  Really?

My friends and I left the bar with the same feeling everyone else had.  Great Canucks game!  Crappy Silva fight.  Silva was cruel to Maia - toying with him, clowning around.  Like a cat batting around a defenseless mouse.  However, Maia made some new fans that night.  I always liked Maia, but it was gutsy for him to go swinging in the fifth round.  It was clear Maia came to fight.  He's not Leites who wilted in the early rounds and did his best just to survive.  Maia was as frustrated with the fight as everyone else.  And it was clear he wasn't scared of Silva by the end of the fight.  He was gonna finish or get taken out.  He tried. You really can't ask for more than that of a fighter.

You have to be the man... you have to be very, like, alpha male with her.  You know? Decide what you do and everything. So, show her who's the boss, you know?

Georges St. Pierre is not only a champion in the cage, but he's a champ with the women, and he shows why by detailing how to treat UFC ring girl, Arianny Celeste.  Clearly, GSP is onto something.  Can anyone stop this man?

from MMAReligion

Vancouver's City Council voted 6-3 in favor of sanctioning mixed martial arts on a two-year pilot basis.  The next big step for Mixed Martial Arts in Canada is getting Ontario on board.  The issue at hand is the fact that the sport is technically illegal in Canada. 

Prizefights (with the exception of boxing) are banned under the Criminal Code of Canada. This is the reason that MMA is banned in Ontario.

Conservative MP James Moore, who urged council to embrace MMA "with both hands," said the federal government has no problem with MMA. The Tories introduced Bill C-31 in May (which is still in first reading) to change the code’s dated language around the sport.

As well, a letter to the city from B.C.’s Attorney General Mike de Jong gave tacit support for the sport.

In it, de Jong said he would not "criticize" the approach Montreal has taken in hosting its two (and soon to be three) UFC fights.

As part of the motion, Mayor Gregor Robertson will write to the federal and provincial governments to clarify the legality of MMA.

I have no doubts that Ontario will eventually come on board with legalizing MMA.  Ontario, along with British Columbia and Alberta, was considered one of the hardest hit provinces in this recent recession.  While these provinces are slated to bounce back, there is no guarantee that the recovery will be strong and sustainable.  A double-dip back into recession is entirely possible.  The Ultimate Fighting Championship, North America's premier MMA organization, has already held two events in Montreal, and is now set to hold one in Vancouver.  The financial benefits of holding a UFC event would be huge for any city that does so.  It is clear that despite the illegal status of the sport, money talks with local politicians, who are willing to act ahead of the sluggish workings of Parliament.  In short, Ontario cannot afford to sit by while other provinces enjoy the financial benefits of mixed martial arts.

Two years ago, Vancouver banned the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. On November 27th 2009, the first official MMA event was held since that ban, and it was considered a success. There were actually two amateur fights, one fight was held at the Edgewater Casino by Honour Combat Championships, and another at Fraserview Hall. Local politicians attended the events. City councillor Kerry Jang had this to say about his experience:

The City issued special events permits for the events, and Councillor Kerry Jang was impressed by what he saw. "In all it was an interesting experience...I actually had more fun than I thought I would." Jang expressed concerns over the safety and health of the fighters - he wanted to see the sport for himself in order to approve it. He says after watching the fight, his concerns were addressed. "For example, I noticed that they had enough protective gear on their hands so there wasn't going to be a lot of bodily injury. I was impressed by how quickly if somebody wanted to give up and they tapped-out, that happened very quickly as well. I was also impressed by the way the referee was watching to make sure nobody got hurt."

UFC veteran Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was in town for the A-Team movie and he also attended one of the fights along with Denis Kang. When asked about how he felt about fighting in Vancouver, he said:

"If I get paid, I'd fight anywhere," Jackson told CTV. "I'd fight on the moon if they paid me."

Even though a UFC event is tentatively booked for GM Place, some politicians still showed a distaste for the sport:

Councillor David Cadman stood by the city's decision on Thursday, maintaining that the combination of jiu jitsu, wrestling and kickboxing should not be considered a sport at all. "Is dog fighting a sport?" Cadman asked. "Is bullfighting a sport? Is cockfighting a sport?" 

 

Cadman worries the violence won't stop when the fight ends. "Clearly a bunch of testosterone-pumped young people coming out of a fight like that and going into the bars is a risk and the police recognize that as a risk," said Cadman.

Despite the success, UFC VP of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner was quick to note that his company runs things differently.  It is clear that MMA still has a ways to go, but there is a clear appetite for the sport in Vancouver.  Two previous UFC events in Montreal saw massive success.  The kind of revenue an event like that could generate in Vancouver is something politicians cannot afford to miss out on, considering the giant debt coming Vancouver's way after the 2010 Olympics.