Ramble On Rampage

I have seen this video mentioned a couple times on other sites, but no one gave it the time I believe it deserves. It is 31 minutes of pure insanity. Rampage explains what happened on the day of the incident. He goes into detail about what moral and philosophical questions were going through his mind. It is fascinating to watch. Here are the highlights.

-Believes people in the Bible lived to be over 900 years old. They achieved such a ridiculous age by willing themselves to live. The reason we die at an early age is because we stop willing ourselves to live and instead will ourselves to die. He was afraid if he slept, he would will himself to die.
-----Out of all his wacky statements, this one shocks me the most.

-Was not drinking energy drinks the entire time. He started drinking them days into the ordeal because he became afraid to sleep.

-On the day of the incident, he was concerned for his friend's safety. Earlier Rampage loaned him a copy of "The Secret". He was afraid his friend would not watch it till the end and the message would lead him to die, rather than towards salvation (The whole will yourself to live instead of will yourself to die thing). This led to him getting into his truck and driving recklessly through the streets (and sidewalks) of Newport Beach. He wanted to get there as quickly as possible, watch the DVD with him, and preach about its message.
-----Could you imagine if you became friends with Rampage. Then one day at the gym he lends you a copy of "The Secret". A week later he storms into your house saying, "You gotta watch The Secret with me! All the way to the end too!! And, I'm gonna preach to you through the whole movie!!!" I wish my friends were that exciting.

-"Now I think back. Why I just didn't call him and say, Listen, watch the DVD. Choose life."
-----Funniest line of the interview and possibly in the history of MMA.

-Does not recall much of the ride over to his friend's house. Did mention a lady who he almost ran over and that he was on the phone with his friend most of the time. Claims he never noticed the police chasing him until he arrived at this friend's house and got out of his truck.
-----This is the most suspect part of his defense. He remembers just about every thing except all the crimes he committed.

-He alleges quite a bit of police abuse. Initially he was cuffed with his hands behind him and put into the back of the police car. Once inside, the cops put on the heat and kept speeding up and slowing down abruptly, so he would ram into the divider. He was preaching to the officers about God while in the car, at the hospital, and at the police station. Claims he repeatedly asked them to cuff his hands in front of him, so he could sit more comfortably in the car, but they refused because he was a fighter and he might hurt them. Went to several hospitals to lower his blood pressure, but was turned away due to the publicity of the situation. At the final hospital, he walked in with his pants down below his knees and the cops would not pull them up.
-----I'm gonna take this point by point.

1. Cops put the heat on and kept speeding up and stopping abruptly.
-I can't see cops driving around that area in July with the heat on for any significant amount of time. Rampage never says how long the heat was on for. My guess is it might have gone on for a brief moment, but there is no way it was on for that long, in fact it probably never even went on. I'm pretty sure the speeding up and slowing down routine is mandatory for all arrests. Chances of any of this being proven in court...ZERO.

2. Cops kept him cuffed behind his back for up to 13 hours while they went to each hospital and eventually back to the station.
-Look at this from the cops' perspective. They chase a suspect and apprehend him. The suspect is a well known fighter who is preaching about God, sweating profusely, and at times crying. Would you switch the cuffs to the front? As a cop, they must assume the worst in order to remain safe. I see no abuse in keeping him cuffed behind his back the entire time.

3. His pants were pulled down below his knees when he walked into the final hospital.
-He does not go into enough detail for me to understand this fully. Did the cops pull his pants down? Did they fall down on their own? Did they simply refuse to pull them up once they fell down on their own? It is not possible to make a judgment on this point until those questions are answered. Hospitals have surveillance cameras and if he wants to pursue this, we will see the tape in court.

Conclusion
I do not think Rampage is a dishonest person. In some way I do believe he was delusional. However, I hardly believe any of his excuses and accusations of police abuse. The biggest problem I have with his story is how he remembers every thing other than when he committed multiple crimes. For any one who has ever been in a minor automobile accident, it is blatantly obvious when you hit another vehicle or it hits you. For him not to remember any of the collisions or the police chasing him, is suspect to say the least.

The other thing which strikes me as odd is why his lawyers let him give this interview. It will certainly be used against him in court. Did they think if he explained things people would feel compassion for him? To me it is not worth the legal risk to open up like this in an interview. It gives the prosecution more ammo to use against you, and in the end it does not make me feel any compassion for him. He ignored basic traffic laws and put his life and the lives of others in danger. There is not any hard luck story that will change those facts.

08/31/08 News

• MMAMania has a long interview with Dan Henderson.

• Rashad Evans thinks his chin can take any thing Liddell can throw.

UFC 88 Breakthrough One Week Away

We are one week away from UFC 88 "Breakthrough". Although the title stinks, the fight card is strong. I wanted to remind every one that Rear Naked News will have Live Results for UFC 88 "Breakthrough" and a Live Blog featuring my running commentary of the event. For any one who has followed along in the past, you know how much fun these Live Blogs get. They are unlike any other site's Live Results because I do not only give you the round by round coverage. I try my best to report every thing I think is important and make fun of ridiculous things. I remember following along Live Results from other sites in the past and I was always bored out of my mind. I promise you that you will not be bored with our Live Results and Blog. Here are some from the past, so you can get an idea of why these are different from every other site's Live Results.

UFC 87 "Seek and Destroy"
WEC 35
Affliction "Banned"

The winner of the main event between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans will likely become the first to face Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin at the end of the year show in Las Vegas. Either would be a big draw for the UFC. Liddell and Griffin would represent the old guard vs the new. Evans vs Griffin would be a match-up between two Ultimate Fighter winners, some thing I am sure the UFC would be quite proud of.

The undercard features Rich Franklin's entrance into the already stacked Light Heavyweight Division, as he faces fan favorite Matt Hamill. Both fighters are well liked by the fans and it'll be tough to cheer against either. Hamill could be ready to take the next step and emerge as a contender, if he can overcome his natural urge to turn fights into wrestling matches. He needs to do damage when he gets Franklin down or he will have a difficult time winning.

The fight I am looking most forward to is Dan Henderson and Rousimar Palhares. Henderson is one of my favorite fighters of all time and he needs a strong showing to erase the doubts from his last two losses to Anderson Silva and Quinton Jackson. I think he will come through and begin a comeback that will lead to a rematch with Silva in 2009. Palhares is not well known, but he is not a pushover. It would not surprise me if this one went the distance.

Almost every fight features some one looking for redemption. When you put guys like that into the cage, they tend to produce memorable matches. UFC 88 Breakthrough should be an action packed Pay-Per-View that sets up storylines for the rest of 2008.

08/30/08 News

• Nick Diaz responds to KJ Noons. If you enjoy Noons looking like an idiot, read away.

• How will WEC cope with the loss of the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Divisions?

• More self-promotion from Tito Ortiz.

• Another Olympic Wrestler considering MMA.
  

Randy Couture's Return to the UFC

No, I have not missed the half dozen reports of Randy Couture's possible return to the UFC. I resisted posting about it because I wanted to wait until I had some credible information to go on. The MMA world is an odd place. There are constantly rumors flying around and most times they begin from a solid source. The problem is they are often hopeful thinking by a manager, fighter, training partner, friend, or promotion. A good example is when a promotion mentions a list of potential opponents to a fighter then the fighter tells others. Next thing you know, there are reports all over the place about potential bouts that have little chance of ever occurring.

Now onto what I know. The first news I heard of a possible return was when he first entered into arbitration meetings with the UFC. It was a lesser option Couture was prepared to use if other plans failed. The UFC has been strong and unwilling to move from their position that Couture will not simply walk away. He will either fight for them or remain on the sidelines. This has led to Couture's camp entertaining other ideas, such as fighting for the UFC again.

The breakthrough came when the UFC softened from their stance that Couture must finish out his current contract. Instead, they are now willing to consider a return to action under a new deal, which could be for as many as three fights. If the UFC brings Couture back, it makes sense for them to hold onto his services for as long as possible. A one fight deal would only build additional attention for his debut with Affliction. A potential three fight deal would most likely end any chance of Couture and Fedor Emelianenko fighting in an Affliction main event. Also, bringing "The Natural" back would completely destroy Affliction's momentum. they would go from possibly having the biggest fight in MMA history to having good heavyweights fight to see who can last the longest with Fedor. Do not be mistaken. The UFC considers Affliction a threat and will do whatever it thinks necessary to slow the young promotion's rise in power.

The potential opponents on the table begin with Brock Lesnar on November 15 at UFC 91. The UFC is having trouble finding an opponent for Lesnar and booking a main event. Couture's return to the Octagon would solve both problems. It would also give the UFC an event, which would draw record shattering PPV buys. In my opinion, it would top a Couture/Fedor main event. There also is not much of a downside to the fight for the UFC. A win by either fighter would give them huge possibilities for the future, particularly Lesnar. Couture would have the most to lose from the fight, but a new contract would almost certainly give him additional money from the PPV buys, which again could break records.

Whether this gets resolved remains to be seen. They have moved away from the contract dispute, where neither related to the other, and have begun talking about a common interest - how they can make huge amounts of money together. It always comes back to that in the end.

Another Kimbo/LT Video

Here are the others, in case you feel the need to watch four in a row.

Who Is Rampage's Defense Attorney?

Carol Lavacot
Undergraduate Degree: Cal State Fullerton
Law Degree: Western State University
Practices: Criminal Law, DUI/DWI

Apparently Lavacot is a defense attorney in California. She must have peaked following law school, because Western State is not exactly a top tier legal facility. It's basically a place for people who bomb the LSATs and still won't give up their dream of representing famous fighters who run over pregnant women. Anyway, she is a former Public Defender and as you can see in the picture, is fond of wearing trendy tinted glasses. She was initially the defense attorney for the boy to her left, Omar Kahn. He was accused a couple months ago of hacking into his high school database and changing his grades, along with the grades of 12 others. He also broke into the school multiple times to steal tests and answer keys. Interesting, Lavacot gave a lame excuse for Kahn's actions as she did for Rampage's, saying Kahn is "a really nice kid; he's only 18 years old." She only lasted a month as Kahn's lawyer before she was replaced by high-profile defense attorney Mark Geragos, who is most known for defending Scott Peterson, Winona Ryder, and Michael Jackson.

After reviewing Lavacot's history, I do not feel too good about Rampage's chances. Again, California is known for going easy on celebrities, especially for driving incidents. However, those past cases usually involve misdemeanors at most. Rampage faces two felonies and his only defense is he drank a lot of energy drinks. Too bad Johnnie Cochran is dead. This case would have been perfect for him.

Rampage's Attorney Speaks Out

We got our first glimpse of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's defense today, as his lawyer, Carol Lavacot, gave some brief excuses for his actions. The thing that jumped out to me is Juanito Ibarra is the first thing she mentioned. Obviously she did not name him, but we all know it is Ibarra who Jackson claims betrayed him. She went on to say that Jackson felt he needed to get to his friend's house during the chase or else he might die. She also offered this quote, "For those people that know Quinton, they know that he's a very kind, gentle giving person and he feels so badly about his actions. He takes full responsibility for what happened, but he was delusional during the ride down to his friend's house and really believed that it was a matter of life or death."

If I was the District Attorney, I would ask Jackson one simple question, "Mr. Jackson, following this episode, which you believe was caused by excessive energy drink consumption, have you ended your sponsorship of Throwdown energy drinks?"

KJ Noons Issues a Statement

Here is his lengthy statement about why he feels slighted by EliteXC. The statement is filled with examples of EliteXC not treating him like the god he sees himself as.

In the Elite XC's DVD where Diaz and I fought there are two (2) baseball cards of Diaz and Kimbo. Hello! I won the fight and Elite XC's promoting Diaz after I beat him?

-Many fans had questions following the fight with Diaz. Noons won, but it was not the type of victory which could propel him into the mainstream. Most people I talked to felt like Diaz's scar tissue was the reason Noons won the fight.

Elite XC has never promoted me on either of their websites, EliteXC or Pro-Elite.

-People actually go to these sites?

Elite XC offered me a fight on the first CBS show, but only if I signed a new long-term contract. Instead of promoting their best fighters on CBS, you have to be on a long term contract for them to promote you. That was not our deal.

-Welcome to big time MMA, KJ. Why would a major organization go out of their way to promote a fighter who may not be around in a year? He better get used to it or look for a new profession.

In almost two years I have made approximately $83,000. After paying my trainers and managers fee, I have $50,000 thousand. After taxes, probably 30 grand. Divide that by two years for $15,000 thousand a year. Divide by 52 weeks that amounts to approximately $300 a week. I do not know anybody that can survive on that amount of money.

-I do not believe these numbers. The $33,000 he claims to have paid his trainers and manager seems high to me. I think he is exagerrating it. He also never mentions any money he received from sponsors. The reason he even has sponsor money is because he fights for a major MMA promotion and they gave him a title shot. The other thing I wanted to say is....WAAAAAAH!

Diaz is not the number one contender and they are paying Diaz three times more money than me. Diaz complained after the Stockton fight, he was not paid enough. How do you think that made me feel? Yes you can argue that Diaz gets more for the draw, therefore I do not deserve as much compensation. If that is the case, it is a result of Elite XC terrible job promoting me. Instead of promoting me as their champ and upcoming athlete, Elite XC has resented me for ruining their plans to make Diaz their champ. That is just total disrespect. So it comes down to money and what is fair.

-Just because you beat some one (because of a cut), it does not mean you instantly get paid more than them. I do not see his case at all. EliteXC offered him a fight on a CBS card with Kimbo headlining it. There is no bigger stage than that in MMA. Noons turned it down because he is a whiney little girl and does not want to fight some one who gets paid more than him. Fighters have to hustle, even the mildly famous. Noons should be blaming his manager for not getting him enough coverage with the media. I get emails every day from managers asking me to write more about their fighters. Many fighters also contact me and try to find ways to get their name out. Even a big time fighter like Wanderlei Silva is pounding the pavement doing internet radio shows. Stop blaming EliteXC and start questioning your manager, who is apparently making a huge amount of money off of you.

I am right when I say Diaz is not the number one contender. Elite XC is trying to force this fight for their ratings. Eddie Alaverez is the number one contender and anybody with half a brain knows that a fight with Eddie is a way harder fight for me than Diaz. I will fight Diaz, but Elite has to be fair. I'm not ducking Diaz, why the hell would I be scared of someone I already beat.

-Why would EliteXC want to put on a fight between Noons and Alvarez? He is not a draw, let alone a name casual fans know. The fans want to see a rematch with Diaz. EliteXC is smart enough to know that (finally), but now Noons is being a brat. You cannot blame them for not promoting you when they offer a fight every one wants to see on a card which will draw millions.

When I think about it, it has been good promotion for their October card since nobody is talking about it until you bring up the Noons vs. Diaz match up.

-Yes, no one cares about Kimbo Slice vs Ken Shamrock. It is all about you, KJ.

Rampage Pleads Not Guilty

In a slightly surprising move, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson pleaded not guilty to each of his charges. It was thought Jackson would immediately look for a deal from the District Attorney in return for a guilty plea. By pleading not guilty, Jackson is in effect asking for a trial, so he can make a defense. It is still possible he will end up accepting a deal and change his plea to guilty, but the move makes me think his lawyers feel like they have some thing they can use to their benefit. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I'm also anxious to see how big the court artist draws Rampage's head during the trial.

08/28/08 News

• Solid article about Strikeforce's success.

• Eddie Alvarez is a patient man. For any casual fans who are not familiar with Alvarez, Google the hell out of him. He will be a star in MMA very soon.

• Ed Soares talking up another possible fight for Anderson Silva. Soares is a perfect manager. He keeps the fans entertained with fight possibilities between matches.

• MMAChump dissects WAMMA.
  

08/27/08 News

• Lyoto Machida is not expecting a long fight with Thiago Silva.

• WEC has promised Leonard Garcia a title shot at Uriah Faber in Mexico, if they both can win their fights on September 10.

• Ken Shamrock talks about fighting Kimbo Slice.
  

Rampage Calls Out Forrest Griffin

In an interview with Fighters Only Magazine, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson had some strong words for UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin.

“I just want my fans to know, I was at my worst and Forrest was at his best - and I still beat him. I’m not a sore loser, shit happens. But I was hoping that Forrest would be a man and come out and say ‘You know what, I didn’t win that fight’, especially after he watched it. I wasn’t really sure, right at the end of the fight... I know he hurt me and punched me in the face a couple of times but I was bobbing and weaving and making him miss, stuff like that. I was hoping that he would come out later after he saw the fight and say ‘yeah, I saw the fight and I lost that fight. After the fight, I said ‘I’ve got to give you a lot of respect, because you hurt my leg and you had a good game plan. But now, I don’t respect him as a man. Because if it was me, I would have said, ‘I have to give him a rematch right away, to remove all doubt. I’m a man and when you fight it’s all about honor. I’m not angry at him or anything, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve lost respect for him as a man."

What fight was he watching? "Bobbing and weaving"? How about walking straight ahead flat-footed, getting repeatedly kicked in the leg, and barely throwing ten punches a round? Jackson is a tremendous fighter and at his best is without a doubt one of best in the sport. His problem has always been when he is not at his best. Legends win when they have an off day. Good fighters do not. For him to question the manhood of another fighter because he lost a fight is disrespectful and idiotic. He is acting like he dominated the fight for five rounds then the judges took it away from him. Maybe he needs another beating from Wanderlei Silva to wake him up.

The funniest thing about his comments is he blames Griffin for not "giving" him a rematch. You went nuts in a monster truck - running from the police and hitting a pregnant woman, and it is Griffin's fault you are not getting an immediate rematch? There was not universal appeal for a rematch. Most fans were not interested in seeing another five rounds of you barely throwing punches and never defending a kick the entire fight. Then you went nuts and fans decided you were no longer serious about fighting. Stop blaming others (Griffin, Ibarra, Judges) and start blaming yourself.

Georges St-Pierre Writes About Training, Cognac, and Airports On Yardbarker

Georges St-Pierre is back to posting on Yardbarker with details about his training and some amusing stories. So far he has written solid stuff. In comparison to Frank Shamrock, who also posts on Yardbarker, GSP is Tolstoy. I hope he keeps up with the blog because it gives fans a view into MMA they do not normally see.

And, as I stated after his first post, it appears he is actually writing these because they feature his trademark English as a second language phrasing.

Here is the full text of his latest post:

Thanks for the fans who have been showing me support regarding my blogs. They are something really special for me because it's way different than interviews because I can truly talk about things that are going on in my life and that matter to me. Everybody make me feel very welcome in 'the Yard' I'm happy to be part of it and I'm also glad that people are showing me support that I'm not the only one eating fast food. (HaHa) I'm born with very lucky genetics believe it or not, when I was 10 years old, I used to have a six pack of ab muscles. So I can eat pretty much what I want and I'm not getting fat and I stay in shape. However, when I'm going to get older, according to Jonathan Chaimberg, my strength & conditioning trainer, I will probably have to change the way I eat, which makes me sad when I think about it.

After all my celebration in Montreal with my friends, I needed to get out of my neighborhood a little bit to get back in training. So I went to New York and spent four days there. I learned so many new stuff in Muay Thai with my trainer Phil Nurse at The Wat that I'm already a better fighter than I was before I came to New York. To my greatest surprise, I found out that my manager, Shari Spencer, and also my good friend, Steven Friend, were in town for one night during my stay. So I took them out for dinner with Phil & his wife, Crystal, along with two other friends in New York. I ate very good Japanese food at Nobu and also drank Cognac XO Hennessey with my friends, which is my favorite drink. I like to drink Hennessey because it's a good quality of alcohol and if you drink water with it, it won't affect your training the next day. (Well, if you don't overdo it like I did that night. HaHa) Anyway, it didn't really matter because Phil made me sweat it out the next day in training. As you can tell, I really train hard, but I play hard too. Like my old karate teacher used to say be a man at night, but you need to be a man in the morning. So that's why no matter how hard I party, I'm always in the gym the next day. Constancy is the key to be champion and to stay there.

I came back to Montreal for three days before my trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Actually, today I really made a fool of myself. After training muay thai pads & jiu jitsu drills with Firas Zahabi, I jumped in my car, packed my stuff for my trip and I got stuck in the traffic so I thought I was going to be late for my flight. So when I parked my car, I sprinted to the ticket counter and when I got there I was really sweaty and breathing hard with my three big suitcases and I looked like a marathon runner who just finished the race. When I showed up to the counter, the lady couldn't find my name on the list for the flight and everybody in the airport was staring at me. So I called the lady at the travel agency who booked my flight and asked her if there was a problem with the computer or something. To my big surprise, she told me I was not leaving today but I was leaving tomorrow at the same time. So I became so shy & so embarrassed that if I was able, I would have jumped inside and hid inside my suitcase. But like an idiot, I had to go back, walk next to the big line of people and go back to my car and come back the next day. Then I got stuck in really bad traffic on my way back home once again. Me I'm a real professional when it's time to make a fool of myself. I wanted to share it with my friends online so we could all laugh about it and it would make me feel better.

This is my favorite time of training because I'm not training for a specific opponent right now. I'm training to get better at fighting and to add more skill to my game. That's why I've been working with Phil in New York and why I'm going to Brazil to train with some of the best jiu jitsu trainers in the world at Gracie Barra. I'm also going to have the chance to meet some of my friends there. While I'm there I'm going to try to keep you guys posted on what I'm doing thanks, as always, for the support.

08/26/08

• This Wednesday night at 10pm UFC President Dana White will appear on "Criss Angel: Mindfreak". White is holding out hope Angel makes his hair reappear.

• Matt Hughes will not need surgery for his partially torn ACL. He could be back for a grudge match with Matt Serra in January or February.

• Affliction will sponsor Mike Skinner's car this weekend at the Pepsi 500 in San Bernardino, CA. It will be the first time an MMA organization has ever sponsored a car in NASCAR.

• Karo Parisyan talks about his battle with panic attacks. I hope he gets things sorted out because he's one of my favorite fighters.
  

EliteXC Has Not Learned Their Lesson

When it was announced yesterday that Kimbo Slice would face Ken Shamrock on the next CBS card, I thought it was possible EliteXC had turned a corner and were ready for a rally. Even though the KJ Noons Nick Diaz fight did not materialize, they did put a lot of pressure on Noons and truly did their best to get the two into the cage. It seemed like they were now committed to putting top fighters into matches with each other, some thing they have failed to do in the past (Antonio Silva vs Justin Eilers for the Heavyweight Title, anyone?).

Apparently I was being hopeful, because now it seems like they are back to their old tricks and will have Robbie Lawler defend the Middleweight Title against Joey Villasenor on November 8. Villasenor is not an awful fighter at all. In fact, I like watching his fights very much. The problem with this match-up is Villasenor brings little to no attention to the event. He is not a name most MMA fans care enough about to watch. He has also already lost to Lawler (in 22 seconds). On the other hand, Lawler is one of EliteXC's top fighters and is well on his way to becoming a big draw down the line. At this point, though, he can not sell a fight card on his own. He needs help from an opponent and EliteXC has not given it him. Maybe they could not afford Frank Shamrock's expensive booking fee, but why not a rematch with Murilo "Ninja" Rua? They already have him fighting on October 4 against Benji Radach. The first fight between Rua and Lawler was a classic. Matching them up a second time would actually bring some positive attention to the broadcast.

The thing EliteXC always goes back to is, "Just wait till our Pay-Per-View Event!" The problem with holding back quality fights until a PPV card, is you never build a dedicated fan base. EliteXC does not have big enough stars to put on a PPV and get buys from casual fans. They need EliteXC followers who watch all the fights and believe in the promotion. Fans like that do not exist because EliteXC continually pushes back their most exciting fights in favor of lesser matches fans are not as interested in. They did the same exact thing with the Gina Carano Christiane Cyborg fight. It should be on the October 4 CBS card, but EliteXC is purposely holding it back for their mythical future PPV. To me it is this "wait till next year" philosophy which hurts EliteXC the most. MMA was built upon putting the best fighters against each other. Fans do not want to wait through 1-2 fights to see the two people they want in the cage. For whatever reasons, EliteXC still refuses to give fans the best matches.

Before people start emailing me, I am well aware of why they want to hold back fights for the PPV. EliteXC does not make a ton of money on their Showtime and CBS events. A PPV would bring them considerably more. The problem with it is you first need people to buy the PPV. They are ruining a golden opportunity to promote themselves on network television as an MMA company who puts on the best fights at each event. Stop giving us filler. Every event needs to be treated as its own entity. Make it the best you possibly can and fans will become loyal to your brand. The UFC has built such a massive following because fans know when they tune in the show will deliver. You will see the champions facing the true top contenders. Hell, the UFC put on a show this summer on short notice in which one of their top stars went up in weight to fight. Taking a risk like that shows how much more the UFC is committed to the fans than a company like EliteXC.

But, hey, what do I know? I've never lost millions running an MMA promotion into the ground.

Rampage Charged with Two Felonies

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has been formally charged with two felonies and four misdemeanors. The felonies are for evading arrest while driving recklessly and evading a police officer and driving against traffic. The obvious bright spot for Jackson is the District Attorney decided not to charge him with second degree fetal homicide. They did not feel the death of the unborn baby was caused by the hit and run.

The charges could result in prison time. Where he got lucky is they did not charge him with causing serious bodily injury to any one. Under California law, when serious bodily injury is caused by reckless driving, it triggers a large increase in the amount of time the defendant can serve in jail. Jackson will still face prison time, but it will not be as serious. With the overcrowding of California prisons, it is likely any term will end up shortened in the end.

The news comes as a huge relief to the UFC. A fetal homicide charge would have been a black eye for Jackson, the UFC, and the sport. Instead he will get through this ugly predicament with his fighting career intact.

08/25/08 News

• Murilo "Ninja" Rua will face Benji Radach at the October 4 EliteXC CBS event. They really need to hire some one to come up with names for their events.
  

• Cheick Kongo is recovering from a shoulder injury. Possible fight with Brock Lesnar now in doubt.
  

• More talk of Chuck Liddell vs Anderson Silva.

• Chicks dig cauliflower ear.

• Chuck Liddell look-a-like contest. God, what a bunch of losers.
  

Kimbo Slice to Face Ken Shamrock

EliteXC has made a bold move and will put their biggest star, Kimbo Slice, into the ring with MMA legend Ken Shamrock on October 4. Despite being a mummy, Shamrock is more dangerous than any other opponent Slice has faced. Shamrock's physical skills may have weakened, but he still possesses a variety of submission holds Slice has never seen in a match. As we witnessed in Slice's last fight, his ground skills remain weak. If Shamrock can create a scramble and get him down, it could turn into an interesting match-up. Personally, I see this thing ending in the first round when Kimbo knocks Shamrock's mummy head off.

Shamrock's arrival in EliteXC could also mean we might finally see Frank and Ken Shamrock meet in the ring. A fight between the two brothers has been talked about for years, however, no one has been able to finalize it. The result of the fight with Slice would not make a huge difference for a follow-up fight with his brother, Frank. EliteXC needs all the help and publicity it can get, so I would be very surprised if they do not make a big push for the battle of the Shamrock brothers.

UFC Global Expansion in 2009

The UFC has big plans for 2009. After two years of 19 events per, the UFC will add between 4-6 new events to the calendar. One of my biggest criticisms of the UFC has always been a low number of shows. There are dead times during the year when nothing is going on and MMA loses its momentum. Obviously, it is not simple to put on events and no other MMA promotion comes close to matching the total the UFC produces, but I always felt like they were missing out on opportunities. Dana White and the UFC top brass must think the same thing because in 2009 they plan on saturating the market with all the events fans can handle.

A couple months ago, Dana White began talking about the UFC's global plan. He said he wanted it to be a worldwide sport that rivals soccer. Most laughed at him and did not put much stock into the bold statement. It turns out he was not shooting off his mouth and the UFC actually does have very real plans to go global. The only non-USA events so far have been in Canada and England. Both are places where English is a common, if not primary language. I'd hardly call either international. 2009 will change things dramatically.

There are talks of possible events in Italy, the Philippines, Sweden, Australia, and Japan. From my site visitor statistics, I can say with certainty that each of those nations has a strong fan base. Marshall Zaleznik, the UFC's United Kingdom division president, claims "In the spring of 2009, we plan to have two (international) events outside of the United Kingdom." This could mean the UFC's total number of non-USA events could reach 7-8 next year. That is a 100% increase over 2008's total of 4 (England 3, Canada 1). The last time the UFC had a major increase in events was in 2006 when they went from 10 events in '05 to 18 in '06.

The biggest question is what will the added events look like. Will they be Fight Night cards, Pay-Per-Views, or possibly some thing entirely new we have never seen? My best guess is the additional 4-6 events will be a mix of PPVs and Fight Nights. I do not see them adding more than 2 additional PPVs. They would run the risk of watering down PPV cards for the sake of a couple more shows.

No matter what the shows end up looking like, it is great news for MMA fans. The UFC does not want to let the growth of the sport pass them by. Some may worry about a weaker product. I think they are still well within their talent level, though. For all we know 1-2 of the events could be proving ground fight cards featuring less experienced fighters. I have been saying for years they should have 6 shows a year like that broadcast only on the Internet. At some point in the next year it would make sense for Uriah Faber and Carlos Condit to make the jump. Maybe one of the PPVs will be a UFC/WEC fight card with WEC fighters battling for UFC contracts?

The possibilities are endless. MMA is unlike any other sport because it is constantly adapting, and with the UFC's expansion plans, 2009 should be the best year yet.

Tito Ortiz Finally Ready to Sign with Affliction...We Think

MMAPreview is reporting Tito Ortiz has finally signed with Affliction. They claim a "number of sources" have confirmed the signing. It does not surprise me. I have been outspoken from the start that Ortiz would land with Affliction. It was the only promotion who could give him what he really wants - popularity. Ortiz is fueled by it. He wants to be in the spotlight and Affliction will give him a bigger share of the spotlight than any other MMA promotion. They have Fedor Emelianenko as their center piece and he is a huge draw, but he does not speak English and cannot relate to MMA fans the way Ortiz does.

The other big thing in this report is it claims Ortiz will be ready for "Day of Reckoning" on October 11. If this is true, Affliction just might have a successful follow-up to their first event. Ortiz's arrival would be a major media event. Even if he just gave an interview, fans would tune in to see what he would say about Dana White and the UFC. I am holding out hope he actually fights. As I mentioned yesterday, Affliction's second Pay-Per-View has several solid match-ups that diehard MMA fans will love. However, it still does not feature the type of fight which will draw in casual fans of the sport. Tito can be that draw, as long as he can get in shape.

Mauricio Rua Still Thinks He Is Fighting Rampage Jackson

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is still telling people he is fighting Rampage Jackson in December. I give up trying to sort out this mess. Some how two fighters who have been friends for years both think they are fighting the same guy. Wanderlei Silva has repeatedly said the UFC offered him a bout with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Who do you believe?

At this point it appears Rua is the most likely opponent. Last week Dana White told Yahoo! Sports what the UFC had planned for the rest of the year. He claimed Silva's next appearance in the Octagon was not set. The only explanation I can think of is the UFC mentioned Jackson as a possible opponent to both. Then they went back to Jackson with his options, after all he is the bigger draw of the three. From there Jackson decided he would rather face Rua. But, really, no one has any idea what is going on with this situation.

Affliction Adds Another Solid Fight to "Day of Reckoning"

Welterweights Jay Hieron and Drew Fickett have agreed to fight at Affliction "Day of Reckoning" on October 11. In the past week Affliction has gotten back on track by securing this match-up and Chris Horodecki vs Dan Lauzon. Neither features high profile fighters, but each represents an intriguing match-up for diehard MMA fans. Most times when an MMA promotion is putting on a show, be it local or big, they go for a circus setting with "big" names instead of true talent. Affliction is doing the opposite with their second offering. Fans will see talent vs talent. Each fight will be a chance for the participants to prove to the world they belong in a mainstream MMA organization.

Here is how the "Day of Reckoning" fight card looks so far.

Andrei Arlovski vs Josh Barnett
Matt Lindland vs ________
Jay Hieron vs Drew Fickett
Chris Horodecki vs Dan Lauzon
Vladimir Matyushenko vs Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Pedro Rizzo vs Ben Rothwell
Roy Nelson vs Paul Buentello

KJ Noons vs Nick Diaz Officially Off

MMARated is reporting the proposed bout between KJ Noons and Nick Diaz on October 4, has officially been scrapped. Too bad for EliteXC. The match would have been a welcomed addition to the CBS card, which as of now looks weak. They also are reporting Diaz will return to action at the Showtime event on November 8.

Most will blame Noons' manager Mark Dion for this mess. He deserves a portion of your anger, but so does EliteXC. They have trouble booking fights and it is a big reason why their company is falling apart. You simply have to find a way to book a fight like this. Instead EliteXC bumbled around and let Dion control the situation. I hope they strip Noons of the title and let Diaz fight some one for it. He has worked hard and should be rewarded by the company.

Upcoming UFC Schedule 2008 into 2009

Here is the UFC's schedule for the rest of 2008 and into 2009.

September 6, 2008 - UFC 88 Breakthrough in Atlanta, GA (PPV)

September 17, 2008 - UFC Fight Night in Omaha, NE (Spike)

October 18, 2008 - UFC 89 (Bisping/Leben) in Birmingham, UK (Spike)

October 25, 2008 - UFC 90 (Silva/Cote) in Chicago, IL (PPV)

November 15, 2008 - UFC 91 in Portland, Oregon (PPV)
-Brock Lesnar vs Cheick Kongo (Rumored)
-Kenny Florian vs Joe Stevenson

December 13, 2008 - Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale in Las Vegas, NV (Spike)

December 27, 2008 - UFC 92 in Las Vegas, NV (PPV)
-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Frank Mir

January 31, 2009 - Super Bowl Weekend Event (PPV)
-BJ Penn vs Georges St-Pierre

KJ Noons Is Getting Bad Advice

The KJ Noons saga continues to play on for EliteXC, as the Lightweight Champion still will not agree to fight Nick Diaz. MMAJunkie has some great quotes from Noons' manager, Mark Dion. He basically thinks Noons has nothing to gain from fighting Diaz and wants a different opponent. Dion's argument is the fight benefits EliteXC and Diaz more than his client. While there is truth to it, I do not totally agree. Noons is a great fighter, but he is not a top draw yet. He also has not fought the best crop of opponents, either. He needs a non-controversial win over Diaz to convince a lot of fans he is for real.

This whole situation amazes me. EliteXC dropped the ball when they refused to promote the fight with the post-fight brawl footage. Now Noons' manager is acting like he is representing Tiger Woods. Maybe this is a play to get Noons out of EliteXC as soon as possible without any losses. No matter what you think of Noons' manager, he is not an idiot. The future of EliteXC is in doubt and if it folds, Noons will be at the negotiating table with a major MMA organization. His position is much stronger if he does not have a loss to Diaz on his record.

This situation brings up an interesting question. Is it better for a fighter to take on the best competition or the biggest draw? From a pure sporting standpoint, you would say an athlete should always compete against the best competition. Some times these two meet and the biggest draw is the best competition. This is not one of those cases. Eddie Alvarez, who Dion mentioned as a better opponent, is no where near the draw of Diaz. EliteXC is hanging on by their teeth. Promoting a fight between a young champion and a guy most casual MMA fans have never heard of is a disaster waiting to happen. They need to find a way to get Noons into the cage with Diaz, or strip him of the title. Simple as that.

Chuck Liddell and Anderson Silva Are Bud Light Spokesmen

Bud Light has announced Chuck Liddell and Anderson Silva will be spokesmen for the brand and be featured on billboards and television commercials. A few days ago I wrote an article about Fedor Emelianenko's marketability in America. In it I examined the opportunities MMA fighters have now in advertisements and what could happen in the future. Having Liddell and Silva work for Bud Light is tremendous news for fighters. It begins with the top guys, but over time will trickle down and affect everyone. When other brands see MMA fighters working with a company like Anheuser-Busch, it will push them to do the same. It has always surprised me how reluctant companies have been to work with Liddell. He seems like a natural fit for so many products, but for one reason or another has not been used. Maybe this is the tip of the iceberg and we will start seeing a lot more fighters working with bigger companies. I hope so, at least.

Antonio Silva Tests Positive for Steroids

EliteXC is having a rough couple of weeks. They are losing millions, canceling events, can't track down KJ Noons, and now their Heavyweight Champion tests positive for steroids. The California State Athletic Commission announced today Antonio "Big Foot" Silva tested positive for Boldenone, which is an anabolic steroid primarily administered to horses. It has been used illegally by other athletes, including MMA fighters Stephan Bonnar and Alexandre Nogueira.

Silva will face a $2,500 fine and be suspended for 12 months. The reality of steroids and other banned substances is many athletes use them to recover from injuries. Silva did have a knee injury in the past year and it is certainly possible he took Boldenone while recovering.

I hope the MMA promotions begin taking a hard look at the health of their fighters. The way things work for fighters is they are paid as independent contractors, which means you fight then you get paid for that fight. It gives fighters an incentive to get back into the ring as quickly as possible. Maybe the solution is a new payment system. Lets say a fighter is signed to a three fight deal with one of the major promotions. Why not take a portion of the three fight salaries and give it to the fighter over the length of the contract. This would allow fighters to essentially be paid a monthly salary. While I do not think it will eliminate every case of steroid use, I do think it might give some fighters an incentive to recover from their injuries at a normal rate.

Brock Lesnar Returns in November

A small item in the Pioneer Press claims UFC Heavyweight Brock Lesnar will return to action in November. As you remember from yesterday, Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson are supposed to be fighting in November as well. I mentioned that was a weak main event and it appears the UFC agrees. After Lesnar's first UFC victory, he is now a headliner and I believe deserving of main event status. He is popular, exciting, and a legitimate contender in the heaviest weight class. All that boils down to a main event fighter.

No word yet on who he will face. At the post-UFC 87 press conference, rumors were circulating that Lesnar would face Cheick Kongo in his next bout. It remains to be seen if the UFC can book the fight, though. Kongo would be a good opponent and make for an exciting match-up.

Goran Reljic Will Be a Huge Middleweight Contender

Goran Reljic made his UFC debut as a Light Heavyweight and looked very good. He appeared well suited to fighting at 205 lbs. For whatever reasons, he has decided the Middleweight Division is a better place for him. In a Sherdog article, he said, "I will physically be the biggest fighter in the whole division for sure." UFC's Light Heavyweight Division is the best weight class in all of MMA. As a relatively new fighter, Reljic might have thought it was better for him to drop down to Middleweight, where there is less depth and more opportunities for him to shine. Either way, I think Reljic will be successful. His striking is already at a title contender level. If he can get his other skills in line with it, he will make some serious noise at 185 lbs.

Florian vs Stevenson at UFC 91

MMAWeekly claims Kenny Florian will face Joe Stevenson on November 15 at UFC 91. Florian backed up his words and took another fight before a possible title shot at BJ Penn. Gotta give him credit for that. Stevenson is a warrior and will fight any one. Should be a good match. In the report it says it could be the main event, but I have my doubts about that. Maybe a co-main event, which is by far the dumbest term in MMA. It's either a main event or it is not. There is no middle ground.

For any one who has been out of it the last month, UFC 91 will take place at the Rose Garden in Portland, OR. It has not been officially announced yet, but it is the worst kept UFC event location in the history of the world.

08/19/08 News

• MMA Chump wonders if a merger between EliteXC and Affliction might happen.

• Jason MacDonald will replace injured Jason Day and fight Jason Lambert at UFC 88 "Breakthrough". Jason Voorhees must not have been available.

• Ben Fowlkes explains why you should be excited for the new season of The Ultimate Fighter.

• Will Kimbo Slice save EliteXC?
  

Quote of the Day!!!!

"If one sanctioning organization is successful then what's to stop others?" - Gary Shaw, former EliteXC President

Anderson Silva Wants to Fight Michael Bisping in England

The Daily Star has an interesting quote from UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, who says, "I would like to fight Michael Bisping in his home country in front of his own fans." These two have been going back and forth with each other for months. Bisping is smarter than most fighters and he knows how to get the fights he wants. He is also a legitimate star in England. A fight between Anderson Silva and Michael Bisping in the UK will sell out any venue on its own.

The question is whether the UFC will book Bisping in a Middleweight Title fight after only three bouts in the division. Obviously a loss by either changes things, but lets say both win their next fight. Silva's possible opponents would be Yushin Okami, a Light Heavyweight, or Bisping. For Bisping the possibilities are endless. He could conceivably fight just about any Middleweight contender. The tricky part of booking this match is definitely Silva. He has more possible fights than any other MMA fighter in the sport. A lot will depend on when the UFC plans on coming back to England for an event. If it was some time early next summer, it is possible both fighters could have bouts before meeting in the Octagon.

I have been open about my belief that Bisping will defeat Anderson Silva. If it happened in front of an English crowd, we might hear the loudest ovation ever given to a MMA fighter.

EliteXC Lost $30 Million

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, EliteXC has lost $30 million since it's birth in November 2006. Some have pointed to the UFC's own financial troubles in the early days as evidence it is possible to turn things around. I do not see the comparison. The UFC was losing money before MMA caught on. It was not even regulated yet. Comparing a company losing $30 million now to the UFC's early loss does not make sense.

EliteXC has no one to blame, but themselves. I have pointed out their illogical choices numerous times. They have TV deals with Showtime and CBS. One of the most recognizable fighters in MMA works for them. Losing money in that environment means you have incompetent people running the business. Gary Shaw and Doug DeLuca resigned for a reason - they were running the company into the ground.

Now the new braintrust must come together and figure out a way to work with a shoe-string budget. I do not see it happening. The only way EliteXC survives is if some one comes in and rescues them. Affliction is the likely choice because a merger between the companies makes a tiny bit of sense, but it is not like Tom Atcenio is beating down their doors. CBS has been floated around as a possible savior. I do not see that at all. CBS did not even promote the second EliteXC telecast in July. They knew then things were bad and it was best to keep a low profile. Why would they want to help now?

It is too bad. EliteXC is entertaining and a nice alternative to the other MMA giants. You would think a MMA promotion with a CBS deal would be attractive to financers, but EliteXC has proven you can mess up any situation.

Georges St-Pierre Joins Yardbarker

I have been holding this one back for a couple weeks, but it is now official. UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre has joined Yardbarker. He will blog exclusively there and keep his fans up to date on every thing going on in his life. When Yardbarker first asked me to join their network, I was hesitent. They did not boast the best collection of MMA sites and their only fighter of significance who was blogging was Frank Shamrock. It seemed like Yardbarker did not care about Mixed Martial Arts enough for me to want to join.

An email exchange I had with the Yardbarker worker who recruited me changed my mind. He took my criticisms and agreed they had done a bad job with MMA, but he also made me believe they wanted to change things. He also mentioned they signed Georges St-Pierre and he would be blogging for them very soon. At that point I knew Yardbarker was being honest about their committment to Mixed Martial Arts and MMA fans.

From the look of GSP's first post, he seems serious about giving fans interesting things about his life to read.

(This doesn't mean I won't make fun of GSP any more. In fact, I might have to do it more than usual, so people don't think I sold out.)

Fedor's Future as a Marketable American Superstar

Last week Fedor Emelianenko signed with Blue Entertainment Sports Television (BEST). BEST is a United States marketing agency, which mostly caters to sports stars. Their sports clients include Reggie Bush, Andy Roddick, Rasheed Wallace, and August 2008 Playboy Cover Girl Ashley Harkleroad of the WTA. BEST will handle Fedor's television and marketing deals. This includes the planned TV series "Fighting Fedor", which will feature aspiring fighters vying for a shot at Fedor in the ring.

The bigger issue this news raises is Fedor and his handlers are planning on building the Fedor brand in the United States. For years he has been a foreign commodity, but now appears ready to capitalize on the American market. It remains to be seen how successful Fedor will be within the United States. Mixed Martial Arts has done a solid job of anchoring itself as a viable sport. The UFC has been the most successful, receiving sponsorship from companies such as Burger King and Harley-Davidson. On the other hand, opportunities for fighters remain limited compared to other popular athletes (Condom Depot ads). Anderson Silva isn't appearing on an episode of Grey's Anatomy any time soon.

Fedor faces obstacles, like not speaking English, but he is gaining recognition. A fight with Randy Couture might be the tipping point he and the rest of MMA fighters need to become fully marketable. It takes one fighter to open the doors for the rest. Randy Couture's performance in Scorpion King 2 is not going to change things. A victory over Couture could propel Fedor into realms MMA fighters have never gone. Mike Tyson made a lot of money being the "Baddest Man on the Planet" and he never said much either.

The Ultimate Sock Fighter

I have to question the photographer's choice in this shot. If you look closely you will notice none of the fighters are wearing shoes, presumably because they are standing on a mat. However, quite a few are not barefoot. In fact, the majority who are visible have on socks. Socks for an MMA fighter promo? The only thing less tough than a man in socks is a man putting on chapstick.

08/18/08 News

• Georges St-Pierre fires back at Matt Hughes. Questions his drive and whether he can defeat Matt Serra.

• Pictures of Don Frye's Mustache from Deep Gladiator.

• The reviews of Scorpion King 2 are in!

• I'm totally addicted to this Baltimore Sun MMA Blog with the creepy picture of the writer. I don't think I've ever read through an entire article because I always get scared that he's looking at me through the computer. Ya never know. Technology is weird like that.

• Antony Johnson showing maturity and not dwelling on the Eye Gouge Fiasco.
  

(Updated throughout the day with new stories. Check back often.)

Ultimate Fighter 8 Cast

SI.com has the rundown of who made it onto The Ultimate Fighter 8. There will be two tournaments this season with Lightweights and Light Heavyweights. From the looks of the cast, it is solid. One fighter I have heard a lot about is Light Heavyweight Ryan Bader. He trains at the same camp with Ultimate Fighter 7 finalist CB Dolloway. He's supposed to be very talented. It's always difficult to pick who will come out of these shows. MMA fights are mostly about style match-ups and the wrong pairing can doom a good fighter.

The first episode premieres Wednesday September 17 at 11:00 pm (eastern). It will follow UFC Fight Night 15.

08/17/08 News

• Don Frye lost to Ikuhisa Minowa. Still has best mustache in MMA and possibly the world.

• Does Patrick Cote have a plan? Yes. Will the plan work? No.

• Dan Lauzon rumored to fight Chris Horodecki at Affliction "Day of Reckoning".

• After almost going blind from a Brock Lesnar right hand, Heath Herring plans on pursuing acting. Fighters have gotta get this acting thing out of their heads. You are not The Rock. There will never be a family comedy starring Heath Herring opposite a sweet sassy 9 year old girl.
  

Weight Class Movement in Mixed Martial Arts and Boxing

I have received a strange amount of emails about moving up in weight the last couple weeks. The UFC must be doing a good job of marketing because this weight class fever traces straight back to them. Before June no one in MMA cared much about weight class movement. It was an oddity in MMA and showed no signs of changing. Then the UFC went crazy when Affliction appeared and scheduled a show on short notice with their top fighter Anderson Silva moving up a weight class. Fans were hooked on the idea.

BJ Penn is known to be a rebel of sorts. Seeing how much the fans took to Anderson Silva's weight class jump, Penn began pushing for a jump of his own to Welterweight to face Georges St-Pierre. In the weeks leading up to UFC 87, the possible Penn weight jump got more attention than St-Pierre's opponent, Jon Fitch. This has led to fans speculating on who will be the next to move up or down. Weight class movement is rare in MMA and it is possible this fever will pass as a fad. Fans are seeing it for the first time and interested simply because it is some thing relatively new. It is also possible we are entering a new phase for the growth of MMA. A phase that will push it to resemble it's ugly brother boxing.

Boxing is a mature sport. It has spent decades growing into what it is today. On the other hand, MMA is in its infancy. In twenty years it could be a completely different sport than it is today. The things happening now in low numbers may become the norms decades from now. Weight class movement is a likely future change.

Boxers begin at a young age. It is almost unheard of for a man in his early 20s to become a good or better professional. The sport is not designed to work like that. It grabs kids and teenagers and sets the fundamentals into their minds. It also begins while they are still growing physically. A skinny 15 year old will become a different boxer when his body fills out at 23. This is one reason weight class movement is ingrained in boxing. As you get older, you move up in weight classes until you stop growing.

MMA is different. It is a young sport and does not have as many kids and teenagers practicing for future professional careers. Think of it this way - when the top fighters of today were 14 years old, MMA did not even exist yet. Most were training by then in different MMA disciplines, but none were doing it with the expressed interest in fighting one day as a Mixed Martial Artist. They also were not exposed to MMA fights in their late teenage years. We never saw a 17 year old Chuck Liddell fighting in the Octagon as a lightweight.

The sport is changing now, though. Teenagers are beginning to dream about careers as MMA fighters and gyms are opening to train them. Five years from now it could be a common to see a 19 year old break in to the UFC at a lower weight class, before moving up as his body matures. It might even become the norm.

Another reason weight class movement is more common in boxing is because boxing has a limited supply of contenders. Boxing has more weight classes. The abundance of them waters down the talent in each. Think of it this way - in baseball, basketball, football, hockey the teams had more quality players decades ago because there were less teams. In boxing there are a ton of weight classes, so you rarely will have a time when several top boxers are in the same class. The lack of deep talent forces boxers to move up to face better opponents.

MMA does not have this issue. A low number of weight classes keeps fighters within them. First, the quality of opponents is very high. Unless you are a dominant champion like Anderson Silva, you will not need to find better opponents at a higher weight class. The other reason movement is low is because the weight classes are farther away in weight. If a UFC Middleweight wants to move to Light Heavyweight, they face a 20 lbs weight difference. A boxer moving up a class usually faces less than a 10 lbs difference. For any one who has cut weight or gained weight knows, that is a huge difference. In the coming years it is possible MMA will install more weight classes, which will make it easier for fighters to move up. The UFC is strongly against additional weight classes, but we all know how fast Dana White's mind can change. If they see an opportunity to make additional money with more weight classes, the UFC will adopt the new system.

The last reason weight class movement is different in boxing and MMA concerns training. Boxers train as individuals. It is rare for a boxing champion to train with other top fighters, even in different weight classes. MMA is completely the opposite. There is a team concept to MMA training. Every where you look top fighters train with other top fighters. It is not that they have to because of monetary reasons. Most top MMA fighters have enough money to hire a training staff and train on their own. They do not do it because it goes against the prevailing wisdom that you need other good fighters in your training camp. The amount of good MMA fighters remains low even with the boom of the last few years. Finding suitable sparring partners is difficult because if they are good, they are probably professional fighters. Boxing does not have this problem. It forces MMA fighters to band together and make each other better fighters. In the end it forges bonds, which stops fighters from moving up into a training partners weight class. Anderson Silva would be a top Light Heavyweight. He refuses to because his training partner Lyoto Machida is a contender at 205 lbs. It is possible the team training concept will hold on in MMA. It is also possible that with more training centers opening, it will allow more weight class movement because the concentration of fighters will not be as high. There will be a greater pool of gyms that spread out the fighters.

We are entering a fascinating time in the life of a sport. A diehard baseball fan would give any thing to be there when it started and see how things developed. As MMA fans, we have that opportunity and I am thankful for it.

Other Sites Taking Without Giving Credit

A bunch of readers emailed me to tell me about other sites posting this video and not mentioning I had it first. It's about as I'd expect. The reason I started a site was because I was tired of reading sites that were afraid to tell the truth. They are afraid to say what they feel about fighters because it might upset them and they won't grant interviews (as if fighter interviews are ever interesting). They are afraid to post what they really want because it might upset advertisers. They are afraid of other sites and refuse to post their exclusive content.

So it does not surprise me other sites would take some thing from here and not give the site any credit. That is how the game is played between MMA sites. Giving the fans the best news is not the first priority. It is all about getting the most visitors and capitalizing on ads and sponsors.

I know others are tired of it too, because every day more readers show up here and keep coming back.

Exclusive Clip of New Nike Commercial Starring Kimbo Slice

Nike is getting ready to roll out an ad campaign called "Train Like LT". In this clip Kimbo Slice gets some love training with Tomlinson in a back yard. Some MMA fans might be angered by Slice being in a Nike spot because he has not paid his dues yet as a fighter. To a large segment of diehard fans he is seen as a sideshow and not a legitimate Mixed Martial Artist. The fact remains, though, he is extremely recognizable and popular with casual MMA fans. I think we need to put aside our problems with him and just be happy a fighter is being used in a Nike ad. The more big companies like Nike take notice of MMA fighters, the better it is for the sport. It cannot survive as a subculture and needs mainstream popularity.

Quinton Jackson vs Wanderlei Silva at UFC 91

MMABay, a UK based site, is reporting Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will face Wanderlei Silva at UFC 91. I have little idea if MMABay is reliable or not, but it is not the first time I have heard this rumor. When the news of this first started going around a source of mine said the only sticking point is if Rampage is charged with the miscarriage.

On Wednesday, I posted this article detailing the campaign of Wanderlei Silva to get this fight booked. It appears his constant effort has worked and he will get a chance to defeat Rampage for a third time. Jackson is a better fighter than he was in their two previous meetings, however, you have to wonder how his recent troubles will affect him. Even if you do believe the "Energy Drink Defense", he also fired his trainer Juanito Ibarra, who helped resurrect his career.

This match makes sense with the UFC's overall plan for the Light Heavyweight Division. The winner of Jackson/Silva would become the likely challenger to whoever comes out on top of Liddell/Evans vs Griffin. The possibilities of that match could lead to three different rematches - Liddell vs Silva, Liddell vs Jackson, or Griffin vs Jackson. Any of those would draw big PPV numbers, especially if Liddell is involved.

08/16/08 News

• American Olympic wrestler Dremiel Byers plans on training with Dan Henderson and Team Quest in an effort to become an MMA fighter. It's too bad Alexander Karelin was not around for the MMA boom. He was a tank.

• A reader (Johnny) sent this link to Heath Herring's entrance music from UFC 87. I still think it sounds like a South Park parody.

• Chicago seems excited for the UFC.

• Andrei Arlovski doing some work to stop dog fighting. Too bad he isn't fighting a Brazilian. They love dog fights and are not afraid to talk about it. Would be a unique angle for a fight.

(I will update this throughout the day. Check back often for more stories.)

Rear Naked Mail

I have been receiving some great emails lately and I wanted to get these answered on here before too many backed up. For those who have emailed me questions or comments, thank you very much. It is not easy starting a site from the ground level, but with dedicated readers like we have here it pushes me to post more because I see people coming to the site 5-10 times a day checking for updates. Even if you don't have a question, send me an email and tell me what you think of the site or the things you would like to see more of. Many of the best ideas come from the readers. All right, enough of that. Time for mail.

You talked up Demian Maia's ground skills a lot. Who are the other best jiu-jitsu guys in MMA? - Rob from Cape May, NJ

I do not view jiu-jitsu in a vacuum. To me you must consider it along with the other ground skills a fighter possesses. Maia's jiu-jitsu works in unison with his ground attacks and grappling moves and that makes him very difficult to deal with on the mat. I think the best at using ground strikes and submissions is Anderson Silva. Fighting him on the ground is probably worse than on your feet because you have to worry about being hit with a strike or getting choked out. Some other guys I consider top jiu-jitsu MMA fighters are BJ Penn, Nick Diaz, Frank Mir, and Antonio Nogueira (Minotauro). All of those fighters use their jiu-jitsu and strikes in combinations, which makes it almost impossible to deal with them on the ground. Another fighter who might make the leap into this category is Jake Shields.

Will Affliction add any more good fights to the October PPV? Tito maybe? - Armand from Bonita, CA

Unfortunately Affliction's second event looks a little weak. It could definitely use another intriguing match-up, but it is unlikely to happen. We are two months away and there is little chance Ortiz would be able to get into shape by then. The latest injury to Belfort could be a blessing in disguise if Jake Shields replaces him. EliteXC and Affliction working together is terrific news for MMA fans. It will serve both organizations well, if they can come to an agreement on how they would work together.

Is St-Pierre actually gonna take time off and push back the fight with BJ? Seems like he is hell bent on fighting in Montreal again and I think that is why he is saying he is tired now. - DFDon from Chandler, AZ

It is a nice conspiracy theory. He might just be tired, though. It is not only the fact he has fought so much this year, it is also the quality of opponents. He is a main event fighter and competing at that level is not easy. Most guys fight 2-3 times a year. Since August 2007, GSP has fought 4 times for a total of 12 rounds. That is a lot of work for fighter going up against the best competition in his weight class. I'd say it is probably a mixture of being tired and not wanting to fight in Vegas in December. He figures he can rest longer and eventually fight in Montreal, which is a win win for him. Even if he does hold out for a Montreal show, it should take place in early 2009.

I hate how everyone praises Randy Couture now. The UFC is not dicking him over in this. He retired! All he had to do is fight two more times and he could have been a free agent and signed to fight Fedor. He didn't want to fight because he went and filmed that piece of garbage movie only loser Couture fans will see. I hope he rots and never fights again. - Nick from Philadelphia

When I first read this it did not occur to me to include it in this post. Then I went back and realized he does bring up a valid point. Couture could have very easily finished out his contract and gone wherever he wanted. They would have been two tough fights (Nogueira and ???). I always thought he got bad advice from the beginning. His legal argument is sketchy and he is going up against a billion dollar company. Good luck with that one.

Anderson Silva vs Patrick Cote? ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Wake me when it's over. He should be fighting at 205. Put him against any of them and its a crazy match. Cote isn't good. No way his wins get him a title shot. - psnoot3118 from Utica, NY

Silva claims he does not want to go for the Light Heavyweight Title because his good friend and training partner Lyoto Machida is a top contender at 205 lbs. This is some thing which separates MMA from boxing in a big way. In boxing top fighters do not train with other top fighters. It is more of a solitary training atmosphere between the fighter and trainer. In MMA top fighters almost always train with each other. It is the nature of the game and the best way to prepare. There are not enough talented MMA sparring partners at this point in time, so in order to get ready for a fight, you need to practice with other fighters. This could change in the future, if MMA continues to draw large numbers of new fighters each year. The thing you have to remember with the Cote match is Silva has already beaten all the top Middleweights. Cote may not have the pedigree of Dan Henderson or Rich Franklin, but he is a tough fighter who will not be afraid of Silva. Crazy things happen in this sport and it would not shock me if Cote landed a random punch that dropped Silva.

You said Kenny Florian was a smart fighter. Why is he gonna fight someone else before Penn? A loss and he isn't the #1 contender. - dachrach from Toronto

I kind of agree. Florian has done more than enough to warrant a shot at the Lightweight Title. The Penn/GSP fight is just too big to pass up, though. In a way it could work out better for Florian. If he takes another fight and wins, it will make him an even bigger threat. Plus if Penn wins, Florian could be facing the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts at the same time. That is the opportunity of a lifetime.

Do you think Georges St-Pierre would move to Middleweight later on in his career? His body could take the extra weight I think. It would give him more people to fight because the Welterweights all have lost to him already. Does the UFC not want him there maybe? - Dustin from Greensboro, NC

You have to remember GSP is only 27 years old. He has successfully defended the Welterweight Title once. Jon Fitch took him to a five round decision. Yes, he got pounded, but he still lasted five rounds and in my opinion that should get him a rematch down the line with GSP, if he is still the champion. There is also Thiago Alves, who with a win over Diego Sanchez becomes a title contender. Or how about Carlos Condit making the move to the UFC and locking up with GSP? Jake Shields has said he would like to fight him too. What I'm getting at is GSP still has work to do as a Welterweight. I think a move to Middleweight could happen later, but not in the near future. GSP supporters tend to exaggerate his success and make it seem like he has dominated the Welterweight Division for a decade. Lets see if he can hold the title for a year before we start thinking about a weight change.

Jake Shields Could Replace Vitor Belfort

Rumors are swirling that Jake Shields, the EliteXC Welterweight Champion, will fill in for injured Vitor Belfort and face Matt Lindland at Affliction "Day of Reckoning". Shields usually fights at 170 lbs, but a potential match-up with Lindland would be at 185 lbs. Earlier this week Shields told MMAWeekly he was in negotiations to fight at 185 lbs for an organization other than EliteXC. This would fit into the time line perfectly, because Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio claims he was notified of Belfort's injury on Tuesday.

A potential fight between Lindland and Shields is arguably bigger than the original with Belfort. Shields is considered one of the top young fighters in the sport. For Affliction it would be a major addition to an event that was beginning to look less than spectacular. Shields may not have the name recognition of Tito Ortiz, but he is a much better fighter who could draw the interest of the diehard MMA fans.

Vitor Belfort Out of Affliction "Day of Reckoning"

Things are not looking too good for Affliction's second Pay-Per-View effort, as another high profile fighter has pulled out because of a hand injury. This time it is Vitor Belfort, who was supposed to face Matt Lindland. This leaves Affliction without an opponent for Lindland and in serious danger of losing fan interest for the event. EliteXC found out the hard way how difficult it is to pull off a successful follow-up show without their top talent. It seems Affliction is getting dangerously close to walking the same path.

It remains to be seen how Affliction will handle this, but it could put more pressure on them to sign Tito Ortiz and get him into the ring for the October event. Even if he is not able to fight on the card, announcing his signing would give the injury prone promotion a lift and create some news that does not center around hand injuries.

Rampage's Arraignment Postponed

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's first court date was supposed to be August 15, however, the Orange Country District Attorney has postponed the arraignment because the case is still under investigation. The spokesperson for the District Attorney's office claimed the case was still under investigation because new evidence was found. She did not provide any details about the new evidence or give a possible date for when the arraignment will take place.

Jackson appeared for the first time in public last week during the promotional lead-up to UFC 87. The UFC even featured him in some events and did not try to keep the former Light Heavyweight Champion out of the spotlight. I speculated in this article that they featured him because they intend to schedule his next fight in the coming weeks. It remains to be seen how the charges will affect Jackson's status as a fighter. If he is charged for second degree fetal homicide, it is possible the long court case could impair his ability to adequately train for a future fight.

The Orange County District Attorney has not stated which charges Jackson will face, but did say it is possible he could face more charges than previously thought. In my opinion the reality of this situation is the District Attorney is trying to determine whether they can prove Jackson is to blame for the miscarriage of Holli Griggs, whose vehicle was struck by Jackson's truck on July 15. A case like that is difficult to prepare and takes extra time. It would also fit in line with the District Attorney's stated reason, "new evidence" because Griggs' miscarriage occurred only two weeks ago.

Thursday Night News

• Demian Maia hopes to fight again in December.

• Apparently if you blind a guy by smashing his orbital bone, he will not talk bad about you if you pretend to ride him like a stallion in the final seconds of the fight. Cool, I always wondered about that.

• "MMA Live" is not coming to ESPN or ESPN2 any time soon.
  

MMA Does Not Need WAMMA

I was alerted to check out the WAMMA Rankings by a reader who could not believe how bad they were. Up until this point I have never had the desire to see the rankings because I could really care less who a bunch of no-names rank as the best fighters in the world. Just about every MMA site has their own set of rankings and each is just as meaningless as the next. WAMMA is no different, except they take themselves oh so seriously. So seriously that I can't help but make fun of them.

According to their website, "The WAMMA Ranking Committee is comprised of the most knowledgeable MMA sports/media experts ever assembled". First off, "sports/media experts" is an oxymoron. None of these people are experts. They are MMA fans who think since they write on the internet it makes them experts. Wrong. An expert in MMA would be some one like Randy Couture who has fought for years in the sport. People who watch MMA and write about on websites are not experts. I am one of them, so I should know.

The biggest problem with people like this is since they think they are more important than the rest of the fans, they do things for the sake of themselves, which in the end hurts the sport. For instance, recognizing champions and having a meaningless ranking system. I have no problem with different organizations giving out belts. If Affliction wants to have their own belts, they should because they are a legitimate MMA organization. My problem is when a group of fans get together and want to make themselves important, so they hand out a bunch of meaningless titles. MMA does not need more titles. All they do is confuse things and make the sport more like boxing. Notice how they even chose an acronym like a boxing organization (WBO, IBF, WBA, WBC).

I am sure WAMMA could care less what I have to say about them. I am just a fan after all, while they are experts on the sport. If they were really experts they would know it is things like them that will put an end to MMA's popularity. Once one set of "experts" release belts, you can always count on another set of "experts" coming along and releasing more belts. Next thing you know, Fedor is walking around with five belts and the real fans begin looking for some thing less confusing to watch on TV.

Here is the tricky part about WAMMA, and the thing I need all of you to pay close attention to. WAMMA's members come from popular MMA sites, as I mentioned earlier. Obviously, these members want what is best for WAMMA, so they are going to write propaganda on their sites in an effort to get the fans aligned with them. Do not buy into their crap. It is not meant to make MMA stronger. All they want is for WAMMA to be stronger. For any one that wants to see which sites are partial to WAMMA, scroll down on the rankings page to the list of "experts". You will find some pretty big sites on there that are compromised by their involvement with WAMMA.

Right now their big issue is the UFC does not recognize WAMMA. This is a huge problem for them because the majority of the fighters listed in their rankings are from the UFC. WAMMA needs the UFC. Without them they have no control and they know it, which is why when you see an article about the topic on any of the "expert" sites, it will defend WAMMA and make the UFC into the bad guy. The UFC is not evil. They just do not want a meddlesome group of "experts" telling them who should be fighting for titles. As fans, you should not want these "experts" in the sport either.

Tito Ortiz in Active Negotiations with Affliction

The negotiations between Affliction and Tito Ortiz have started. Tom Atencio confirmed the news today. Ortiz has been outspoken about his high contract demands and Affliction has not given in yet. The big question is whether you pay a fighter for their skills or their drawing power. Ortiz can fill seats for the young promotion and give it increased exposure through his star power. The problem is Affliction will have to be very cautious about who they select as his opponents. The deal will get done because Ortiz does not have other viable options. The UFC will not resign Ortiz to a deal the size he wants. They will only take him back for a low number and there is no way Ortiz will crawl back to them for less pay.

His future is with Affliction and battling against the organization who told him he was no longer a top fighter. What we are seeing right now is classic sports negotiation. There are already limited options for a big name free agent fighter, but Tito's are even more scarce because of his feud with Dana White. Affliction has all the leverage and can wait for Tito to agree to their terms (which will still be a big contract, just not as big as Tito's head). He has little choice and in the coming weeks will become the newest addition to Affliction's expanding roster.

Wanderlei Silva Campaigning

Over the past few weeks, Wanderlei Silva has been on a whirlwind media tour talking to any outlet who would have him. Again and again he brought up his desire to fight Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. There were even reports the UFC was trying to push a bout between the two scheduled for later this year. When the news broke that the pregnant woman Jackson hit with his truck had a miscarriage, it seemed unlikely the UFC would put Rampage back into the spotlight

A funny thing happened a week later. Rampage went on his own media tour of Minnesota, courtesy of Dana White's video blog. He never brought up Silva, but he did stress he was working out and mentally stable. White and him laughed about his problems, as if they were simply the result of some "crazy fasting diet". The implication of these actions was clear. The UFC is serious about getting Jackson back into the Octagon this year. If they were not, he would have never been at UFC 87 hamming it up for the cameras.

It would seem an easy transition into a fight between Silva and Jackson, but then another funny thing happened. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua crawled out from under his rock and announced he was fighting Rampage in December. I refused to believe Silva and Rua, who remain close friends, would get their signals crossed and not realize the other has a fight or is campaigning for one with Jackson. So what does it all mean?

I could see why both would want to face Jackson. Silva has beaten him twice and each was a slaughter. Rua did not have any trouble either, scoring a first round TKO. It is possible they see a vulnerable high profile opponent and want to take him out before some one else does. A victory over Jackson would put either back into title contention.

From the UFC's perspective Silva is the better opponent. While most UFC fans know the past success of Rua, the last time they saw him he was gasping for air in the third round against Forrest Griffin. Silva, on the other hand, annihilated Keith Jardine and brought back memories of the old Ax Murderer who tore through Pride. He has more momentum and pairing him with Jackson would create an enormous amount of interest.

In my opinion Rua is less believable in this situation. Silva has been close to Dana White the past week in Minneapolis and it would seem strange for him to continually talk about a possible fight with Jackson, if he was not told by White or a high ranking member of the UFC that he was likely to face him later this year. Rua is out of the loop and does not know the full story. He likely heard Jackson's name brought up in early conversations about possible opponents and thought it would be the best match for him. That does not mean it will happen. Rua's word has been unreliable in the past and here I think it is again.

Jim Miller Set to Debut at UFC 89

A couple weeks ago I did a Mailbag and one of the questions asked me to name an underrated fighter who will become a champion in the next three years. My answers were Michael Bisping and Jim Miller. Now you will get to see both in action at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England on October 18. Jim Miller, of the now defunct IFL, has agreed to fight David Baron in a lightweight bout. Baron also is a good prospect, so this should be an exciting fight.

UFC 89 began with a whimper when the main event of Michael Bisping vs Chris Leben was announced. Since then the UFC has added a series of solid matches. It will not be the flashiest event of the year, but it should produce some wars.

The Couture/UFC Dance Continues

The back and forth struggle between Randy Couture and the UFC continues. Earlier today, Couture's cronies informed anyone who would listen that on Monday Couture and Fedor Emelianenko were hanging out at Los Angeles steakhouse STK. No one knows for sure what the two camps spoke about, but sources claim there was a photo shoot. A photo shoot? Two of the toughest men on the planet go to dinner and a photo shoot breaks out? That makes me want to throw up.

For some reason this reminds me of those people who take pictures on Saturday night then Sunday morning immediately put them up on MySpace then send out a bulletin telling everyone they have new pictures. Fedor is reading this right now saying, "MySpace? In Russia it is called OurSpace and only pictures of Stalin can be posted."

Monday Night News

• Kimbo Slice is no longer starring in a movie with Hulk Hogan.

• Some great UFC 87 pictures.
  

• Interview with Randy Couture about various things.

• Jim Ross writes about UFC 87.

• Matt Hughes still bitter.
  

Fedor Plans Return to Ring in Late December

Fedor Emelianenko plans to return to the ring in December for a bout in Japan. Although there has been speculation the opponent would be UFC castaway Mirko Cro Cop, it does not seem the rematch will happen. A representative for Fedor claimed he would probably face a "judo legend or sumo wrestler." I would be very surprised if this proposed bout ever materializes. Affliction will be on target for a show in December or January, which makes it highly unlikely Fedor will fight a novelty match in Japan against a sumo wrestler.

I have heard from a variety of people who tell me Fedor's handlers are notoriously difficult to deal with and always want to have the upperhand in negotiations. This might be a ploy on their part to make Affliction realize Fedor has other options. It would not make sense for them to put complete trust in Affliction, especially with how often MMA organizations go out of business these days.

UFC 87: What We Learned

UFC 87 was a tremendous event which proved without a doubt the UFC is the top MMA organization in the world by a large margin. I am an admitted Affliction supporter and even I will say it was one of the best fight cards I have ever seen. The question I was left with after watching was, "What did we learn from this event?"

-Demian Maia is legit and may have the best jiu-jitsu in the UFC. His jiu-jitsu is MMA tailored. Most submission fighters have trouble adapting their technique in the MMA arena where strikes are legal. Maia uses ground strikes in unison with his jiu-jistu and it makes him deadly on the ground. He is 3-0 in the UFC and has won "Submission of the Night" at all three events. The UFC would be wise to develop him and push him as a contender. He is only 6'0, which means he could probably drop down to Welterweight, where he would be even deadlier on the ground.

-Roger Huerta is 25 and still has a lot to learn. I believed Huerta was ready to upgrade his skills and come out a different fighter for his bout with Kenny Florian. It did not happen and Florian picked him apart. The thing to remember, though, is Huerta is still very young. He has time to evolve into a complete fighter. It will happen when he realizes brawling is not the only way he can win fights. I think we will see a St-Pierre-like transformation from him in the next 2-3 years, where he develops into a championship fighter.

-Kenny Florian might be the smartest fighter in all of MMA. He seems to understand how to win better than anyone else. The way he outsmarted Huerta was incredible to watch. Every thing he did in the Octagon had a purpose and sound logic behind it. Combine his mental strength with his other tools and you have the best lightweight in the world not named BJ Penn. The only problem Florian faces is a lengthy wait to get Penn in the ring.

-Brock Lesnar has a long career ahead of him in the UFC. He erased all doubts about whether he can be a successful MMA fighter. By destroying a veteran heavyweight, Lesnar sent a message to his critics. The Kimbo Slice comparisons are over. This guy is for real and will be the UFC Heavyweight Champion sooner than you think.

-Jon Fitch is close to be a champion. It is hard to criticize his effort at UFC 87, but the one glaring weakness he has is average striking. If he wants to be the man who knocks off GSP, he must fine tune his stand-up and make it a strength rather than a weakness. He has all the other tools, including the ability to make Goldberg and Rogan shut up while he takes an unbelievable amount of punishment (Honestly, he is the first fighter who has ever made them let the images tell the story. I wish all announcers were forced to watch golf coverage for a week straight before they were allowed on the air. It would teach them that there are times when you just have to shut up and let the action happen without commentary.)

-Georges St-Pierre is now in the Pound for Pound discussion along with Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, and BJ Penn. He has defeated every major challenger in the Welterweight Division and he has done it in dominating fashion. There were questions about his striking, he answered them. There were questions about his heart, he answered them. There are no more questions. He is one of the top 4 fighters in the world.

UFC Heavyweights Should Fear Lesnar

Brock Lesnar has fought Frank Mir and Heath Herring and dropped both of them with strikes in under a minute. While his wrestling strength has taken center stage for just about every article written about him, it is actually his striking that makes him such a dangerous fighter. After the Mir fight, there was a general consensus Lesnar got lucky with the shots that sent Mir down. Now, though, there is no denying Brock Lesnar's stand-up game is a legitimate concern for every UFC Heavyweight who steps into the ring with him.

When you combine the fear of his takedowns with Lesnar's sheer size and natural striking instincts, you get a young MMA fighter who is a lot more complete than most want to admit. The UFC Heavyweight Division is not overflowing with talent. Other than Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, every other UFC Heavyweight has a major flaw. Lesnar's inexperience will no doubt slow his rise to the top, but he is in the right place at the right time.

Some MMA fans might have a problem with Lesnar's post-fight theatrics, but you better get used to it. He is well on his way to becoming one of the top Heavyweights on the planets and he plans on getting to the top his way. Traditionalists be damned, Brock Lesnar has arrived and after UFC 87, we can all see him now.

UFC 87 "Seek and Destroy" News

• Steve Cofield claims there was a "buzz" in the media room that Brock Lesnar will face Cheick Kongo next. In other news, there was a buzz in my pants a few minutes ago that turned out to be a fart.

• Check out Jon Fitch's face after the fight. GSP looks like he's ready to go out to the discotheque or do whatever it is French-Canadians do for fun.

• Georges St-Pierre and Jon Fitch earned a $60,000 bonus for Fight of the Night. Demian Maia and Rob Emerson (ugh) also earned $60,000 for Submission of the Night and Knockout of the Night. Kinda dumb to give the same bonus to those two after the war Fitch and GSP fought. Emerson was in the Octagon for seconds.
  

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in December?

Spotted this video on YouTube. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua tells a group of fans that it looks like he will fight Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in December. Do not take this as set in stone. Shogun is not exactly the best source for upcoming fights. However, with the sudden media blitz by Rampage this week, it seems the UFC wants to get him back into the ring as soon as possible. A December return at the end of the year PPV would be a perfect opportunity.

As for Shogun, I have heard for weeks now that he will not be in the ring until December at the earliest. A fight between them makes sense. Both lost to UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin and they have a history from Pride with Shogun winning the first match-up. Putting them in the ring together would be in effect an elimination bout to see who deserves a shot for the title, which presumably will be on the line that night with the winner of Liddell/Evans facing Forrest Griffin.

Georges St-Pierre vs BJ Penn

Following Georges St-Pierre's win over Jon Fitch, Joe Rogan asked the question that was on everyone's mind, "Will you fight BJ Penn?" St-Pierre barely had time to answer before Penn showed up in the ring. The two looked each other over and St-Pierre confirmed that he is not a chicken and will fight all challengers. He was a little evasive and did not want to say outright that he wants to fight Penn next. However, a fight between the two makes too much sense not to happen.

St-Pierre does not have a contender to face at Welterweight. Matching him up with Penn will give the UFC a chance to develop someone in the ensuing months as a viable challenger at 170 lbs. It will also give them a match that UFC fans have been clamoring for since the first fight ended.

UFC 87 "Seek and Destroy" Live Results

The Pay-Per-View and Live Blog has now started (10:00pm).

Ben Saunders vs Ryan Thomas (Not Broadcasted)
-Saunders Wins via 2nd Round Submission (Arm Bar)

Steve Bruno vs Chris Wilson (Not Broadcasted
-Wilson Wins via Unanimous Decision

Andre Gusmao vs Jon Jones (Not Broadcasted)
-Jones Wins via Unanimous Decision

Dan Evensen vs Cheick Kongo (Not Broadcast)
Round 1
Kongo takes Evensen down repeatedly. Back on their feet Evensen sinks in a guillotine from the clinch, but Kongo is too strong. A right sends Evensen down. Kongo on top throwing every thing you can imagine at him. Time is running out, but the ref finally steps in to end it.
Kongo Wins via 1st round TKO

-The early fights were pretty good. The fans got on Bruno and Wilson, but there were some good moments there. Kongo looked vicious, which is always fun to watch. He murdered that dude.

Luke Cummo vs Tamdan McCrory (Not Broadcasted)
Round 1
McCrory immediately takes the fight to the ground and has a deep rear naked choke on Cummo. His legs are wrapped around his body. Cummo somehow gets out. After an exchange, back on the ground where McCrory has another rear naked choke. Cummo escapes, again. McCrory still working. Sinks in an arm bar. Looks painful. Cummo does not tap, but he does escape.
McCrory 10-9 (could have been 10-8 easily on a judges' card)

Round 2
Same thing as the first. McCrory gets Cummo down and works from the top. Goes for a choke, arm bar, then just decides to keep pounding him. Cummo has great defense on the ground and a really funny name.
McCrory 10-9

(By the way, PPV didn't actually start. This is another "Dark Match". Not starting till 10pm.)

-Between rounds Quinton Jackson sat down in his seat at ringside. Fans go nuts.

-10 minutes until the PPV starts.

Round 3
Cummo lands a right that staggers McCrory. McCrory goes for the takedown and is again working on Cummo from the top. Goes for an arm bar, but you guessed it, Cummo defends it. Goes back to feet where McCrory takes it right back to the ground. You won't believe it...Cummo is on the offensive with a triangle choke. McCrory makes short work of it with a slam. Fight ends shortly after with McCrory still on top.
McCrory 10-9
McCrory Wins via Unanimous Decision

-I'm so tired of these dark matches. Can't wait for this thing to actually begin. When Manny starts throwing Emerson around the ring I'll wake up.

-Opening montage. Huerta has already unleashed his first "dude".

-Goldberg and Rogan doing an intro. GSP statistics...80% success rate on takedowns (UFC average is 45%)....83% success rate on takedown defense....has spent less than 5 minutes his entire career on his back during matches.

-How tall is Rogan 5'6? They gotta get him a stool to stand on during these segments. Goldberg looks like Big John Stud next to him.


Jason MacDonald vs Demian Maia
-Maia has looked like the real deal in his first two UFC fights. He's got crazy jiu-jitsu, but his stand-up is better than average.

-Maia coming out to some instrumental that sounds like it was written during the reign of Henry VIII. Wanderlei Silva is in his corner.

-MacDonald comes out to Metallica's version of "Turn the Page". Looking skinny.

-Huge ovation for MacDonald during introductions.

Round 1
MacDonald goes for an early clinch and takes Maia down. Maia holding arm and firing punches with other from bottom. Maia sinks in a triangle. Very deep. MacDonald working to get out. After 40 seconds MacDonald gets out. Quick scramble and MacDonald reverses and has Maia's back and has a rear naked choke. Maia slips him off and MacDonald lands in his full guard. MacDonald trying to pass, but eventually stands up then goes back down for a guillotine. It's deep. Maia somehow passes to side while in the guillotine. He's out and goes quickly to MacDonald's back. Great ground action so far. Maia is bleeding from an earlier punch. Maia now sinks in a rear naked choke. MacDonald refusing to tap as the first round ends.
Maia 10-9

Round 2
Big punch connects for Maia. MacDonald staggers and drives Maia into the cage. Maia pushes back and now MacDonald is up against cage. Still in the clinch and Maia trips MacDonald to the mat. Maia on top and quickly into full mount. His passes are so fluid. No one else in MMA passes like this guy. Maia throwing from the top. Heavy elbows landing. One of them opened MacDonald up on bridge of his nose. More strikes from the full mount. Maia looks tired. His punches from the top aren't doing a ton of damage. He should go back to elbows. MacDonald gets Maia off of him as the round ends. Actually he managed to get into Maia's full guard and throw a couple punches.
Maia 10-9

-In between rounds, MacDonald's corner pleading with him to keep the fight standing. Lots of F Bombs.

-Adrian Peterson is there and gets a huge ovation.

Round 3
Maia takes him right down. After a scramble MacDonald is in Maia's full guard. Rogan makes great point about submissions and escapes. The fighter who has the submission should get more credit from the judges because he was the one trying to kill the other guy. Maia into full mount again. He's out of gas and barely throwing anything significant. Has MacDonald's back now. Sinks in the rear naked choke and MacDonald taps.
Maia Wins via 3rd Round Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

-Good first fight. The ground battle even won over the fans, who usually hate it. Maia could be a player in the Middleweight Division. His jiu-jitsu will cause problems for any one he faces.

-Showing Fitch and St-Pierre in the back. Both look calm and ready.

-For some reason they're having the Florian/Huerta fight next.

Roger Huerta vs Kenny Florian
-Huerta coming out to some snappy Mexican song. Fans eating it up.

-Florian wearing a yellow and black jumpsuit like Bruce Lee.

-Florian has a 4 inch reach advantage.

Round 1
Huerta nice leg kick. Both feeling each other out. No one throwing yet. Florian shoots and takes Huerta down by the cage. He moves right to full mount. Huerta turns and Florian had his back and is flattening him out. Can't get the choke on. Huerta stands up and Florian lets go of the back. Both back on their feet sizing each other up. Huerta charges and hits Florian with a solid knee from the clinch. Florian backtracks into the cage as Huerta gives chase. Another clinch and Florian lands a knee. Stand-up action for the rest of the round. Florian lands a punch, Huerta follows it up and muscles him back. Round ends with both still being a little tentative.
Florian 10-9

Round 2
Right lands by Florian to start things. Huerta giving chase and getting hit. Wrestling by the cage for a bit then back on their feet and sizing each other up. Another wrestling tie-up and Florian gets on top. Huerta rolls over and Florian has his back again. Huerta quickly slips out. Very nice sweep by Florian, which he followed up with a right hand as Huerta got back up. Knee from Florian in the clinch. Huerta pushes forward and lands some uppercuts. Circling each other again. Huerta goes in and eats an elbow but responds with some punches that land.
Florian 10-9

Round 3
Great action to start the round. Florian lands a flying knee that staggers Huerta back, who then comes back with a flying knee of his own. Florian lands a punch and Huerta looks around then spits on the ground. Back to the fight and Huerta starting to land a lot more than previously. Florian moving away trying to stay out of trouble. Big front kick lands by Florian. Huerta still chasing and landing shots, but they aren't doing a whole lot of damage. Florian goes on the offensive and throws a good knee from the clinch. Fight ends with Florian landing.
Huerta 10-9
Florian Wins via Unanimous Decision

-After the fight Florian says he didn't want to get into a brawl with Huerta. Wanted to use his technique. Dedicates fight to Jorge Rivera, whose daughter recently passed away.

-Good fight. Florian definitely won. Wasn't even close to being a Fight of the Year candidate. Huerta just couldn't catch Florian enough. He kept moving away and even when Huerta landed a punch, Florian's body was moving in the opposite direction.

Rob Emerson vs Manny Gamburyan
-Emerson is sponsored by Condom Depot...Makes sense.

-Goldberg questions Gamburyan's 5'5 listing. Rogan sticks up for Gamburyan.

Round 1
OH MY GOD....Emerson won in 12 seconds. Manny came right at him and Emerson caught him with a right. Dropped him and momentum took Emerson down too. Emerson then threw two lefts that connected and the ref stepped in.
Emerson Wins via 1st Round KO

-I can't believe that just happened. Total lucky shot. Nine times out of ten that doesn't land. Now Emerson is gonna get another match and bore everyone to death as usual.

-They're replaying Kongo's knockout of Evensen.

-Thus far it's been a good card. The last two matches could go a long way to making it a great one. Kongo fight still on.

-Very funny post-fight interview with Kongo who sounds exactly like The Cookie Monster. Kongo kept saying he wanted a title fight to all the questions. Basically called Evensen a bum then walked away before Rogan was done. I love post-fight interviews. No one can compare to Larry Merchant, though. He's the master.

Heath Herring vs Brock Lesnar
-Lesnar coming out to "Shout at the Devil". Best entrance of the evening. He still has some pro wrestling left in him.

-Herring almost tops Lesnar with the theme from "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" beginning his entrance, but then it went into some stupid song that sounded like the South Park guys did it. Had a ridiculous guitar solo at the end that went on forever.

-Lesnar looking huge. Gotta be 285 at least. Herring in great shape. Never seen him like this. Usually does his best Tim Sylvia impersonation with a line of flab around his stomach.

Round 1
Lesnar comes out with flying knee that misses. As they circle, Lesnar lands a huge right hand that knocks Herring to the ground and cut him open. Lesnar followed him to the ground and has a headlock on. Herring gets out, but Lesnar scores a big takedown. Working from the top throwing punches. There's an electric feeling to this. Rogan mentions Lesnar has specially made gloves because his hands are so big (XXXXL). Big knees to the side of Herring. We are seeing a very composed Lesnar so far. Totally in control. Leans on him and lands two more big knees to the side as the round ends
Lesnar 10-8

Round 2
Lesnar shoots, but Herring gets away from the takedown attempt. Leg kick by Lesnar. A tie-up and takedown by Lesnar. Throwing some punches to the body from the top. Lesnar into side control then into full mount, but Herring rolled over and gave up his back. Lesnar back in side control and lands five knees to the body that make the crowd say "AHHH" after each one. Fight back to feet and in the clinch. Lesnar lands 2 knees to the body. The second was very solid. Herring's body has gotta be demolished right now. He's taken twenty or so heavy knees. Round ends some knees to body by Herring and another Lesnar takedown.
Lesnar 10-9

Round 3
Heavy leg kick by Lesnar to start things. Good left jab hits Herring. They tie-up and Lesnar takes him down. More crushing knees to the body. Full mount for a second by Lesnar, but Herring rolls over. Some punches to the head land. Back to their feet and Herring landing a few shots. Lesnar takes him down, though. Round ends with more of the same, knees. As the time ran out Lesnar did a mock lasso motion to the crowd.
Lesnar 10-9
Lesnar Wins via Unanimous Decision (30-26 on all cards)

-After the fight Lesnar walked back to his corner and acted like he was swinging a lasso (again) in the air. Then he tossed it and pulled in Herring.

-Sable in attendance.

-Lesnar takes over post-fight interview and yells to crowd, "Can you see me now?!" Then makes a joke about riding Herring like a stallion. Ends the one-liner with a Ric Flair "Woooooo!".

-Herring is gonna feel like crap tomorrow. He got beat up pretty bad. Most of it was on the body, but his face was messed up from the first right that knocked him down to start the fight. I was impressed enough with Lesnar that I think it's safe to say he's gonna win the UFC title in the next 3 years. All that's missing is the jiu-jitsu and that just takes time. He doesn't have to be a Gracie or anything. He simply needs a working knowledge of countering submission attempts.

Jon Fitch vs Georges St-Pierre (Welterweight Champion)
-Fitch coming out to some Johnny Cash "Rusty Cage". Perfect entrance song for Fitch. He looks serious and confident. Doesn't seem like the moment has got to him at all.

-GSP coming to the Octagon to some French rap song. He's wearing a black robe and his traditional headband. Too bad, I was hoping he'd wear a Fabulous Rougeau outfit tonight.

-Joe Rogan kissing St-Pierre's butt before the fight. Talked about how he trains with wrestlers who are competing in the Olympics right now then made a sucking noise and Goldberg had to pull the finger out of his mouth.

-Fitch doing his trademark pre-fight pacing back and forth. He looks kinda nuts.

Round 1
GSP takes Fitch right down. Light punches to the body. Fitch doing great job of holding St-Pierre's arms. Solid elbow connects from the top. Back to the feet. Fitch misses a kick and GSP lands a heavy right that drops Fitch. St-Pierre jumps on top and throwing big punches. Landing a lot of them and Fitch is getting nailed. Ref watching closely. Fitch weathers the storm. No idea how he did it. GSP landed about twenty good punches during the exchange. Back to the feet and Fitch is wobbling back and forth. GSP teeing off and Fitch down again. He grabs a leg and GSP wrestles him down. More punches and elbows from the top.
St-Pierre 10-8

Round 2
Solid jab lands for GSP. Fitch throwing more this round. Looks better. Starting to land now. GSP coming back with solid jabs. Clinch and Fitch lands a knee to the body. A big right lands by Fitch. GSP is cut on his forehead. Not too bad. GSP not going for takedowns. Seems fine with standing with Fitch, but he's not winning the striking game so far. St-Pierre shoots and Fitch holds him off with a perfect sprawl. More punches landing for Fitch. GSP throwing kicks at the end of the round, but nothing landing fully.
Fitch 10-9

Round 3
Both throw and connect, but Fitch takes the bigger shot and goes down. GSP on top. Fitch reverses it and is now on top. Amazing. Fitch in full guard for a little. GSP reverses and is now on top. Back to feet. Good leg kick by St-Pierre. Another leg kick. Fitch's nose might be broken. It doesn't look too hot. Big right hand by GSP wobbles Fitch. He follows it with a head kick. Fitch goes down and GSP follows with more punches. Fitch is a warrior. GSP is hitting him with everything and he is taking it. Fitch gets back to feet and is shaky. Can't find his feet and gets hit with more punches. GSP takes him down as the round ends.
St-Pierre 10-9

Round 4
GSP is bleeding over his left eye. A right lands by St-Pierre. Fitch responds with a body kick. Great jabs all night by GSP. Landing more this round at will. Leg kick almost sweeps Fitch. Fitch throwing again and starting to lightly land. Fitch grabs a leg after tripping and drives GSP into the cage. Just holding him against the cage. Can't get GSP down. As soon as he lets go of the leg, GSP takes him down. Fitch throwing from bottom. GSP sorta just laying there. Maybe he's tired. This is the first time either have been in the fourth round. Round comes to a close with GSP on top maintaining position. Fitch looks like he has his head back and isn't seeing stars anymore.
St-Pierre 10-9

Round 5
Rogan sucking off GSP again as the round opens. Left hook by St-Pierre. Inside leg kick lands on Fitch. More jabs, GSP looking fresh. Spinning back fist knocks Fitch into the cage. Landed flush and Fitch smiles back at him. Follows it up with another takedown. Throwing body shots from the top. Fitch holding guard and not really looking for anything yet. Big punches from GSP. Nice elbow over the top connects above Fitch's right eye. Light punches to head. Fitch gets up, but GSP takes him right back down. Fitch might be out of gas. Fitch looking for a triangle. GSP stops it and moves his body out of harm's way. Fight ends how most of it was spent, with St-Pierre on top.
St-Pierre 10-9
St-Pierre Wins via Unanimous Decision (50-44, 50-43, 50-44)

-After the fight Fitch and GSP kneel in the center and give each other props. Those scores are ridiculous. Fitch won the second round and other than the first there was not a 10-8 round.

-Rogan asks GSP about the future, "I know BJ Penn want it. I'm ready to do it." Then BJ Penn comes into the ring and calls out St-Pierre. He asks if he's ready and GSP confirms that he will fight him. Not exactly as cool as the Fedor/Couture ending to Affliction, but still a good moment.

-GSP was his usual self all fight, except for the second round when he tried to stand with Fitch. BJ Penn has the best chance to beat him because he can partially defend his takedowns. I'd be shocked if we don't get St-Pierre/Penn II in December. Add that to Griffin vs Liddell/Evans and possible Shogun vs Rampage. Sounds like a classic fight card to me.

-I want to thank everyone who followed along tonight. This site is less than a month old and we are already bringing in huge numbers of MMA fans. Every day it gets bigger and I can't even believe it myself. Tonight we had more people on the site at the same time than ever before. I will do my best to repay that loyalty by updating the site multiple times a day and with the most interesting MMA stories I can find. And if any of you ever have a question or just want to talk MMA, send me an email.

UFC 87 "Seek and Destroy" Live Results Tonight at 10pm

Don't forget that tonight at 10pm, we will have Live Results for UFC 87 "Seek and Destroy". Here is the link for the Live Results.

Corey Hill No Longer Training With Miletich Fighting Systems

Rear Naked News has learned that UFC Lightweight Corey Hill is no longer training with Miletich Fighting Systems. Hill received high praise from Pat Miletich initially, but it appears the relationship soured following his July loss to Justin Buchholz at UFC 86. After appearing on The Ultimate Fighter 6, Hill received attention from several high profile training schools because of his unique size. Hill eventually decided to join Miletich Fighting Systems and seemed to be on the fast track to a successful UFC career.

Early on Pat Miletich raved about Corey's ability,

"To be honest with you, Corey is one of those guys who only comes along once in a great while. I look at him like a raw piece of clay, a guy I can mold into a great fighter. If he sticks with it and continues working as hard as he has been, in my mind, there's no question he'll wind up being a world champion. He's a guy who can not only win a title but can hold it a long time. And if he does things the right way and develops the way I think he can, you're looking at a guy who is going to be at the top for a long, long time."

It appears Corey did not develop and do things the "right way". At this point it is unknown where Corey is training. Prior to joining Miletich Fighting Systems, Matt Hughes approached Hill about joining the newly formed H.I.T. Squad. He declined the invitation and went to train with MFS. H.I.T. Squad would seem like a natural spot for Hill to land after his departure from MFS, but we contacted Matt Hughes' training center and they said Corey Hill was not training with them. This tells me Hill's departure from MFS was not on good terms. Hughes remains close to Pat Miletich, despite rumors of a rift. He would not accept a fighter on bad terms with Miletich.

Hill always reminded me of the "athletic freaks" NFL teams draft because they have amazing potential and can jump 15 feet high. At the end of the day, being athletic is only one of many components a successful MMA fighter must possess. I guess Miletich drafted him a few rounds too high.

UFC 87 Preview and Predictions

Coming into UFC 87, my prediction record stands at a gaudy 18-4. I'm not even going to mess around with an introduction. But don't forget. I will be doing a Live Blog Saturday night with Live Results from UFC 87. We have had great turnout for the live blogs in the past and it has been a lot of fun. If you have never experienced a Rear Naked Live Blog, it is nothing like what the other sites offer. The results come faster and it's not only boring play-by-play with generic comments. Trust me, it's highly entertaining. Here are some of the Live Blogs we have done. All right, enough pimping.

Jason MacDonald vs Demian Maia
Demian Maia is coming off two straight UFC wins in which he earned "Submission of the Night" honors. Most jiu-jitsu specialists will limit their strikes on the ground in order to secure position. Maia uses his strikes in order to get position. This makes him extremely complex to deal with on the ground. Jason MacDonald will need to be disciplined enough not to cover up or move his body too much from guard. I do not see him being able to handle Maia at all on the ground. If it goes there, he is in big trouble. MacDonald will need to use his size advantage to control the fight on his feet. Push Maia into the cage and strike from the clinch. Maia's striking still is not a strength for him. In the end, I do not think MacDonald will be able to hold off Maia's takedowns. By the second round he will tire and this fight will go to the ground where Maia will finish it with a triangle choke.

Rob Emerson vs Manny Gamburyan
I posted about this match-up in the early days of this site. I did not understand it then and I do not understand it now. Manny Gamburyan is a rising star. He is recognizable, fun to watch, and legitimentally talented inside the Octagon. Basically the complete opposite of Rob Emerson. Give Manny a quality opponent. MMA fans want to see what he can do, now that the injury is two years behind him. All this match does is waste his and our time (I'm gonna look stupid if Manny gets jumped by The Lords of South County on the way to the ring). For anyone who is lost, Emerson used to be in a "gang" called The Lords of South County. The "Lords" are a bunch of rich kids who like to jump outnumbered teenagers then go home to their gated communities and whine about their year old BMWs. Hopefully this is the last time we have to sit through an Emerson fight ever again. Gamburyan's judo and wrestling will take this to the ground then he will bend Emerson's arm the wrong way to the take fight.

Roger Huerta vs Kenny Florian
Did you hear this could be the Fight of the Year? It seems like every MMA fan I talk to feels a need to tell me this like they discovered a cure for Dana White's baldness. I have a feeling it will not live up to those lofty expectations, but will be one of the better fights this year. Florian is the clear favorite in most eyes because he has more experience and has faced tougher opponents. I think people might be surprised at how well Huerta matches up with Florian. He has seriously stepped up his training with Greg Jackson and GSP. We already know what a well trained Kenny Florian looks like. We have seen his maximum. Huerta is still working towards getting to the pinnacle of his abilities. Maybe this is the fight where he puts it all together and proves he is more than a cover boy. Strategically this fight could go just about any where. Florian and Huerta adapt well to things and are comfortable standing or on the mat. Florian has a distinct advantage in jiu-jitsu, but Huerta is the stronger fighter and I believe will be able to power out of any submission attempts. On the feet, Huerta needs to keep some distance from Florian and avoid the clinch. Florian batters people when he grabs ahold of them. All it takes is one elbow or knee. (How much will go by in official fight time before Joe Rogan mentions Florian's elbows? I say 54 seconds.) I think Huerta will keep the fight standing long enough to do some damage and score with some flashy moments. Florian's best attempts at submission will fail and begin to work against him as Huerta surprises the judges by escaping. In the end it goes to decision and Huerta takes 2 out of 3 cards. After the match he calls out BJ Penn.

Heath Herring vs Brock Lesnar
The first time Brock got a little excited and opened himself for a submission. He's still inexperienced and you expect that sort of thing, especially against Frank Mir who lives and dies by grabbing the legs of men. Heath Herring will present a different type of challenge. He is not a submission expert at all. Herring's main strength is his toughness and better than average striking. As Nogieura found out, if you get lazy, Herring can hurt you. Lesnar will need to limit the amount of space when going for takedowns. He cannot rush in and go for the highlight reel tackle. He needs to smother Herring and make this an inside fight. Once inside there is no way Herring is stopping a takedown. Mir looked like a parakeet when Lesnar pushed him around. I guess that makes Herring a fly. Expect Lesnar to work Herring to the ground early and throw heavy shots from the top. Fight will go to second round, where Lesnar will do more of the same. Lesnar takes it via second round TKO from strikes.

Jon Fitch vs Georges St-Pierre (Welterweight Champion)
I watched the UFC 87 Countdown last night and after the Fitch segment I was almost convinced he could pull off the upset. First, he has a hot Asian girlfriend and guys with hot Asian girlfriends are almost always winners. Second, he walked on to Purdue's wrestling team. Do you realize how difficult that is? Just the balls you gotta have to walk into a Big Ten wrestling practice and try to make the team impresses me. The last reason I thought about jumping on the Fitch bandwagon is because I have never been a big fan of Georges St-Pierre. I respect him and think he is great, just not as great as everyone else claims he is. In my mind St-Pierre is not invincible or in the conversation for Pound4Pound Top Fighter. Not yet, at least. He is still young and could continue to get better. This fight will test GSP with a fighter who can match him better on the ground than Serra or Hughes did. I expect St-Pierre to take Fitch down the same way he takes all his opponents down...with ease. The fans will roar and think it will be another easy win for GSP until some thing no one expects happens...Fitch gets back up.

This is where the fight gets interesting. How will St-Pierre respond to Fitch's relentless ability to survive? In past bouts Fitch has worn his opponents down and frustrated them by dragging out the fight. Neither fighter has seen the 4th round before, but Fitch has fought more three round decisions, especially lately. I have to give him the edge if it goes beyond three rounds. In his pre-fight interviews, Fitch has talked openly about his desire to push the fight into the later rounds and wait for St-Pierre to make a mistake. The question is whether he can back up the talk and make it that long.

GSP works at a quicker pace than most. He keeps pressure on opponents when he gets them in trouble. I think early on the fight will stay standing and Fitch might even be the first to try to take it to the ground. His stand-up is not as good as GSP's. For him to survive into the later rounds he needs the fight to go to the mat. I do not think Fitch will have success taking St-Pierre down, but in a clever way he will "trick" GSP into going for a takedown himself. He will use GSP's natural wrestling instincts against him, by getting in close with the champion where St-Pierre is more likely to go for a takedown. This will allow Fitch to survive the early rounds.

The fourth and fifth rounds will see another surprise when GSP is the fresher fighter. Despite all of Fitch's tricks, I think this fight is decided by St-Pierre's cardio. Even though he has not been in any grueling fights lately, I believe GSP will be ready for a 5 round war and in some ways will want it. St-Pierre needs to prove himself in this fight. He needs to defend his title and show the world he is a true champion. The fourth and fifth rounds are when champions step up and win the fight. GSP will do just that. I see it going to decision and Georges St-Pierre taking it unanimously.

Rampage Jackson Autographing a Baby

Do you think he autographed the baby he killed?

Rampage and the UFC Should Give Up Energy Drink Sponsorships

After weeks of silence, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has reemerged this week in a very talkative mood. He appeared on Dana White's video blog and laughed with the UFC owner about his Newport Beach joyride. Now he is promoting UFC 87 at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN, which really amounts to him offering excuses for his behavior.

Again he claimed he had "delirium by energy drinks". I wonder if the UFC has contacted all their fighters and explained to them the dangers of energy drinks. If Dana White and the rest of the company truly believe they were the culprit in this mess, it would seem logical to stop this from happening to other fighters under UFC contract. Or maybe the UFC should terminate all energy drink sponsorships in order to send a message to the younger MMA fans that excessive consumption can lead to ramming your vehicle into things and trying to flee the scene.

As you can see in the picture above and here, Rampage endorses "Throwdown" energy drinks. In fact, there is even a flavor called "Rampage Punch". Now that he knows energy drinks cause delirium, he should probably end his relationship with "Throwdown". That would be the sensible thing to do. Somehow, I do not see any of this happening. The UFC will continue to take the money of any energy drink company that can afford to advertise with them. And Rampage will stand in front of "Throwdown" products and cash his check. The "Energy Drink Defense" is merely a ploy meant to get him out of trouble. We all are smart enough to know that much.

Dana White Dismisses Possible Fetal Homicide Charges

Dana White thinks the possible fetal homicide charge against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is baseless and will not stand up in court. He told Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports,

“It was a week later. He knocked her mirror off her car. Rampage said, and he’ll tell you when you talk to him, ‘I care about everybody. I care about all life. I would never hurt anybody.' Now he’s in a situation where somebody’s trying to civil sue him and make some money. Absolutely not. Absolutely not, this is not a criminal thing. No way. I’m no lawyer and I’m no judge, (but) this stuff will be worked out in the court.”

The thing Dana White failed to mention is that Rampage was driving a giant truck and the person he hit was a pregnant woman. "Knocking a window off" might seem like a cosmetic accident, the reality is she was given a clean bill of health, her vehicle was hit by his monster truck, then she lost amniotic fluid and had a miscarriage.

Dana should lay off the legal talk and stick to things he knows about like being bald and having a girl's name.

Joe Lauzon Calls Out TapOut

Last night on TapOut the three idiots went to see Joe Lauzon's younger brother Dan, who also happens to be the youngest fighter ever to compete in the UFC. The show followed the usual pattern until Mask started bashing Dan's training. Later they took Dan to Mark DellaGrotte's camp Sityodtong to watch how he does things. The implication was clear that Mask wanted Dan to train with DellaGrotte. What made the trip to Sityodtong strange was Kenny Florian was training there to fight Dan's older brother Joe. You could see it on Dan's face that he did not want to be there under those circumstances. However, the MMA training expert Mask insisted he was right to bring him there.

First off, TapOut is stupid. The only reason I watched was because I heard Dan Lauzon was going to be on and I wanted to see if the hype about him was true (he looked unsure of himself most of the episode and I left unimpressed). Those guys are the last people a fighter should be taking training advice from. Their reasoning for bashing Dan's training also was suspect. Mask claimed Dan was not learning anything from training with guys who were not equally or more talented than him. The thing he forgot to mention was that Dan was a week away from a fight. Fighters are not sparring with top talent the week before fights. They are doing light workouts and letting their bodies get healthy.

Joe Lauzon decided he had some thing to say to the TapOut crew and posted this on his website today. He sums things up nicely.

My Brother was on a recent episode of the Tapout show... and the whole thing came off terribly.

Training Hard on Tuesday when the fight is Friday? Terrible idea. The Tapout crew showed up on Monday when the fight was on Friday. What kind of training footage did they really expect to get? They wanted shark baits with fresh guys 4 days before the fight? Are they nuts? I love how they act like the authority on training and fighting when they would even suggest this. We do shark baits like this... when its not 4 days before the fight. Had they come the week before, you would have seen plenty of that. You would have seen one fresh guy after another rotating on Dan to work on his cardio and conditioning.

Going to Sityodtong was never something we wanted to do. Dan didnt want to go, but they pushed the issue and Dan finally caved to make them happy. They were not doing anything different than what we do... but we arent training like that the week of the fight. Mask offers his words of wisdom with "I like how he changes levels" like we have never seen someone shoot a double before. I am not sure who Mask thought he was talking to, but you dont get into the UFC when you have never seen a wrestler. Dan didnt really want to be there because I was fighting Kenny a few months later, and I am sure they felt the same way. There has been a lot of tension between the camps for some time and its definitely healthy competition more so than actually dislike... but its weird for everyone involved when that happens.

They did a horrible job of cutting up audio and chopping it into their own little story. They take bits of pieces of what everyone says, twist it out of context and then splice in clips of Dan saying "yea... yup... okay" to make it all seem the way they want to portray it.

Dan was training with Guido, the 15 year, old a few days before the fight. Now does Guido really offer any bit of a challenge? Absolutely not. However, Dan was there to sweat out and lose weight and just move around. It didnt matter who he was working out with and Guido loves the beatings so Dan was rolling around with him. But obviously, they make it seem like Guido is Dans primary training partner.

The whole "I am so sad my corners are going to be late" angle was pretty hypocritical as well. Dans corners were not going to be there right when the show started, but they were there in plenty of time to get him prepared for his fight. This was Dans 11th fight and he had the other guys from the gym there with him. He wasnt sitting alone in a corner somewhere, but thank god he didnt sit down for a moment without other people in the show or I am sure Tapout would have shown Dan sitting all alone as they played some sad and depressing music.

They made the gyms, the trainers and the training partners all look like garbage. I started at this gym and have done well training out of there... and Dan has too along with a bunch of other guys. We are doing pretty good for a small gym and didnt need to be shit on like that.

Was it good TV? Maybe for some. Was it a load of bullshit? Absolutely.

UFC 87 "Seek and Destroy" Live Results and Blog Saturday Night

Rear Naked News will be doing another Live Blog with Results as they happen this Saturday night for UFC 87 "Seek and Destroy". If you have never followed along one of our Live Blogs, it is an altogether different experience than on any other MMA site. Other sites give you boring play-by-play without much else. Here at Rear Naked you will get live results as they happen (I usually type a sentence then post, type a sentence then post. That way you are getting results simultaneously and not in big chunks ten minutes after some thing happened.) In addition to the live results, I blog about whatever I feel is important for you to know.

So if you can't see the event live or if you are watching live and want to see what I'm making fun of at the moment, come here Saturday night and you will not be disappointed.

Check out the previous Live Blogs for a taste of what to expect.

WEC 35
EliteXC "Unfinished Business"
Affliction "Banned"


(I promise to make Frank Trigg jokes.)

Thursday Afternoon News

• Martin Kampmann vs Nate Marquardt has been added to UFC 88.

• Here is the trailer for Randy Couture's new movie Scorpion King 2. Obviously an Oscar contender in multiple categories.

• Tito Ortiz is doing good work for kids.

• Solid article by the Boston Herald about Kenny Florian's development.

• The Chicago Tribune does not get why MMA is popular.

• Dana Whites thinks everyone is a moron, except for him.

• Goran Reljic will fight Thales Leites at UFC 90.
  

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Speaks

For a guy that caused the death of a 16 week old unborn baby, he seems in good spirits.

Where is Tito?

It was widely believed that Tito Ortiz would be introduced today at the Affliction press conference officially launching their second pay-per-view "Day of Reckoning". The former UFC superstar was noticeably absent and it is causing many media members to question their earlier claims. I am not one of them. Tito Ortiz is still signing with Affliction. Michael Cohen, Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization and Donald Trump Jr both spoke with Ortiz yesterday. Some things got hung up today and the contract is not completely finished. It will be soon enough.

This contract is proving especially complex because it is literally the first of its kind for an Affliction fighter. Prior to this Affliction handled fighters as free agents who they were signing to compete at events. Ortiz will not only be signed to fight in the ring, he will also become a company spokesman. There has even been talk Affliction offered Ortiz Pay-Per-View Buy Incentives that could make his contract the richest in MMA history. While his front end salary might not appear enormous, the back end money he will receive for popular events will make Tito's giant head bob with glee.

UFC Event for Montreal Possibly in December

UFC President Dana White told Canadian reporters that there are plans for a second event in Montreal in November or December. He claimed to have just left a meeting where the topic was discussed. Most people have wrote off December as a possibility because the UFC typically holds the end of the year event in Las Vegas, but in reality they have only had it there two years (06-07). Prior to that there was not a show in December. That hardly makes for a long held tradition that would upset diehards if it was broken. Especially when you consider the last show in Montreal broke attendance records and featured the best crowd in MMA history.

The rumors are that if St. Pierre can beat Jon Fitch this Saturday night at UFC 87, he will face Lightweight Champion BJ Penn at the end of the year event. If St. Pierre were to lose to Fitch, I think the Montreal card would get a rematch between the two. They are not leaving St. Pierre off a Montreal fight card and with a loss the fight with Penn would not make as much sense. Either way it would be a huge attraction.

Wednesday Afternoon News

• WEC 35 drew 1,006 fans (734 paid) for a gate of $116,900.

• EliteXC's FSN TV Deal will also show older bouts from King of the Cage and Cage Rage. Could feature some Anderson Silva fights from 04-05.

Jenna Jameson Is Pregnant

"Page 6" of the New York Post claims Tito Ortiz's girlfriend Jenna Jameson is pregnant. Let's hope Rampage doesn't run her over.

Tito Ortiz Signs With Affliction

Tomorrow at the Affliction "Day of Reckoning" press conference the news will be official. Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and MMA superstar Tito Ortiz now works for Affliction. His contract is expected to be as big as his head and is structured in a way that makes it impossible for the UFC to match it (as they have the option to match any contract he signs). He will be fighting Renato "Babalu" Sobral on October 11 at Affliction "Day of Reckoning". I think this quote from Tito sums up how excited he is to be an Affliction fighter:

There's so much money to be made right now in mixed martial arts and it's all about the fighters trying to make that money. It's going to be a long-term deal where I put my heart and soul into the company and help build them.

I don't want to toot my own horn too much, but back on July 21, I wrote an article about the possibility of Tito Ortiz signing with Affliction. Then this week I stepped it up when my sources told me the deal was very close. Take a look around at other sites. They ignored the story. You can keep reading mediocre MMA news sites or you can come here. It's that simple.

Tito Ortiz Could Be Introduced Tomorrow at Affliction Press Conference

Yesterday Tito Ortiz's contract with the UFC officially expired. He is now a free agent and can sign with any MMA organization he pleases. The front runner in the Ortiz Sweepstakes is Affliction and they just so happen to have a press conference scheduled for tomorrow to offically launch their "Day of Reckoning" event. Rear Naked News contacted Affliction earlier today and they would not confirm or deny that Ortiz would be in attendance.

As of right now, the fight card for Affliction's second pay-per-view is solid, but not as groundbreaking as the first by any measure. Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett are popular fighters within the diehard MMA fan universe. Mention their names to an average sports fan and you'll get blank stares. Vitor Belfort vs Matt Lindland? There are probably quite a few younger MMA fans who have no idea why they should care about either of those fighters. What I'm getting at here is this event needs a draw. The first Affliction pay-per-view had Fedor's entrance into the American consciousness. He was the reason people shelled out $40. It had little to do with Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, or any other name on that card.

Sequels are difficult to produce, as EliteXC found out the hard way. You cannot expect people to tune in just because they watched the first time. A successful sequel gives the viewer some thing extra they did not see the first time. Godfather II gave us a peek into the life of a young Vito Corleone. Empire Strikes Back revealed Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father. What will Affliction "Day of Reckoning" have to offer?

If Tom Atencio is as smart as he seems, it will be the reemergence of exiled UFC superstar Tito Ortiz. We will all be watching tomorrow to find out.

Tuesday Afternoon News

• MMAWeekly is reporting that a possible match-up between former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk and Tyson Griffin is in the works.

• Chuck Liddell's younger brother Dan will make his MMA debut on August 15. He weighs 290 lbs and is fighting some guy whose claim to fame is, "He once fought ButterBean!"

• Randy Couture's "Becoming the Natural" has been knocked out of the top spot of Martial Arts books on Amazon by "Chi Running", which features a dude in Mark Hominick booty shorts on its cover.

• Brock Lesnar talks about his favorite topic, Brock Lesnar. If he ever reads this site, he's gonna kill me.
  

Jamie Varner to Face Winner of McCullough/Cerrone

Rear Naked News has confirmed that the winner of Rob McCullough vs Donald Cerrone at WEC 36 will get a shot at WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner. Varner defended his belt for the first time last night in grand fashion with a first round knockout of Marcus Hicks. The young champion is currently riding a four fight win streak with all four being stopped early. Either opponent would make for an exciting fight, but the bigger draw would be a rematch with McCullough, who Varner defeated for the Lightweight Title at WEC 32 in February.

McCullough will have his hands full with Cerrone, who is 8-0 and has ended every fight via submission. In McCullough's last fight, Kenneth Alexander had a difficult time taking him down and keeping him there. McCullough showed solid grappling skills that frustrated Alexander throughout the match. The question will be whether Cerrone can get through McCullough's improved defense and take things to the ground. With the added pressure of fighting for a title shot, both men should come out with something to prove.

WEC 36 takes place on September 10 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL. As always, it will be Live on Versus.

Monday Night News

• UFC's Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale will take place on December 13.

• Spencer Fisher will take on Melvin Guillard at UFC 90 in Chicago. Pat Miletich thinks Guillard sucks and isn't worth Fisher's time.

• Josh Gross at SI.com does not think Carlos Condit is a top 170 lbs fighter. In other news, Josh Gross is still goofy looking as ever.

• Brock Lesnar is still talking to the media about Brock Lesnar.

WEC Exciting As Usual

The WEC continued its run of exciting action-packed shows last night with a card that featured three title bouts. None of the featured fights went to a decision, and although there were some questionable referee stoppages, it still was a terrific night of MMA excitement.

The biggest surprise of the night was Steve Cantwell's upset victory over WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann. Cantwell came into the match very confident despite being knocked out by Stann in their first bout in under a minute. This bout was much different from the start. Stann looked light and only clocked in at 201 lbs. By the time the fight started, Cantwell looked clearly bigger and in better shape. He used pinpoint punches and some timely knees from the clinch to stagger Stann early and often. Stann did not have an answer to Cantwell's strikes and it ultimately cost him in the second round when a looping right hand dropped him for good.

In a mild surprise, WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner made quick work of Marcus Hicks in a bout that many believed Hicks would win. Varner showed from the opening bell that he is more than a world class grappler with impressive striking that left Hicks badly bruised. Following a substantial amount of punishment that put Hicks on his back, he somehow got back up, only to be knocked back down seconds later following a barrage of accurate punches by Varner.

19 year old Josh Grispi continued his rise through the WEC with a first round knockout of Micah Miller. Following the stoppage, Miller protested, but it was clear he was not fighting back. He was down on the ground motionless and took several punches to the head.

In the main event Carlos Condit fought Hiromitsu Miura in a four round war that ended with a terrible referee stoppage. With thirty seconds left in the fourth round, condit dropped Miura with a knee to the head. He followed it up by getting on top of him and landing three extremely light punches. Miura was not hurt, he was simply tired, as was Condit. Moments earlier Miura had Condit down and was hitting him with a series of solid shots, but the referee allowed the fight to go on. Then a minute later he stops it for three light punches on the forearm. It was an awful ending to a tremendous battle between two MMA warriors. Miura continually reversed Condit on the ground and got out of trouble. Another reason the referee had no reason to stop the fight. Time and again whenever Condit was on top, Miura found a way to reverse him and take top position. Prior to the stoppage, I had the fight even (2 rounds each). I doubt it will happen, but I would love to see these two fight again. In fact, I'd love to see Miura fight just about anyone.

Overall it was another great show for the WEC. Somehow they always get exciting action out of their fighters. The card in September looks even stronger. Do yourself a favor and start watching WEC immediately. You will thank me later.

Arlovski vs Barnett Set for 2nd Affliction PPV

On October 11 Affliction will hold its second pay-per-view titled, "Day of Reckoning". It was supposed to feature Andrei Arlovski vs Fedor Emelianenko, but instead the main event has been switched to feature Josh Barnett against Arlovski. The official word is Fedor was scratched from the event due to a hand injury, however, Rear Naked News learned this weekend that the injury was not the only reason Affliction kept him off the fight card. With word of arbitration meetings taking place between Randy Couture and the UFC, Affliction felt it was better to keep Fedor inactive in case Couture becomes a free agent in the near future. A loss by Fedor to Arlovski would have seriously hurt the sales of a future pay-per-view featuring Couture vs Fedor. Instead it looks like the earliest we will see a possible match-up between Fedor and Couture is in December.

With Fedor now officially off the card, it seems more likely that Affliction will make a big push to sign UFC veteran Tito Ortiz when he becomes a free agent later this week. A rumored bout between Ortiz and Renato "Babalu" Sobral has been talked about as a possible co-main event for the October 11th pay-per-view.

Another match-up that has been talked about is Vitor Belfort vs Matt Lindland. Expect the other bouts to include many of the fighters featured during the first PPV, including Tim Sylvia, Pedro Rizzo, Mike Pyle, and Fedor's brother Aleksander Elemianenko. The last bit of news is that rumors are swirling about a possible match-up between Vladimir Matyushenko and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

WEC 35 Live Results and Blog

-In the earlier fights, Grispi won by strikes, Larson by strikes, Avena strikes, Budnick by submission (triangle).

-Build up, nothing happening. Frank Mir looks like he's been sniffing glue all day.


Brian Bowles vs Demacio Page
-Page has the coolest nickname "The Angel of Death". Much better than Jamie Varner's former nickname, "The Worm". If I was a fighter, I'd call myself sometime cool like, "The Hammer" or "Honey Roy Palmer".

Round 1
Page lands a heavy right. On the ground, Bowles working from the top, nothing big landing. Page reverses it and is now on top. Honestly, Mir is on something. He's totally out of it. Back on the feet and trading punches. Page lands a kick to the leg. Following a takedown attempt, Bowles catches Page in a guillotine. Not much of an effort to get out of it. Bowles wins via first round submission (guillotine choke).

-Too bad, looks like they're going straight to the Varner/Hicks fight. I was hoping Josh Grispi's win would get shown. Maybe if the other fights end quickly, they'll put it on. Pacing of this event is horrible, so far. Commercials and filler talk have taken up 95% of the 25 minutes they've been on the air.

-Rashad Evans is in attendance.

Marcus Hicks vs Jamie Varner (Lightweight Champion)
-Marcus Hicks looks like one of those mean guys who really is nice and secretly enjoys gardening. Kinda like Officer Hightower in Police Academy 2.
-Varner told me he has been boxing since he was a kid and it's the most underrated part of his game. With his reach advantage (9 inches!), he should be able to tee off

Round1
Early tie-up and clinch. Hicks takes him down, but Varner gets back up. Hicks sinks in the guillotine, kinda deep. Varner shakes it off. Clinch and Varner lands two crushing knees to the head. Hicks looks hurt. Varner coming forward and landing punches. Hicks goes down and Varner on top bashing him. Ref ready to stop it, but Hicks gets back up again. Once back up, Varner ends it with 4-5 pinpoint lefts and rights. Varner wins via first round KO.

-Hicks showed tons of heart. Too bad he didn't move his head a little and get out of the way of those 60 punches he got caught with.

-Varner gives Hicks tons of compliments, "He's tough...Has an iron jaw...Thanks for standing right in front of me and being so short."

-They gotta show the Grispi fight now, right? It's 9:40 and they only have two fights left.

-They're gonna show the Larson/Prater fight.

-Steve Mazzagatti prior to start of fight, "All right, hook'em up!" Every referee thinks they gotta have a catchphrase because of Mills Lane.

-9:51 and the Larson fight has already been shown (he won by KO, if you didn't notice the earlier post). Maybe they'll kill some time with Frank Mir giving a tutorial on How to Get Beaten Up Then Pull a Knee Bar Out of Your Butt.

-Larson compares himself to a "little warrior with a bow".

-Interview with Uriah Faber. His chin looks exactly like a butt.

Steve Cantwell vs Brian Stann (Heavyweight Champion)
-This match-up highlights the WEC biggest problem, which is finding suitable contenders for the champions to fight. Stann already knocked Cantwell out in under a minute last year. Did Cantwell's two wins since then really qualify him for a rematch?
-Stann looks light. He weighed in at 201 lbs.
-Cantwell's nickname is "The Robot". That's just too perfect.

Round 1
Neither landing much in the first minute. Stann lands a leg kick. Cantwell lands some shots. Gets Stann in the clinch, but can't connect with the knee. Stann was backed up and has a cut forming on his cheek. Tied up now and both recovering after the flurry of activity. Another series of punches land for Cantwell. Stann is standing in there looking for a counterpunch, but he's getting hit with solid strikes. Frank Mir points out Stann's keeping his left down and it's creating openings. I guess the glue has worn off. Cantwell slips and eats 7-9 punches from the top by Stann. He gets back to his feet as the round ends. Cantwell controlled things until the slip. He still did enough to win it.
Cantwell 10-9

Round 2
Stann starts with a leg kick. Fans chanting "Cantwell". Cantwell gets caught with a kick to the nuts. Another leg kick as the fight restarts by Stann. Those are gonna add up if this fight goes deep. Cantwell looks slower this round. Huge left to the body pushes Stann into the cage. Stann very cautious. Covering his head with both hands after he throws. Cantwell presses Stann into cage and landing big shots. Stann is in trouble. A looping right drops Stann. The ref stops in and ends the fight. Wow! Cantwell wins by 2nd Round KO.

-I'm very surprised. Stann looked light, but he just got killed. Cantwell was quicker to the punch all night. In the clinch Cantwell really showed how inexperienced Stann still is. He kept getting caught with knees to the body and inside punches. I don't think Stann connected with one good strike in the clinch.

-Grispi fight is up next. Micah Miller's shorts looks like they came out of Hulk Hogan's closet. Miller tried to say the fight was stopped early, but it wasn't. He got dropped with a punch and immediately hit with multiple strikes on the ground. All he did was cover his head and did not fight back. No movement, either. The refs seem to let fights go when the hurt fighter at least moves his arms, legs, etc. Miller didn't do any of that. If it went on, Grispi would have landed more strikes and Miller might have been injured.

Hiromitsu Miura vs Carlos Condit (Welterweight Champion)
-Condit has some thick Asian hair. It's way more Asian than Miura's. See, this is the type of in-depth analysis you only get with Rear Naked News.
-Big reach advantage for Condit. This will be a tough upset for Miura to pull off.
-Miura sorta resembles Chong Li from Bloodsport.

"You break my record. Now I break you like I break your friend."

Round 1
Back and forth action early. Miura doing great job of getting inside then moving away without getting hit on the inside. Miura throws Condit to the ground. Back to the feet quickly. A sweep by Miura drops Condit. Yet another sweep by Miura. After getting back up, Condit lands a punch that sends Miura to the ground. Condit immediately on top. Working from the side and top. Goes for an arm bar, but Miura slips out. Back to their feet and Miura continues to give Condit a judo lesson with another throw to the ground. Round ends with Miura on top. His throws and sweeps give him the round. Condit landed one big shot then let Miura get up. Solid round. I'm liking this fight.
Miura 10-9

Round 2
After a brief exchange, Miura slips backwards and Condit goes into his full guard. Condit stands and gets hit with an upkick. Back down, Miura is using butterfly guard. Condit passes with one leg and is now in half guard. Not throwing too much, just trying to get his other leg out of guard. Condit finds a way to pass and has a full mount. Turns over and Condit has his back. He rolls and goes for an arm bar, but Miura again slips out. Standing again Condit lands a body kick. Miura misses a judo throw and Condit grabs his back again. Miura moves him into full guard. This guy gets out of trouble very well. Condit dominated that round. Miura didn't do anything offensively. I'll give him a 9 for all the escapes on the ground. That was impressive.
Condit 10-9

Round 3
Lock up early and Condit goes for a guillotine. Looks deep, but he lets go. Condit has the full mount. Again, not throwing from the top. Keeps looking for submissions, arm bars mostly. Miura sweeps him over and is now on top! This guy is unreal when he's in trouble. Miura throwing punches from the top. Condit looking for an arm, but Miura landing solid punches. They get back to their feet and both are landing punches. Condit lands a big knee. Miura locks him up and Condit quickly grabs his back. Works over to full mount. Throwing punches from the top, finally. Light stuff, looks tired, ref yelling at Miura to fight back. Miura rolls over and gives up back. Condit sinks in rear naked choke, but Miura gets through the round. Wow again! Miura was gone with Condit on top throwing, until Miura smartly rolled over and gave up his back. There was only 30 seconds left, so he knew he could get through till the bell if Condit put on a choke.
Condit 10-9

Round 4
Miura lands a left to open things up. A series of strikes ends with a right that drops Condit. Miura on top landing punches. Condit rolls and gets on top. Miura sweeps him once again and is now in Condit's full guard. Condit goes for a knee bar, as Miura rains down punches. Miura slips out of it. Ref stands them up after a lull in the action. Both throwing as they stand. Miura backing him up and almost gets caught with a knee. It goes to the ground and Condit is on top. Mir says Condit has won every round...He must be sniffing again. Miura reverses Condit again and is on top. Throwing punches, Condit looks tired. Back to the feet. Condit lands a strike followed by a knee that drops Miura. From the top Condit is throwing light punches. Ref steps in and stops it with about 20 seconds left. Terrible stoppage. Condit wasn't throwing anything hard from the top. He was literally hitting him on the forearm! The WEC just gave Condit the title back. He probably would have won eventually, but come on don't stop a war like this over that.
Condit wins via an awful stoppage by the ref in the 4th round.

-Last fight was fun to watch until the stoppage. Miura showed a lot. A minute before the ref stopped the fight Miura had Condit down and was landing solid shots. The ref let that happen, but then stops it when Condit lands three light punches to the forearm? Mir mentioned during the broadcast that one of the things he'd like changed in MMA is ref stoppages. I couldn't agree more. It's the old NBA line that when the 4th quarter comes, the ref should let the players decide the game. Awful ending to a true MMA war.

-Thanks for reading. I have some exciting articles coming this week. Stay tuned.

Sunday Afternoon News

• Don't know what surprises me more. Rob Emerson trashing Manny Gamburyan or someone bothering to do a story on Rob Emerson.
  

• WEC Matchmaker Scott Adams says Carlos Condit is not going to the UFC any time soon.

• Brian Stann was in the military. Didya know that?

• I wonder when Brock Lesnar finds time to train with all these interviews he's doing.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Could Face 2nd Degree Homicide Charges

It was reported that the pregnant woman whose SUV was crashed into by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson had a miscarriage and lost her 16 week old baby/fetus. The question on everyone's mind is whether Rampage will be charged with Fetal Homicide. It is a complex issue that California has dealt with in the past more than most states. California law states that if a pregnant woman's fetus is killed by another driver due to an accident, the assailant can be charged with second degree murder for the unborn fetus. As far as I can tell, California does not have a Fetal Manslaughter law, so if he is charged it will be with second degree murder.

After the crash it was reported she lost fluid from her womb. Most miscarriages and premature births occur following a substantial loss of amniotic fluid. Even though the miscarriage happened two weeks after the initial loss of fluid, it is possible it contributed to the eventual death of the fetus. Amniotic fluid is extremely important for a developing fetus. A lack of it can stunt the development of the lungs, cause the fetus to lose heat, and a host of other problems.

The severity of the chase will certainly not work in his favor. This is not a case of a person accidentally backing into another driver. He deliberately chose to drive on the median lane and put himself and others at risk. In addition to possible criminal charges, Jackson could also face a civil case. Anyway you look at it, he is facing a legal nightmare, which could stretch on for months.

Fetal Manslughter is not a CA law. Search for the word Manslaughter and you will see that the CA courts decided NOT to put Fetal Manslaughter on the books. Here is another link to the same case file. Same thing, search page for "manslaughter" and you'll see that the CA courts chose not to have Fetal Manslaughter listed as a crime. Now shut up about not including sources. This isn't the NY Times for Christ sake.

Saturday Night News

• Roger Huerta is upset with the UFC for editing him.

• If anyone from New York can explain to me who PATTY LADUCA is and why she's interviewing Brock Lesnar with the Caps Lock on, I'd love to hear about it.

• Randy Couture's new book "Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage" will debut at #33 on the New York Times Best-Seller List. Currently it is ranked #1,176 on Amazon, which isn't too hot.

• Gina Carano to face Kelly Kobold-Gavin at the next EliteXC CBS event on October 4.

• If Brock Lesnar fought Brock Lesnar, Brock Lesnar would win.

• The pregnant woman Quinton "GTA" Jackson hit had a miscarriage. How large of a settlement is a four month old fetus worth?
  

Couture vs UFC (Update)

According to my sources, the sides are not as far apart as you would think. There is growing concern within the UFC ranks that prolonged legal action will draw more attention to the bigger issue of this case, which is how MMA fighters are treated by organizations. The UFC would rather resolve things with Couture than keep the negative spotlight on themselves any longer. The recent comments by Roger Huerta in Fight! magazine shocked many within the organization who had no idea of his growing dissatisfaction. If you remember, The UFC's choice to put Huerta on the cover of Sports Illustrated was actually one of the things Couture mentioned as being a slap in the face from the organization he fought so hard for over the years. Now it seems the comments from the young lightweight are helping the aging superstar possibly get his freedom.

Most UFC fighters have quietly supported Couture in his quest to fight elsewhere. Huerta's comments, though, made the UFC realize the issue has festered and grown into a giant wart. Couture is very well liked and respected. No one wants to see him rot on the sidelines any longer. By working out an agreement with Couture, they hope to erase some of the resentment their fighters are feeling.

More changes will certainly come in the future, but for now it is the biggest step the organization can take to earn back the trust of their fighters.

Randy Couture Meets Privately With UFC Top Officials

Rear Naked News has learned that Randy Couture and his legal representatives are planning to meet with top officials from the UFC early next week. The meetings hope to work out an amicable split, which will end the months of legal action by both sides. Although Dana White has been against working out a deal, it appears he has been overruled by top officials within Zuffa, UFC's parent company. White has a tendency to make business personal and it seems Zuffa has finally stepped in to work the matter out.

This is great news for MMA fans who hope to see a potential match-up between Fedor Emelianenko and Couture. Adding even more intrigue to the closed door meetings is the rumor Fedor's bout with Andrei Arlovski has been scrapped due to a hand injury suffered by Emelianenko. Instead it seems likely Affliction decided it was not worth it to put Fedor into the ring with Arlovski because they believe Couture will become a free agent soon. This would allow them to set up a proposed December bout to go head to head with UFC's traditional end of the year event.

Rear Naked News will continue to follow this story as it develops.

WEC 35 Preview and Predictions

I know I'm a broken record, "The WEC puts on exciting fights. Watch it!" I'm not sure why the WEC has not caught on more. Maybe it's the smaller cage thing and people constantly referring to it as the UFC's minor league. Whatever it is, people are idiots for not watching these events. The lighter weight classes have always been a breeding ground for classic fights in boxing and it is the same with MMA. Lighter fighters throw more strikes and are more active. Once you get over the fact you're not seeing fighters you immediately recognize, the WEC becomes a pleasure to watch.

Uriah Faber, Miguel Torres, and Carlos Condit are three of the most exciting fighters in any organization. Start watching and I guarantee you will be pissed at yourself for ignoring it for so long.

Micah Miller vs Josh Grispi (Featherweights 145)
Both are young (21 and 19) tall fighters who will have futures in the heavier weight classes as they fill out with age. For now they are clocking in at 145 lbs for what should be a solid match-up. Grispi is coming off a February first round victory over Mark Hominick (Affliction dude with the rap video girl hot pants). Miller has said he has the better conditioning and a longer fight will favor him. While I agree with that, Grispi is a fast starter that constantly puts pressure on his opponents. If Miller comes out trying to wear him down, he could get blown away quickly. I think Grispi takes this one in the second round with a submission.

Brian Bowles vs Damacio Page (Bantamweights 135)
The winner of this match should be in line for a shot at Miguel Torres. Page will want to keep the fight standing, while Bowles needs it to go to the ground to have a chance. In his losses, Page has had trouble on the ground. He is susceptible to submissions. Bowles needs to weather the storm early and get the fight to ground by any means necessary. It is an interesting clash between styles. I don't put it past to Bowles to try to stand with Page, either. He has never been in with a brawler like him, so he might try to test himself early. Page will knockout a tired Bowles in the third round.

Marcus Hicks vs Jamie Varner (Lightweight Champion)
The last time Jamie Varner stepped inside the WEC cage, he shut up a lot of his critics with a blistering win over Rob McCullough. Now the 23 year old champion looks to make his first defense against 32 year old Marcus Hicks. Hicks has a powerful compact style that makes him tough to deal with. Varner has the advantage in striking and will need to use it to keep the more powerful Hicks away. As long as Varner does that, he will retain his title. I look for a second round TKO win by Varner.

Steve Cantwell vs Brian Stann (Light Heavyweight Champion)
This is actually a rematch. I'm not sure why they decided it was necessary because the last time Stann knocked him out in 41 seconds. Cantwell whined about the fight being stopped early and somehow got the WEC brass to setup a rematch. It was kind of funny because in the post-fight interviews Cantwell said with a straight face that despite the 41 second KO he still had better striking than Stann. This time around Cantwell promises the outcome will be different. One of the big problems the WEC has is finding legit opponents for their champions. This match is a clear example of that. Stann will dominate this guy again with a first round knockout.

Hiromitsu Miura vs Carlos Condit (Welterweight Champion)
Carlos Condit feels underrated and wants to be mentioned along with the top Welterweights in the world. At only 24 years old, I have little doubt that will eventually happen. The only thing stopping it from happening now is quality of opponents. Condit simply has not fought enough top fighters to be considered on the same level with names like St. Pierre and Fitch. Hiromitsu Miura represents a solid test for Condit to back up his words. Miura is an experienced Japanese fighter with heavy hands and good grappling skills. He has a thick build that he will need to utilize to have a chance at defeating the champion. Miura cannot let Condit dictate the fight. He needs to pressure him and force mistakes. Condit's confidence sometimes leaves him open and Miura has the power to capitalize on it. I think this will be an even fight while Condit feels things out. He will avoid mistakes and methodically hurt Miura. I look for Condit to end the fight via submission in the second round after hurting Miura with strikes and taking him down.

MMA YouTube Roundup

It is a boring news day for Mixed Martial Arts. I have decided to spend my time on YouTube finding the best MMA clips I could. Here are the fruits of my search.

• Quinton "GTA" Jackson humping a Japanese reporter. My favorite part of this video is the end when Cro Cop does his best impression of human emotion.

• Wanna see Anderson Silva lose? The ending of this fight is amazing.
  

• Don Frye gives marriage advice.

• Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko together at last.

• If any of my readers are doing this crap, please stop. You're embarrassing yourselves.

• UFC 1. Watch how terrible the refs are at the end of each fight.