The last card in WEC history ended with the sickest kick in MMA history. Yeah, I said it. It went down in the fifth round of the main event; Anthony Pettis v. Ben Henderson’ Check out Pettis’ taking flight, kicking off the cage and articulating Henderson’s face with his foot! Incredible! Normally, to see a kick like that, you have to be playing Street Fighter 2…or watching Neo Wax an agent in the matrix… or you scored a ticket to the Koomatay and you’re witnessing Frank Dux jump kick Chong Li. A bout 12 straight times. But not anymore. Not after seeing Pettis paint some Van Dammage right across Henderson’s chin. And best of all, was seeing Pettis give it the old 45 shoulder shrug afterwards saying it’s no big thing at all; “We practice it all the time. Just having fun in the cage…I’ve got ten more of those kicks coming. I’ll do them in the UFC.” Oh yeah. Most dudes can’t execute a kick like that without wires, CGI or a stunt double, much less in a fight. And now that he has JCVD down, he should expand his repertoire; work up a Chuck Norris round house kick…then a Jackie Chan goofy dive between the legs, and blast you in the groin move. And a Jet Li double kick. Or a Steven Seagal double double, grilled onions, add ketchup.
Either way memo to the guy who thinks MMA is nothing but a couple of dudes rolling around on a mat for 5 rounds; there’s a new action star coming to the UFC and his name is Anthony Pettis.
Joe Lauzon (+180) vs. George Sotiropoulos (-230) Seriously tough fight to call in my opinion. George Sotiropoulos is undefeated in the UFC after coming off The Ultimate Fighter, and he has some good wins over tough opponents. Joe Lauzon has a couple of tough losses, but looked really good in his last fight. Lauzon’s losses are against some tough competition, and I think he has the octagon experience to pull of the upset. I don’t see G.S. submitting Lauzon in this one. Risky and unpopular pick, but I have to go with creepy Joe.. I’m surprised Sotiropoulos is favored in this fight to be honest. Lauzon via Unanimous Dec.
Tim Boetsch (+400) vs. Phil Davis (-550) Fan favorite Tim Boetsch is back again after racking up some wins in smaller promotions, and a unanimous decision victory at UFC 117. He has his hands full tonight though. Phil Davis is undefeated and looking to continue his winning ways. Put simply... he will... dominantly.
Davis via Unanimous Dec.
Maiquel Falcao (+220) vs. Gerald Harris (-280) Gerald Harris is on a 10 fight win streak and has serious power in his hands. Falcao is Brazilian fighter out of chute boxe who has a few TKO wins of his own. He is making his UFC debut, which is always tough. Couple that with Harris’s heavy hands and it makes for a rough night. No matter who comes out on top, expect some fireworks.
Harris via TKO ***
Matt Hughes (+160) vs. BJ Penn (-200) This fight has been a long time in the making. Each fighter owns a win apiece in this trilogy bout. This fight breaks down pretty easily in my opinion, and I am shocked by the vegas odds in this one. BJ Penn is coming off of consecutive losses in the lightweight division, and is hungry for a win. Hughes has been looking great recently and when you look at his record his only losses come at the hands of the current champion and a monster (and overweight) Thiago Alves. BJ Penn has never looked very impressive to me at welterweight, and his cardio is always up for question. You simply can not say the same thing about Matt Hughes. Look for Matt to put him on the ground quickly and avoid submissions all night. Hughes himself says he cannot see himself finishing Penn in a 3 round fight, and I agree. Hughes may possibly lose the first round, but that’s it.
Hughes via Unanimous Dec.
Quinton Jackson (+185) Lyoto Machida (-235) This is a pivotal fight for Quinton (Rampage) Jackson, it will determine where he belongs in the UFC’s light-heavyweight division. Is he a top contender, or destined to be the gatekeeper for the rest of his career. Everybody knows that Rampage has power, but Machida’s striking is just too sophisticated for him. Look for Machida to frustrate Jackson early in the fight, and throw Rampage off of his game. This fight looks like a more dominant and clear cut version of Jackson vs. Griffin. Rampage failing to find his timing and being slowly picked apart.
Machida via Unanimous Dec.
SPIKE PRELIMS Aaron Simpson (+105) vs. Mark Muñoz (-135) Muñoz via Split Decision *** Matt Brown (+120) vs. Brian Foster (-150) Foster via TKO
PRELIMS
Tyson Griffin vs. Nik Lentz Griffin via Unanimous Dec. Paul Kelly vs. T.J. O'Brien Kelly via Split Decision. Edson Barboza (-450) vs. Mike Lullo (+350) Barboza via KO Karo Parisyan (-175) vs. Dennis Hallman (+145) Parisyan via Unanimous Dec.
*** BONUSES *** Fight of the Night - Aaron Simpson vs. Mark Muñoz Submission of the Night - N/A Knockout of the Night - Paul Harris
The Ultimate Fighter contestant and quarter finalist Jonathan Brookins fought current WEC featherweight champ Jose Aldo at WEC 36. Aldo is set to become the UFC featherweight champion later this year when the WEC merges its divisions with the UFC.
MAIN CARD Paulo Thiago (170.5) vs Diego Sanchez (170.5) This fight starts off the main card. I view it as a relatively easy win for Diego. I don’t think Thiago really has much to offer in this fight, and other than his GORGEOUS knockout of Josh Koscheck, he has looked rather unimpressive in the UFC. Diego has returned to Greg Jackson's and will return to his winning ways. Sanchez via Unanimous Dec.
Gabriel Gonzaga (254) vs Brendan Schaub (239) Look... Brendan Schaub is a good fighter, and Gabriel Gonzaga has had his share of losses, but Schaub is simply not on Gonzaga’s level. Gonzaga’s losses also come at the hands of Dos Santos, Carwin, Werdum, and Couture... it’s not like he’s fighting scrubs out there. Gabriel wins whenever he want to. Gonzaga via Knockout (1st Round)*
Matt Hamill (203.5) vs Tito Ortiz (206) This is a tough fight to pick. Everyone is going around saying how Tito hasn’t won a fight in 4 years, which although true, is very misleading. For all intents and purposes he beat Rashad Evans but had a point deducted, so the fight ended in a draw. And Rashad is a tough opponent who will be fighting for the title soon. However, Hamill is simply a better wrestler than Tito, and I think that wins him the fight since neither have amazing standup. Hamill via Unanimous Dec. Martin Kampmann (170) vs Jake Shields (170.5) Great fight on paper, snoozefest in reality if you have ever seen Jake Shields fight before. He is a great wrestler, and that wins him fights. In that respect, Shields has the edge, but Kampann wins the standup battle easily, and is no sloutch on the ground. I see this fight going back and forth. Sheilds wins the first round by taking Kampmann down quick and holding him there the entire round. The second round is up for grabs, Kampann avoids most takedowns, attempts some submissions, and wins all standup exchanges. By the third round Kampmann figures out Jakes style and controls the fight, picking him apart standing. The fight could go either way, whoever the judges thought won the second round wins the fight. Kampmann via Split Dec. Brock Lesnar (264) vs Cain Velasquez (244) Lesnar came in a pound under the limit?!?!? is the world coming to an end?!?!? Seriously though, the guy is still a monster. Don’t believe the hype train that Cain has the cardio advantage in this fight. He has never pushed around a Brock sized fighter before. Brock is bigger, stronger, and possibly faster. No doubt Cain is ‘more skilled”. But Brock is learning really quick, and has come A LOT WAY since he was submitted by Mir back in the day. The scarier thing is, which we learned in his last fight, somebody taught Lesnar how to choke people with his mammoth arms. JDS and Carwin are the only 2 in the division who have a chance at dethroning the baddest man on the planet. Lesnar via Choke (3rd Round)* SPIKE PRELIMS
Ryan Jensen (185) vs Court McGee (184.5) Court McGee via Submission/Tapout (2nd round) Tom Lawlor (185) vs Patrick Cote (185) Patrick Cote via TKO (3rd Round) PRELIMS Daniel Roberts (170) vs Mike Guymon (170) Mike Guymon via Unanimous Dec. Paul Taylor (155) vs Sam Stout (155.5) Sam Stout via Split Dec.* Dongi Yang (186) vs Chris Camozzi (185) Yang via TKO (2nd Round) Gilbert Yvel (249) vs Jon Madsen (254.5) Madsen via Unanimous Dec.
*BONUSES* Fight of the Night - Paul Taylor vs. Sam Stout Submission of the Night - Brock Lesnar Knockout of the Night - Gabriel Gonzaga
Shane sends a message to his fans on the underground, and congratulates Brock on his success.
"He showed the heart of a Champion last night. Most men would fold under that kind of pressure.
I really appreciate all the support and messages. I am honored to have had the chance to fight for the belt and will be working my ass off to get another shot.
There are a lot of deserving fighters out there and now it is Cain's turn to see what he can do. I will be back in the mix soon enough.
As for my health, I am good. My body began to seize up towards the end of the 1st and it was totally locked up in between rounds. I told my Coaches I could not move my legs. I have never felt like that before in my life. I had to answer the bell so I did what I could do and went out like any warrior would do and tried to fight through it.
Being a Champion is about living and fighting through adversity. Brock Lesnar has done jsut that, not only in coming back to submit me but throughout his medical struggles too. I hope I can earn another shot someday.
For me I am going to do a signing today and then head home to be with my family and spend a little quality time on the lakes in my Malibu Boat. It has been a long camp and a even longer set of camps waiting for this fight. I need a rest.
Thank you to my coaches, sponsors and manager for everything you have done and continue to do for me. You guys have made this a fun journey and one I would travel anytime.
My goal is to win the UFC Heavyweight Title, I want to be the best fighter on the planet. I will be working hard and doing everything I need to do to earn that title.
For now I will settle for loving father, husband and loyal friend..."
Josh Koscheck fakes getting hit with an illegal knee in an attempt to have a point deducted from Paul Daley. An effort which was almost successful as Referee Dan Miragliotta initially deducted a point, but upon seeing the replay did not follow through with the penalty.
Koscheck has also been seen getting hit with an illegal knee in a previous fight with Anthony Johnson in which he reacted to being hit in the left eye. However, video evidence failed to validate Koschecks "injury".
Koscheck holds strong that he was hit with something... saying it could have been a knee or a fist. What Josh seems to be forgetting is that fists to a grounded opponent ARE NOT illegal, and would not warrant a referee stoppage unless the fight was ending via TKO. Sounds like backpedaling to me....
"I’ve had a long flight home to consider my actions and regret the mistake I made on Saturday. I would like to apologise to the UFC and the Athletic Commission for what I’ve done as well as all the fans and sponsors that support me.
I would also like to offer my sincerest apologies to Josh Koscheck who did not deserve the cheap shot I threw. He did what he needed to do in order to win the fight and get the job done, and I foolishly reacted to the situation.
There is no excuse for my actions and I know what I did was very unprofessional. I was immensely frustrated by a collection of things that took place throughout the fight as well as leading up to it, but I’m certainly not trying to condone or excuse my actions.
Josh implemented his game plan perfectly taking me down and staying on top of me for the majority of the fight. I was also frustrated about him claiming (and acting like) I knee’d him in the head on the ground when it was clear for all to see in the video replay that I didn’t connect at all with the knee I threw.
Then finally, the verbal abuse Josh hit me with in the final 30 seconds of the fight simply pushed me over the edge and my frustrations came out as I knew I’d lost the fight, was unhappy with my own performance and had then been ridiculed by my opponent to top things off.
This is certainly no excuse for my actions; I fully deserve to be punished for what I did and hope that everyone I have disappointed can forgive my rash decision. I feel very disappointed in myself for losing my cool and hope that I am able to address my temperament and bounce back from this low point in my career.
I feel ashamed and embarrassed by what I did and hope that together my team and I can get through this issue. It will be a long road back from where I am now to earning the trust and respect of the UFC and the MMA fans that have supported me for so long, I know I’ve let you all down but I’m determined to make it up to you all."
This Saturday, May 8th, I have the privilege to attend UFC 113 in Montreal. I am very excited since this is the first UFC event that I will have ever attended live. My anticipation is through the roof.
While living in Windsor, Ontario I just missed out on attending UFC 77, and witnessing Anderson Silva before he went crazy. I was also pulling for Rashad Evans to retain his title against Machida last May, in hopes the UFC would hold an event in Detroit. My small apartment would have been only been a 15 minute drive away from the potential event. However, we all know how that turned out...
Between the lack of sanctioning in Ontario, and the 11 hour drive to Montreal, it took moving out of windsor, and an awesome fiancee with a genius birthday gift to finally get me to some live fights.
So in preparation for my “UFC Weekend Extravaganza” here are my picks for the undercard fights. Be sure to check back tomorrow for my analysis of the main card.
Middleweight bout: Joe Doerksen vs. Tom Lawlor Lawlor via Unanimous Dec. Welterweight bout: Marcus Davis vs. Jonathan Goulet Davis via TKO (1st round) Welterweight bout: TJ Grant vs. Johny Hendricks TJ Grant via Unanimous Dec. Heavyweight bout: Tim Hague vs. Joey Beltran Beltran via TKO (2nd round) Welterweight bout: Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. Mike Guymon Yoshida via Split Dec. Middleweight bout: Jason MacDonald vs. John Salter MacDonals via Choke (3rd Round)
Disagree with my picks, comment below and tell me why.
It was reported that Urijah Faber was paid $28,000 for his fight on Saturday against WEC Featherweight champion Jose Aldo. This doesn't include money paid by sponsors or any other undisclosed bonuses. Whatever the paycheck Urijah received it doesn't seem like enough to have to take that sort of damage. His leg looks like it may have died and is simply remaining attached to his body by bruised flesh, with no life in it. Props to Faber for continuing to answer the bell each round... I would have quit after one of those kicks.
There are some other pictures surfacing around the internet of his leg, swollen and looking like he had just been run over by a truck. This one is one of the most recent. It really looks like there has been some serious damage done. We'll have to wait and see if there are any medical complications as a result of his injury.
Urijah received a medical suspension of six months or until he is cleared by a physician for his left thigh and knee injury. Which means he won't be training for a long time, and it is unlikely we will see him in the cage until 2011. When he does return I wouldn't be surprised to see him sporting a wrapped knee.
I really enjoyed the fight on this weeks episode of The Ultimate Fighter. Especially good if you are really pulling for one team over another, like I am.
Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates over the past week, I was away and wasn't keeping up on what was happening in the MMA world. When I came back my inbox was flooded with Tito/Jenna news... and I just didn't care enough to post about it. If you want any info on their situation, just CHECK THE INTERNET, it's everywhere.
Anyway, during my time away I was able to catch this past weekends WEC which featured former champion Urijah Faber vs. Jose Aldo. Aldo has been getting a lot of attention lately, which is entirely deserved, but it may be Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung Jung who will be getting the attention this week after their thrilling fight on Saturday. Click on the video above to check out this fight, you won't be sorry. I will defiantly be purchasing whatever pay per view that features Garcia/Jung II.
"Have you ever seen him do that at one of my shows?" White asked of Nathan Diaz. White said he believes the incident occurred because CBS didn’t align itself with the UFC. He said he had a tentative deal with CBS, but said that Showtime executives talked CBS into buying into the now-defunct Elite XC instead of agreeing to broadcast UFC fights.
The result, White said, was that an inferior product was put on national television. "Of course, everyone thinks I’m anti-competition, but I’m not," White said. "But everyone knows that they didn’t belong on CBS. Even if you’re the biggest UFC hater out there, you know that. Shame on CBS for this. They knew they should have been with us, but they went out and let those Showtime idiots talk them into going with Elite XC.
"Now, they’re stuck with a bush league, C-level promotion that will probably be out of business next month," he added. "And what you saw on Saturday is the kind of thing that happens when you put a product like that on national television."
Dana was also unhappy with the play-by-player announcer Gus Johnson. Johnson was quoted saying "sometime these things happen in MMA, there is a lot of testosterone in the cage" while live on camera.
"When have you seen anything remotely close to that happen at a UFC event?" White said. "What kind of ridiculous commentary was that? That was an idiotic thing to say. And then he was yelling at them to stop, telling them they are on national television. That was just another example of how bush league they are."
I should be careful what I say, because I don't want to the Diaz brothers and 20 other Cesar Gracie team members to go thug on me, but I like every other MMA fan is wondering what tonight's Strikeforce event will mean for the promotion.
For many casual fight watchers, the event will go unnoticed since it didn't take place in the UFC octagon, but for MMA journalists it's like Christmas came twice this year. However, they certainly wont be writing much about the fights themselves. The whole night can be summed up by simply stating that wrestling dominated in unimpressive fashion, and as we all learned after UFC 112, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that is not backed up with elite level striking does not lead to an effective gameplan once the bell rings.
The night started with Gegard Mousasi vs. Muhammad "King Mo" Lawal. Gegard, who was the Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion was favored to win this fight, and was viewed by many MMA critics to be one of the most promising fighters outside of the UFC. "King Mo" has also gained a lot of recent attention with some victories in Japan, and a viral video of him in a verbal dispute with "Rampage" Jackson. This 5 round fight showed a tired Lawal repeatedly takedown an even more tired Mousasi and absorb relatively ineffective strikes from the grounded Dutchman. Lawal won the fight by unanimous decision, and answered a lot of questions about his ability against higher level competition. Mousasi, on the other hand, will now be faced with thousand fans who will call him over-rated and undeserving of his status as a top 10 fighter.
The matchup was Shinya Aoki vs Gilbert "El Niño" Melendez. This fight showed that Aoki has a lot of work to do in the striking department. Aoki, who is the DREAM lightweight champion, and elite brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner was dominated by Melendez in a 5 round battle for the Strikeforce lightweight championship. Aoki simply had nothing to offer Melendez on his feet, and was unable to pull off any submissions from the bottom, or even improve his position. It is possible there will be an immediate rematch in Japan for the DREAM lightweight championship, which fights under slightly different rules in a ring instead of a cage.
The main event featured UFC veteran Dan Henderson vs. Jake Shields. The third title fight of the evening looked to be the most promising, when the heavily favored Henderson rocked Shields with a right hand dropping in the first round. Shields managed to survive the attack and made it out of the round looking outclassed. However after receiving advice from his corner to continue his attempts at a takedown, Shields came back to dominate the next 4 rounds. Effortlessly passing guard and mounting Henderson over and over, Shields showed that he is a force to be reckoned with at both welterweight and middleweight.
These three fights may have not been the most exiting to casual observer, but I really didn't mind them at all. Shields vs. Henderson was technical battle between 2 great grapplers, and still a lot better than watching Anderson Silva act like a monkey for 5 rounds. I think Shields poses a real challenge to the top fighters in the UFC and creates some very interesting matches in the Welterweight division. This leads to the question about Strikeforces future in the MMA world, and exposure in mainstream media.
Shields is at the end of his contract with Strikeforce, and had already sparked the interest of UFC president Dana White prior to his win over Henderson. Dana who has been criticized for his strict "champions clause", which limits any UFC champion from fighting in another promotion at the end of their contract, must be beaming right now. He will no doubtingly offer Shields a huge sum of money to fight in the UFC, bringing his belt with him and leaving Strikeforce without a champion, and an overpaid Henderson coming off a heartbreaking loss. Dana's champions clause may seem overly strict, but it is necessary to avoid the kind of situation Strikeforce has put themselves in. After over-promoting Henderson, Shields had already expressed his displeasure, feeling he was overlooked as the champion and was open to other opportunities following the fight.
This couldn't come at a worse time for Strikeforce, whose nationally televised card on CBS went 45 minutes over their time-slot, with all three fights going the full 5 rounds. Not to mention the giant blemish that occurred at the end of the event, when Shields was interrupted by former opponent Jason Miller during his post fight interview. Miller was met with angry Cesar Gracie team members and all chaos broke loose...
Now do I think it is as big a deal as MMA forum members are making of it... No, it's Mixed Martial Arts, not chess. When tempers flare in baseball, a fights break out, so what do you think is going to happen when things get heated when the sport IS fighting? But I have a feeling CBS executives wont be as forgiving as me. Even though most people likely changed the channel after the 4th round of the second fight, a street brawl of broadcast TV isn't the kind of image MMA wants right now. CBS may have signed on to have a controlled combat sport on their network, but they certainly didn't agree to have 10 men stomping on Jason Miller while security attempted to gain control of the situation. I'm pretty sure CBS never aired the Jerry Springer show. If I had my way the Diaz brothers, who were at the center of the chaos, would never compete in MMA again. I can't stand either of them, I think they are over-rated thugs who showed their true colors tonight. They are everything that is wrong with MMA, and give the entire sport a bad image with there Stockton attitude.
Anyway, this is my longwinded analysis of the night. I fear the worst for Strikeforce and will be starting the countdown to their demise. There is only so much money to pay Fedor and his management, and if CBS decides they are no longer interested in watching the Diaz brothers act like morons, Strikeforce will soon be asking for a government bailout.
It's a good night to be Dana White considering his biggest competition pretty much lost every fan they had. His twitter said it all... " :) " Quotes from the fans:
Aniketos on Sherdog says: Is this really the kind of attention you want for the sport? I mean seriously?? And you wonder why a lot of sports media trash talk the sport and bad mouth it. T Bag on The Underground says: Shields is really, really boring. I love groundfighting but man is he boring in an MMA context. Still, he's right up there with GSP as the top WW in the world. There needs to be a fight between them LongTimeMMAGuy on The Underground says: Nick Diaz had a very slim chance of ever fighting in the UFC and giving GSP a fight. Now, after the thug fight in the cage, his chances are less then slim. I dont think we will ever see a Nick Diaz UFC fight again.
Bellator is a great up and coming promotion with some good fighters. When Strikeforce goes under (and it will if they compete with the UFC and Fedors management gets what they want) I think Bellator will be the non-UFC promotion to watch... Anyway, good knockout, worth the watch.
Great from from last weekends UFC 112. Back and forth, good striking, grappling, & Ground and Pound. Probably my favorite fight from the night. Check it out.
UFC President Dana White announced today, while on "Jim Rome Is Burning", that middleweight champion Anderson Silva's next opponent with be Chael Sonnen. This comes as a surprise to many MMA fans who had hoped Vitor Belfort would be the champs next challenge.
After Silva's recent lackuster bout at UFC 112 Chael was quoted saying, "There's people out there that need (to be) beaten up – he's one of them. And I have a moral obligation to society to beat him up."
According to Dana, this match up is likely targeted for UFC 117. Quotes from the fans: McBride61 on Sherdog says: Well... .... .... I wont be buying that PPV unless it is stacked otherwise. D_S_A on The Underground says: It'll be funny if sonnen just humps him for 5 rounds and the crowd boos louder than ever. Merlinmhc on youtube says: Silva redeems himself at Chael's cost then..
Chuck Liddell will face Rich Franklin at UFC 115 instead of original opponent and opposing coach from the current season of "The Ultimate Fighter" Tito Ortiz.
The UFC confirmed on monday rumors announcing that Liddell will indeed face Franklin on June 12 in Vancouver for the main event of UFC 115.
The story surfaced after Ortiz had suffered injuries during training that would prevent him from fighting in the bout against Liddell in June, and it was former middleweight champion Rich Franklin that would step in to replace him.
The UFC denied the initial reports and stood by the original pairing of Liddell vs. Ortiz, but it looks like with tickets about to go on sale for the event that the cat has been let out of the bag.
Liddell will face Franklin in a light heavyweight main event bout on the card, which will serve as the first UFC fight in the city of Vancouver.
UFC 115 will take place at General Motors Place in Vancouver on Saturday, June 12.
Sickest Kick For Last 
