UFC 102 Poster - Image: Ultimate Fighting Championships

Also winning in this fight were the fans, who witnessed what has to be a fight of the year candidate if I ever saw one. From slugging on the feet to near-finish submission escapes, this fight blew away quietly confident expectations and really reminded everyone why both fighters are legends of the sport. Even I was wishing the fight could have lasted two more rounds, and that’s with me thinking 5-round non-title fights are a tool of the devil.

Past that, UFC 102 as a whole was pretty awesome. Several giant knockouts and some slick submissions plus an extra war jammed in at the end gave the event massive bang for it’s buck, and it gave me a nice shot in the arm I needed after a crap-tastic UFC 101. I recommend finding a way to watch it, but if you just want the nitty gritty results, here they are:
- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Randy Coture via Unanimous Decision
- Thiago Silva def. Keith Jardine via TKO (Strikes) Round 1
- Nate Marquardt def. Demian Maia via TKO (Strikes) Round 1
- Brandon Vera def. Kryzsztof Soszynski via Unanimous Decision
- Jake Rosholt def. Chris Leben via Submission (Arm Triangle) Round 3
- Aaron Simpson def. Ed Herman via technical knockout (injury) in round two
- Gabriel Gonzaga def. Chris Tuchscherer via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
- Mike Russow def. Justin McCully via unanimous decision
- Todd Duffee def. Tim Hague via knockout in round one (Seven seconds!)
- Mark Munoz def. Nick Catone via split decision
- Evan Dunham def. Marcus Aurelio via split decision

Bonuses:
- Fight of the Night: Nogueira & Couture
- Submission of the Night: Jake Rosholt
- Knockout of the Night: Nate Marquardt

Next up: Gray Maynard vs Roger Huerta at UFC Fight Night on September 16!

Post from: EveryJoe

Nog Wins War Against Couture at UFC 102

Anderson Silva - Image: Zuma Press

This is pretty crazy news, but Anderson has been chasing a challenge for the past two years and hasn’t been able to find one even after taking a few fights at light heavyweight. Not only should fights at heavyweight satisfy that need, but it will also set Silva up for some huge paydays.

So how did we end up here? The UFC’s middleweight division has been pretty anemic for a few years now, and the arrival of Anderson Silva as a world beater three years ago just made the rest of the guys at 185 look even worse. Now the division has built up a bit with solid names like Dan Henderson, Demian Maia, and Nate Marquardt, but for all their skills a fight with Anderson Silva seems like an exercise in pointlessness. Silva is just too good for them.

The UFC decided to bring Silva up to light heavyweight to see how he’d fare there. His two fights against James Irvin and Forrest Griffin lasted just under four and a half minutes combined. But his friendship with current light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida means he refuses to challenge for the belt. That means there’s not much point in having him fight other contenders, which stuck everyone in the same problem they had at 185 pounds: who does Silva fight now?

Moving to heavyweight seems pretty crazy, but it solves a lot of problems. Silva wants to set up a legacy and he wants to make as much money as possible before retiring. Fights against Frank Mir, Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar, and Mirko Crocop would accomplish that easily. The UFC gets to free up the middleweight belt and let a more equally skilled group of fighters scrap for it in a suddenly relevant middleweight division. And Anderson Silva isn’t stuck fighting random light heavyweight odd ends so long as his pal Lyoto Machida is champ.

No dates, names, opponents, or anything else have been announced regarding this, but last week’s sudden game of heavyweight musical chairs points towards something interesting brewing. The moment we get more info from Dana White and the UFC regarding the situation, I’ll post it up here. For now, you’ll just have to wait and salivate like the rest of us.

Post from: EveryJoe

Anderson Silva moving to heavyweight?

Shane Carwin - Image: Fight! Magazine

Carwin made the cut, and Cain Velasquez gets thrown back for more seasoning: He’ll be fighting Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 now. In a way, this works out nicely. Carwin is a better stylistic match against Lesnar … he knocks people out in thunderous fashion and Brock Lesnar’s chin is still a mystery – at least in mixed martial arts. We’ve all seen him land on his head in pro wrestling and eat steel chairs, but we’ll see how that translates into taking a punch to the maw and still staying in a fight.

Shane Carwin also took the time and effort to slam Brock Lesnar for his UFC 100 tirade, saying via his website:

“The flipping off of the fans that just lined your pocket with millions of dollars is just LAME. He may be a Champion but he has a long ways to go before he earns the respect of a Champion. The fans are why we do this Brock, this sport is not about fat paychecks and drama it is about hard work and sacrifice for a shot to do what you did last night. It doesn’t matter how much money you make if you can’t earn your peers respect and the respect and love of the greatest sporting fans in the world. We have no scripts in this sport, no pre-determined earning amount and no pre-determined outcomes. It doesn’t matter if you win or loose it matters how you win or loose.”

While Shane Carwin isn’t the best known heavyweight in the UFC, he’s 11-0 with all wins by knockout, with his longest fight lasting 2 minutes 11 seconds. In his last fight against Gabriel Gonzaga, he took an incoming bomb that shattered his nose but still managed to quickly shake it off and finish Gonzaga. He’s MMA’s best hope at toppling the pro wrestling usurper Brock Lesnar from his heavyweight throne, so this should be an exciting fight!

Post from: EveryJoe

Shane Carwin is next for Brock Lesnar

Chuck Liddell - Image: Zuma Press

This won’t be Chuck’s first time on the show. Several seasons ago, his then-girlfriend (or whatever he calls the many beautiful women he’s involved with at any given time) Willa Ford was a contestant and ABC did a little segment on her ‘good friend’ (wink wink) Chuck and the UFC. So as strange as this news is, it really isn’t all that surprising.

I’m still impressed that Chuck is willing to go on the show when he knows it’s gonna result in the 5 billion MMA blogs out there making fun of him for every step and mis-step. The only thing cooler than not giving a crap what people think is a jetpack, and those haven’t been invented yet. So I guess that makes Chuck the coolest cat on the planet.

Here’s the full lineup, courtesy of TVGuide.com:

1. Kathy Ireland, supermodel, author and fashion CEO of Kathy Ireland Worldwide
2. Macy Gray, Grammy-winning singer
3. Melissa Joan Hart, actress and one of the stars on our wish list
4. Mya, R&B singer and actress
5. Ashley Hamilton, actor-comedian and son of Season 2’s George Hamilton
6. Michael Irvin, ex-NFL wide receiver
7. Mark Dacascos, The Chairman on Iron Chef America
8. Donny Osmond, entertainer and brother of Season 5’s Marie Osmond
9. Kelly Osbourne, singer and daughter of Ozzy Osbourne
10. Debi Mazar, Entourage star
11. Chuck Liddell, light heavyweight champion
12. Natalie Coughlin, 11-time Olympic medalist in swimming
13. Joanna Krupa, model; most recently seen on ABC’s The Superstars
14. Louie Vito, snowboarder
15. Aaron Carter, singer and brother of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter
16. Tom DeLay, former House majority leader

Post from: EveryJoe

Chuck Liddell is on Dancing with the Stars

UFC 100 - Image: UFC

So what’s the occasion for the UFC to be so nice about giving away it’s content? Rival promotion Strikeforce is running it’s own MMA show this Saturday on Showtime, and the UFC has a long history of counter-programming it’s competition. While some see that as dirty pool, for those with DVRs it just means twice as much action!

Here’s the fights from UFC 100 that will be shown on Spike: Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir (UFC Heavyweight title unification bout), Georges St Pierre vs Thiago Alves (UFC Welterweight title fight), Dan Henderson vs Michael Bisping (Ultimate Fighter 9 coach fight), Stephan Bonnar vs Mark Coleman (previously unaired), Jon Jones vs. Jake O’Brien (previously unaired), and Shannon Gurgerty vs. Matt Grice (previously unaired).

As for the Strikeforce card, I’ll be breaking that down more later today but it features Gina Carano vs Cris Cyborg (for the Strikeforce Women’s 145 pound title), Babalu Sobral vs Gegard Mousasi, and Gilbert Melendez vs Mitsuhiro Ishida 2 (for the Strikeforce lightweight title). This is a great card as well and if you happen to get Showtime and want to check out some more non-UFC action, I highly recommend it. Those of you who took my advice and checked out the WEC last Sunday already saw a great night of fights and this card is looking like it will be just as good.

Post from: EveryJoe

UFC 100 replay on SpikeTV this Saturday

Anderson Silva - Image: Zuma Press

Silva was taking his second dip into the light heavyweight division after starching everyone at middleweight, and many thought the crafty former light heavyweight champ Griffin would use his size to give him trouble. But Silva didn’t take one serious shot in the whole fight and finished things at 3:23 of the first round with a quick jab that put Griffin on his back where he waved for the fight to stop.

Forrest was actually knocked silly twice before this by Silva, who proved that his speed and striking power work just fine against larger opponents. The second time Griffin was knocked down, Silva started showboating and offered to help him back to his feet. Silva then pulled a matrix style bob and weave, ducking all of Forrest’s lunging punches easily before throwing a lazy jab that caught Forrest on the jaw and sent him to the canvas flailing.

Once he had regained his senses, Forrest bolted out of the cage and immediately ran backstage, something he did after getting knocked out by Keith Jardine at UFC 66. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back from such a total defeat.

As for what’s next for Anderson Silva, Dana White is still playing with the idea of a rematch against Dan Henderson but after seeing Silva’s total domination of Forrest Griffin, it’s hard to imagine anything but a repeat. Anderson’s manager also floated the idea of him giving up the middleweight strap and chasing the big fights at 205 – I imagine that means guys like Rampage Jackson, Tito Ortiz, and Shogun Rua.

Whatever happens, here’s hoping the UFC does it’s best to find some serious opposition for Silva because thus far he’s been able to dispatch everyone with contemptuous ease. And on that note, I’m kinda sick of his contemptuous attitude and it’d be nice if he faced someone who could punch him in the face at least a few times before losing.

Post from: EveryJoe

Silva crushes Griffin at UFC 101

WEC 42 Poster - Image: WEC

What the hell is the WEC? It’s the UFC’s sister promotion, owned and operated by the same group of people. As for why Zuffa (the parent company of the UFC and WEC) owns two separate MMA promotions, the story is kinda amusing. Since SpikeTV has exclusive cable rights to live UFC events, so there was no way for the UFC to make a deal with the Versus channel. So Zuffa picked up World Extreme Cagefighting, a popular and well run California promotion, and put them on Versus instead. Yep, the UFC is sneaky like that.

But the key difference between the UFC and WEC are the weight classes. The WEC is focused around it’s bantamweight (135 pound) and featherweight (145 pound) divisions, which keep providing a large number of Fight of the Year candidates. The standard negative opinion on lower weightclass fights doesn’t apply here: there are finishes aplenty and the lighter guys never gas out, guaranteeing action from start to finish.

This Sunday features arguably the best fighter in the WEC, bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, defending his belt against the undefeated Brian Bowles. I’m firmly expecting Torres to win this fight not because he’s facing an easy opponent but because Torres is freaking awesome and I love him. Honestly, you couldn’t ask for a scrappier champ … this guy loves a brawl and also has sick ground skills. Wherever the fight goes, my bet is that Bowles is in for a beating.

If you don’t feel like spending money on the UFC pay per view this weekend but are still jonesing for a mixed martial arts fix, you really can’t go wrong with checking out the WEC event this Sunday on Versus at 9PM. You might not know who all the fighters are (yet), but they haven’t put on a dud card in a very long time and regularly have some of the best events of the year. I highly recommend taking a look. And just to get you off the fence, here’s a highlight of Miguel Torres:

Post from: EveryJoe

Don’t Forget! WEC 42 on Versus this Sunday

Georges St Pierre - Image: Zuma Press

During an interview with Yahoo’s Kevin Iole, BJ said “It’s just my opinion that he uses steroids. That’s it. My opinion. I do believe it. I can’t hand you any proof, but that’s my opinion.”

Another quote from Penn: “In my opinion, he doesn’t play by the rules when it comes to steroids and growth hormones and that stuff. Look at him. He’s the worst. He looks like that every day. That’s cheating. There is a reason why there are rules against using steroids. The rest of us, we get fat, then we train and get skinny and the cycle goes over and over again. He looks the same way all the time. Come on.”

While it is true that Georges St Pierre does look ripped all the time, that has to do with his work ethic and training regiment. Even when not preparing for an upcoming fight, GSP is in the gym training with a zeal that borders on obsessive compulsive. Even his vacations usually involve training – he spends a good amount of downtime in Brazil sharpening his skills with jiu jitsu experts and working out with them on the beach.

In short, all signs point towards BJ being completely off the mark. Throwing around steroid allegations without even a shred of evidence like this – especially at one of the most respected martial artists in the sport – is pretty insane and is likely going to cost BJ a lot of fans. But it might get him what he seems to really desire: a third shot at beating Georges. I don’t really see a point but if he wants to get his butt kicked again, I’ll tune in.

First though, he’ll have to make it through Kenny Florian this Saturday at UFC 101. You can read my breakdown of that fight here, and make sure to check out the EveryJoe MMA / UFC section regularly for more random drama and fight insanity!

Post from: EveryJoe

BJ Penn Accuses St Pierre of Using Steroids

Anderson Silva - Image: Zuma Press

Let’s go back a year to August 2008 for a second. Anderson Silva was one of the most feared strikers in the MMA game and he was already neck and neck with Fedor Emelianenko for the title of #1 pound for pound fighter in the world. He didn’t just defeat people, he annihilated them. He knocked Rich Franklin out three times in two fights, dispatched Dan Henderson in embarassing fashion, and also punk’d Chris Leben, Travis Lutter, James Irvin and Nate Marquardt. Basically, he was THE MAN.

Then something strange happened. In his last two fights he’s been more tentative than aggressive. His fights went from bombastic to boo-urns. Silva claims it is the evolution of his style and his goal is to finish his fights with the least amount of damage as possible. But many fans feel that his recent change has more to do with showboating than anything else.

In Forrest Griffin, Silva will be facing an aggressive fighter that the UFC hopes will force Anderson to return to his own pressure cooker pace. As for who wins, that really depends on which Anderson Silva shows up. If it’s the Silva that has refused to engage when the opportunity presents itself, the much larger Griffin could use that to control the fight and squeeze out a win. More likely though is the chance that Anderson ccatches Forrest Griffin on the chin and knocks him out. It makes me sad to say it, but Forrest tends to have some difficulty retaining consciousness when getting cracked – look no further than Rashad Evans knocking him out with ground and pound for an example of this.

Regardless, Forrest Griffin is kinda like the next-gen Randy Couture … he tends to win fights he’s supposed to lose, like the Mauricio Shogun and Quinton Jackson fights. And regardless of if he comes out on top or not, he’s rarely boring. All in all, this is the fight I’m actually most interested in watching this weekend because chances are we’ll be seeing A) a war B) a brutal knockout, C) a huge upset or D) all of the above.

For more information about watching UFC 101, check out UFC.com!

Post from: EveryJoe

UFC 101 Preview: Silva vs Griffin

UFC 101 - Image: UFC

This one’s for the UFC lightweight belt and has an interesting narrative behind it. BJ Penn just got pasted by Georges St Pierre a few months back … like to the point where he quit on the stool between the 4th and 5th round. How BJ will bounce back is a big question mark, especially considering he’s always been a bit of a headcase when it comes to motivation and training hard.

In Kenny Florian, BJ faces a decent challenge but it’s pretty much BJ’s fight to lose. There is no doubt that Florian will be coming into this fight more motivated and in shape than ever before. If BJ isn’t taking this fight seriously, he could find himself out muscled or horrifically cut open by one of Kenny’s trademark elbows to da grill.

Not only will this fight answer questions about BJ Penn and determine the future of the UFC’s lightweight division, it’s also pretty much guaranteed to be a great fight. Only one of Kenny’s last five fights has gone to a decision and for all BJ’s strange habits and actions outside the cage, he’s never a bore when he’s in it.

Here’s the rest of the UFC 101 card for your browsing pleasure. For more information on how to catch the card, click here.

Televised card:
B.J. Penn versus Kenny Florian
Anderson Silva versus Forrest Griffin
Amir Sadollah versus Johny Hendricks
Ricardo Almeida versus Kendall Grove
Kurt Pellegrino versus Josh Neer

Non-PPV prelim fights:
Aaron Riley versus Shane Nelson
Tamdan McCrory versus John Howard
Alessio Sakaraversus Thales Leites
Matt Riddle versus Dan Cramer
George Sotiropoulos versus Rob Emerson
Jesse Lennox versus Danillo Villefort

Post from: EveryJoe

UFC 101 Preview: BJ Penn vs Kenny Florian