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

Fedor Emelianenko - Image: Zuma Press

Here’s the deal: so long as Fedor – considered by many to be the best MMA fighter on the planet – isn’t in the UFC, there’ll be a whole segment of fans who won’t be happy with any of the opponents he faces. To them, it’s Brock or bust. Or at least Randy Couture or something! Having Fedor in Strikeforce is like keeping a whale in a fish bowl. But that’s not entirely fair. There are a few moderately interesting fights in that bowl, and Brett Rogers is one of them.

I’ll admit, it isn’t because I think Brett Rogers has a decent chance of winning the fight. He’s got a puncher’s chance, which against Fedor is complicated even more by the fact that he can put you on your back before you even get that punch.

The reason I’m into this match is because it’s a great underdog story. You could take Brett Rogers’ tale and turn it into a Rocky style movie one day (or Rocky 2 movie if he actually manages to win). You see, two years ago no one had even heard of Brett ‘the Grim’ Rogers. Even after he began to climb the rankings with knockout wins on EliteXC’s short lived CBS shows, he was still generally ignored as a prospect. At one point he ended up back at his old job at Sam’s Club rotating tires because he wasn’t getting fights.

Then Strikeforce picks him up and booked him against former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski. Up until that point Brett’s biggest opponent had been James Thompson of puss-eared Kimbo fight fame, and everyone saw it as throwing Rogers to the wolves. But Rogers didn’t just win … he destroyed Arlovski in 22 seconds. And suddenly Rogers found himself on everyone’s heavyweight top ten list.

Here’s where Fedor comes into the picture. The Russian was set to fight Josh Barnett at a show earlier this month but Barnett failed a pre-event steroid test. Another opponent was needed, and Brett Rogers was at the center of many people’s chatter. Even Fedor and his management chimed in, saying Brett Rogers was the opponent they’d like to fight. Unfortunately, instead of replacing Barnett with Rogers, the entire event was canceled.

And that brings us to today. While not as dramatic as a last second replacement fight would be, Brett Rogers will get his shot at Fedor sometime in November (Strikeforce is being secretive of the date to try and keep the UFC from organizing a competing event). And while the guy probably doesn’t stand that much of a chance against Fedor, there’s something pretty exciting about seeing him get an opportunity after all the crap he’s had to go through. And if there’s ever a guy who embodied the harsh MMA reality that anything can happen in a fight, it’s a power puncher like Brett Rogers.

Post from: EveryJoe

Strikeforce announces Fedor vs Brett Rogers

Shaquille O'Neal - Image: JR Davis via Newscom

Below you can see Shaq boxing it up with Oscar De La Hoya for an episode that will air on ABC September 8th. The week after, he’ll try to outswim lazy pothead Michael Phelps and then after that: unknown. I guess ABC wants to make sure the show doesn’t tank before ordering more episodes.

Still, if the thing doesn’t end up immediately banished to whatever hell contains Shaq-Fu and Kazaam, there’s a very good chance Shaq will do something MMA related on there. He’s been dicking around with training for a while and my bet is that his recent ‘call out’ of Brock Lesnar was an attempt to rope him onto the show.

But until he finds someone in the UFC willing to take on one of his rigged challenges, we’ll just have to settle with UFC commentator Mike Goldberg being on the show. He’s the co-host of Shaq VS, and yes! He does repeat half the same lines from UFC shows. It’s kinda surreal.

Post from: EveryJoe

Shaq beats on Oscar de la Hoya

WEC 43v Poster - Image: WEC

A legitimate question to ask would be why the WEC would cancel an entire event over one fighter who isn’t even a star attraction in any sense of the word. I’m wondering that right along with you, but if I was a betting man I’d say the reason is because of a stupid tiff between DirectTV and the Versus channel.

Basically, Versus wants more money to be on DirectTV because they’re no longer as crappy as they were when they were the Outdoor Life Network. That’s not hard, but Versus is right: they do suck way less now and have two pretty damn popular sports in MMA and the NHL. And who am I to say that bull riding won’t explode? Nobody but a no good know nothin’ city slicker, that’s who.

Anyways, long story short is that unless the two of them stop this game of chicken there’s a good chance DirectTV viewers won’t have a Versus channel to tune into next Wednesday when the WEC was supposed to be on. Tack on the hot word that ticket sales in Ohio may have been somewhat poop and it looks just a little like the WEC hopped at the chance to pull the plug on this event when Bensen Henderson was injured. Which sucks for us fans.

Post from: EveryJoe

Next week’s WEC delayed till October

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

Gina Carano takes a punch from Cris Cyborg - Image: Esther Lin / Showtime Sports

It was a controversial ending for sine who felt that Carano should have been ’saved by the bell’, but she had covered up and wasn’t defending and in mixed martial arts, that means game over. The only disappointment I felt was in not getting to see more fighting … the two went at it without a moment’s break to provide a great first superfight for women’s MMA.

What’s next for Gina Carano is a big question mark … she skipped the post-event interviews and conferences. This was her first loss in MMA, and the first time she’s ever been physically dominated. However, this ain’t boxing and one loss doesn’t mean a fighter is done. If Gina has the will to climb back up to the top, she will still have legions of fans who’ll cheer her on her way.

As for new 145 pound champ Cris Cyborg, Strikeforce president Scott Coker seems to be angling to put her up against veteran Dutch fighter Marloes Coenen. In addition to that fight, he also announced plans for Women’s 135 and 145 pound tournaments to flesh out Strikeforce’s thin women’s divisions and provide more challengers for it’s champions.

Here are the results from the fights:

• Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos defeats Gina Carano via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:59 for Strikeforce Women’s 145 pound belt
• Gegard Mousasi defeats Renato “Babalu” Sobral via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 1:00 for Strikeforce Light Heavyweight belt
• Gilbert Melendez defeats Mitsuhiro Ishida via TKO (strikes) — Round 3, 3:56 for Strikeforce Lightweight belt
• Fabricio Werdum defeats Mike Kyle via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 1:24

Post from: EveryJoe

Cris Cyborg finishes Gina Carano in 1 Round

Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg - Image: Showtime Sports

The fight in question is Gina Carano versus Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos. Gina as a former muay thai fighter turned mixed martial artists who some of you might recognize from her time on the new American Gladiators show where she played ‘Crush’. Cris Cyborg is the most feared female in mixed martial arts … a muscled beast of a woman from Brazil who has won five of her seven MMA fights via knockout. The two will be squaring off for the Strikeforce 145-pound title in a fight that many have been anticipating for over a year.

The two originally circled each other in the now-defunct EliteXC league where Gina proved herself as a ratings powerhouse and Cyborg burned through the division with ease. The company folded before a fight could be set up, but Strikeforce stepped in and picked up both women’s contracts. This Saturday at 10pm on Showtime, the two will face off in what has been dubbed ‘Beauty and the Beast’ by many in the media.

Also on the card is a fight between former UFC light heavyweight contender Babalu Sobral and rising star Gegard Mousasi. Babalu was cut from the UFC after refusing to release a chokehold on a tapping opponent and has gone 4-0 since then with wins over Bobby Southworth (for the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt) and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Gegard Mousasi is possibly the hottest prospect in mixed martial arts right now, coming into the event with a 12 fight win streak. He just won the DREAM middleweight tournament in Japan, a kickboxing bout against K-1 star Musashi, and then knocked out a super-heavyweight Mark Hunt for good measure.

Also on the televised portion of the card, Jesse Taylor (best known for getting kicked off the 7th season of The Ultimate Fighter) will face Jay Heiron, and Gilbert Melendez and Mitsuhiro Ishida will have a rematch for the Strikeforce lightweight belt. All in all it’s a great night of fights and it’s free if you get Showtime. Yeah, that’s like saying ‘It’s free if you pay 5 bucks’, but when you’re an MMA fan, getting events for less than 40 bucks is cause for excitement.

As mentioned yesterday, the UFC is trying to crush this card by replaying UFC 100 on Spike the same night, so if you don’t get Showtime or just wanna bounce back and forth between events, that is also an option.

Post from: EveryJoe

Gina Carano vs Cris Cyborg This Saturday

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