MMA Reviews

2011-01-15T12:05:00.001-08:00

2011-01-15T12:04:00.001-08:00

2011-01-15T12:03:00.001-08:00

Ariel Helwani's Best of 2010 MMA Interviews Part 2

2010-12-30T10:14:00.001-08:00

Ariel Helwani's Best of 2010 MMA Interviews Part 1

2010-12-30T10:14:00.000-08:00

Backstage With Scott Coker

2010-12-30T10:13:00.000-08:00

Tito Ortiz: 'Sideshow Kos' needs to win a world title or shut his face

2010-12-21T15:42:00.000-08:00

Cole Miller "I Plan on yanking Donald Cerrone's arm off and throwing it in my trophy case"

2010-12-21T15:40:00.000-08:00

2010-12-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

The video of the day is Mauricio Shogun Rua vs Rampage Jackson back in PRIDE. Please direct all comments below.

Fighters to look for in the WEC-UFC Merger

2010-12-14T14:44:00.000-08:00

This article will be looking at elite fighters coming from WEC to their new home, the UFC. After Zuffa owned little sister of the Ultimate Fighting Championship merged there was many talks of possible new fights and what could happen to each division. WEC hosts only lighter weight fighters in three different divisions, the lightweight, featherweight and the bantamweight divisions.

Champions:

    The Bantamweight division’s champion goes by the name of Dominick Cruz, the California born fighter is known for his great cardio and heavy hands for a 135lb fighter. He dethroned a tough Brian Bowles back at WEC: Bowles vs. Cruz on March 6th 2010 and has defended his belt once against a solid Joseph Benavides. This title defence marks his second defeat over Benavides. Cruz now must defend his glory against a very solid wrestler in Scott Jorgensen. The winner of this fight will be the UFC’s first ever bantamweight champion.

    The Featherweight division is dominated by one man, Jose Aldo. Jose signed with the WEC in 2008 and his first fight took place on June 1st 2008. He has fought 6 times since then and has had his arm raised all 6 times, and only one fight went the distance, that was the Urijah Faber fight. However, I bet Faber wishes that fight didn’t go that far due to vicious leg strikes from Aldo leaving Urijah unable to walk post-fight. Jose Aldo is ranked by many in the Top 5 P4P fighters in the world and is with out a doubt the biggest name moving in the merger.

    The Lightweight divisions champion is a very athletic man named Ben Henderson. Henderson much like Jose Aldo has only allowed one fight to go the distance, a fight that won fight of the night against a tough opponent in Donald Cerrone. That was also the fight he won the interim lightweight championship belt at. This set him up for a fight with Jamie Varner where Henderson won the lightweight championship belt after an impressive performance. Ben Henderson’s next test is a talented and motivated Anthony Pettis, the winner of this fight will fight the winner of current UFC LW champion Frankie Edgar and #1 contender Gray Maynard.

Notable fighters:

Bantamweight Division:

Urijah Faber

    Urijah Faber is with out a doubt the poster boy of the WEC, he really put WEC’s name out there and was the champion for many years before losing the belt to Jose Aldo and dropping to the bantamweight division. He will be a force and a very large draw in his new home of the UFC. Faber holds a record of 24-4.

Brian Bowles

    Brian Bowles holds notable wins over Damacio Page and Miguel Torres. Bowles lost his title to current champion Dominick Cruz. Brian Bowles is a well rounded fighter and can hold his own in the striking department or on the ground. He holds a record of 8-1.

Joseph Benavidez

Joseph Benavidez is a veteran of 7 fights in the WEC, his record stands at 5-2 awith both of those losses coming to current champion Dominick Cruz. Joesph is a short 5'4 but where he lacks in height he makes up for it with his conditioning, speed and accurate striking. Joseph is a force in the bantamweight and will make an impact without a doubt in the UFC. Joseph Benavidez holds a 13-2 record.

Scott Jorgensen

    The current number one contender to challenge Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight belt. Scott has incredible wrestling and his conditioning is top notch. Expect Jorgensen to give Cruz a good run for the belt and make a name for himself in the new UFC division. Scott Jorgensen holds a record of 11-3.

Miguel Angel Torres

    Formally known as the biggest threat in this once weak division Torres has lost two fights in a row before submitting Charlie Valencia to end his loss streak. Mind you his losses came to two excellent opponents in the aforementioned mentioned Brian Bowles and Joseph Benavidez. Torres is a tall bantamweight at 5‘9 and uses this to his advantage. Miguel Angel Torres is another big name and should make his stay in the UFC worth while. Torres holds an impressive record of 37-3.

Featherweight Division:
Mike Brown

    This man shocked the world when beating Urijah Faber in their bout on November 5th 2008. However much like Frankie Edgar after his defeat of BJ Penn, he proved the world wrong twice defeating Faber for the second time 7 months later and greatly proving he belongs with the best in the 145 division. He was immediately fed to Jose Aldo who much like most of his other opponents he stopped early in the second round. With a win in his last fight he is still in the 145 mix. Mike Brown holds a record of 24-6.

Manny Gamburyan

    Manny Gamburyan has been called inconsistent for a few years now, and this is the exact reason he was cut from the UFC the first time. When he got to the WEC he pulled things together and posted a 3-0 record before stepping in front of the wrecking machine that is Jose Aldo. Manny Gamburyan is always a threat and is a hard worker, I feel he could pose a threat in the UFC. Manny Gamburyan holds a record of 13-6.

Josh Grispi

    Josh Grispi saw him challenging Jose Aldo for his belt at UFC 125 before Jose was forced to pull out with a spine injury. Grispi utilizes his size and reach advantage almost perfectly in his fights. When it comes to a #1 contender, there is no doubt that Josh Grispi is the perfect candidate to try to dethrone Aldo. Grispi holds a record of 14-1.

Chad Mendes

    Chad Mendes is a talented wrestler with great speed in his hands, he has fought 4 times in the WEC with a perfect 4-0 record with the promotion. Chad Mendes is a threat to any opponent and holds a 9-0 record in his MMA career.

Chan Sung Jung

    Known as “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung is a very exciting fighter as is most popularly known for his war with Lenard Garcia which was highly regarded was one of the best MMA fights in history. Chan Sung Jung is a very exciting fighter and is also talented. Expect him to make an impact in the UFC. Chan Sung Jung holds a record of 10-3

Lightweight Division:

Donald Cerrone

    Donald “The Cowboy” Cerrone is possibly the most popular LW in the WEC and for a good reason, he is talented and his cowboy attitude usually puts him in the victory column. Cerrone is the former LW champion of the WEC and it is possible that one day he will hold the prestigious title again in the UFC. However, the UFC’s strongest division is the lightweight division. This should be an interesting mix. Donald Cerrone hold a record of 12-3 and 1 NC.

Chris Horodecki

    Chris Horodecki is a young talented Canadian fighter who made a great impact in the WEC during his time with the promotion. He will be a very marketable fighter and always puts on a good show. If Horodecki takes things slow he may be a force in this division one day. Chris Horodecki holds a record of 15-2.

Anthony Pettis

    Anthony Pettis is the #1 contender for this WEC lightweight belt and will meet with Ben Henderson to see who will be fighting the winner of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard. Anthony “Showtime” Pettis earned his title shot after knocking out Danny Castillo with a vicious head kick. Pettis is explosive and has incredible striking power. Anthony Pettis holds a record of 10-1.

Jamie Varner

    Jamie Varner is almost never in a boring fight. With three of his 4 losses coming to elite fighters in Hermes Franca, the current champion Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone. Varner is very well rounded and possesses very accurate striking that can put anybody in the LW division out. Jamie Varner has a career record of 16-4-3 with 2 NC.

Kamal Shalorus

    Kamal Shalorus has incredible wrestling and transitions it to MMA perfectly. If he is put down he has good BJJ to fall back on. He is undefeated in his career and is a great threat to the UFC’s LW division. Kamal Shalorus holds a career record of 6-0-2.

Written by Andrew Castro (Intermission)

UFC 124 Fight Review

2010-12-12T00:52:00.003-08:00

UFC 124 had high hopes expectations to be one of the top cards of the year, in my eyes it delivered. I am not going to talk every fight but most of them were great. I will break down the performances of the fighters and really dissect this great card.

Dustin Hazelett vs. Mark Bocek

This fight saw Dustin Hazelett dropping down from WW to his new home in the LW division. However, Mark Bocek had plans to spoil his homecoming. Both Hazelett and Bocek are BJJ black belts and one had to expect a submission finish tonight.

This is exactly what happened. Bocek being on top of Hazelett he swept his right leg under Hazelett and rolled to his right, trapping him in a triangle choke. If you have seen Maia vs. Sonnen then you should know exactly what I am talking about. Hazelett had no choice but to tap, this was a very impressive victory and Bocek stated that he wants a fight in his hometown of Toronto, Ontario on the UFC 131 slated for April.

Matthew Riddle vs. Sean Pierson

I just want to briefly touch on this fight because if I went into detail then I could fill up 10 pages with all the action. I will start this off by saying I am almost positive this will get fight of the night.

Round one most defiantly went to Sean Pierson, he looked great and had Riddle’s back in a corner and was teeing off on Riddle. This is when I noticed that the kid sure can take a hit. Shortly after Riddle jumped for a flying knee and missed by quite a bit, leaving his face open and vulnerable. Pierson took no time to notice this and connected with a right hook that would have knocked mostly anyone out. Riddle got up, shook it off and begged for more action. Smiling the whole fight, after every punch to his face, every kick to his leg and every knee to the body, he wouldn’t stop smiling and pushing the pace. This kid has great heart, he lost in a decision to a better Sean Pierson but make no make about it, Riddle is young and tough.

Thiago Alves vs. John Howard

This fight may bring many questions to someone, it is very hard to predict how a fight like this will end. Going into this fight John Howard knocked 7 out of his last 8 opponent out and Alves was on a two loss streak. It is no secret that Alves was a clear favourite. We got to see a new Thiago Alves, very dominant, very fast and using his leg kick as expected to chop down the lead leg of John Howard. This fight went to a decision but was an action packed fight and was refreshing to see a dominant Alves back.

Joe Stevenson vs, Mac Danzig

Joey Stevenson, the name of Joe’s son who is celebrating his 10th birthday tonight. Turns out Danzig doesn’t like birthday wishes because he made quick work of Joe Stevenson, there isn’t much else to say about this fight. Danzig hit him with a very precise left hand right on the button sending Joe to the canvas. Now one can only question Stevenson’s consistency, he is 2-4 in his last 6 fights.

Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira

High expectation of this fight from many people. This is one fight that was really tough to predict, we have a young 21 year old prospect who was 14-0 going into the bout with Jim Miller. Many predicted a finish or FOTN honours. If this fight went the distance I would have bet it would have gotten fight of the night. However, Jim Miller shocked many people by defeating the young superstar with a knee bar. This most defiantly will stop people from questioning Miller’s legitimacy. As for Oliveira, I expect him to rebound strong from this loss, after all rebounding from a loss is the toughest test.
Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle

This fight was the co-main event for simply one reason, hype. Sean McCorkle is known for his internet trash talking and he didn’t change that for this fight. He attacked Struve using many profanities trying to build his name and quite simple to get under the skin of Struve. In many interviews Struve let it be known that the trash talk didn’t bother him and that he was going to just shut McCorkle up in the fight.

The fight started seeing McCorkle get a takedown quite easily and instantly work a deep kimura on Struve’s left arm. Struve noticed he was only a few feet away from the cage so he held of the submission and worked his way towards the cage, pressing his back against it so that McCorkle couldn’t crank the kimura any longer.

Struve later mounted McCorkle and threw many bombs down at Sean McCorkle putting an end to the trash talk.

Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck

It was finally time to see which TUF 12 coach would come out of top. It was a very long wait, both fighters had a lot of time to study each other and prepare a plan for the fight. I bet Josh Koscheck had more time, this fight saw GSP taking to time to attack Koscheck with straight jobs and the signature superman punch followed by a right leg kick. The fight was basically a 5 round beat down, with Koscheck on the receiving end. GSP specifically attacked the right eye of Koscheck which by the end of the second round was completely closed shut. After the 3rd round the doctor really wanted to end the fight but Herb Dean saved the day and the fight continued. More of the same thing in the next round however we got to see a bit more wrestling from GSP, he threw Koscheck down and followed up with another take down after Koscheck attempted to break free.

Between the 4th and 5th round Koscheck was refusing ice on his eye, he was clearly in a lot of pain and filled with frustration, so was his corner which was screaming orders to Koscheck the whole fight with no comply from their ATT title contender. I guess the Cinderella story couldn’t happen twice in one year for American Top Team. GSP took this fight in very dominant fashion. It is hard to imagine Jake Shields beating GSP.

Written by Andrew Castro

World MMA Awards Results

2010-12-02T20:40:00.001-08:00

World MMA Awards Results

REFEREE OF THE YEAR
Winner: Herb Dean

BEST TECHNICAL CLOTHING BRAND
Winner: Bad Boy

BEST TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT BRAND
Winner: Everlast MMA

MEDIA SOURCE OF THE YEAR
Winner: MMAjunkie.com

BEST PROMOTION
Winner: UFC

SUBMISSION OF THE YEAR
Winner: Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko at "Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum"

GYM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Wand Fight Team

MMA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Ariel Helwani, MMAFighting.com

COACH OF THE YEAR
Winner: Greg Jackson

BEST LIFESTYLE CLOTHING BRAND
Winner: TapouT

INTERNATIONAL FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Alistair Overeem

RING GIRL OF THE YEAR
Winner: Arianny Celeste

LEADING MAN OF THE YEAR
Winner: Dana White, UFC president

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO MMA
Winner: Randy Couture

MOST MEMORABLE RING ENTRANCE
Winner: Jason "Mayhem" Miller

FIGHT OF THE YEAR
Winner: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 117

FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos

KO OF THE YEAR
Winner: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 113

BREAKTHROUGH FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Jon Jones

CHARLES "MASK" LEWIS FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Jose Aldo

A usual underdog, a Mauricio Shogun Rua story

2010-12-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

Mauricio Shogun Rua was a star in Pride FC, utilizing stomps and soccer kicks along side of his agressive style he dominated his way through the Pride middleweight grand prix and winning it in 2005. The first round of the tournament Mauricio saw Rampage Jackson, as a heavy underdog many people didn't think much of Rua, until he dominated Jackson that is. He broke many of Jacksons ribs and finished the fight with soccer kicks to the face of Rampage. People then were fully aware of his skill set and he went into the second fight with a much larger fanbase, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was fully aware of this skill set but there was nothing he could do to stop the young up and comer. Rua won the fight via unanimous decision and saw himself in the semi-finals of the middleweight grand prix. The last two rounds were held on the same night, first it was Alistair Overeem the very qualified dutch striker who was also favoured in that fight. Once again Shogun impressed the world with a first round knockout, advancing him into his second fight of the night but more importantly the finals of the grand prix. Much like his fight just a few hours prior, he knocked out Ricardo Arona.

After a heartbreakin loss and a huge upset to Forrest Griffin he rebounded and revenged his second career loss to Mark Coleman, stopping the wrestler late in the third round. This win pushed him up the ladder Chuck Lidell, he pulled a trick out of Lidells game plan and kocked him out in the very first round of their bout at UFC 97. After he shocked the world again, the UFC was impressed and gave him a title shot against Loyoto Machida. Many people didn't give Shogun the chance he deserved going into the fight, after all it was the "Machida era". After a 5 round war which I scored 3-2 for Shogun, a very contriversial decision saw Machida keeping his belt. Shogun was determined to win his second bout with Machida after it was official he was getting an immideate rematch. The second fight went much differently then the first, Rua wasn't going to let it get to the judges this time and he knocked Machida out at 3:35 in the very first round.

Shortly after the fight Rua's knee was bothering him and it was declared the he needed surgery to repair the demage. How will Shogun recover from this setback? We will find out against the strong Rashad Evans at UFC 128. One thing is for sure, Shogun will not be the underdog this time.

Please comment and discuss below.

Written by Andrew Castro

LHW Prospects

2010-11-30T20:10:00.001-08:00

It is no secret that the light heavyweight division in the UFC has always been an incredibly stacked line-up but with the uprising of some big name prospects it makes things a lot more exciting and brings the UFC many decisions to make. With big names like Mauricio Shogun Rua, Loyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Rampage Jackson and many more it really makes you wonder what Joe Silva matchmaker extraordinaire has planned for the future of the division. With all this being said, there are a few up and comers that are not making it an easy job for Joe Silva and the UFC.

First off we will take a look at Jon "Bones" Jones, an extremely talented unorthodox striker that has some extremely impressive Greco Roman wrestling and has displayed some fancy throws in his last fight as well. Jones’ only defeat came via DQ after illegally elbowing Matt Hamill during their fight at UFC: The Ultimate Finale 10. Many would go onto argue that the fight should have been stopped much sooner. Dispite the loss Jones was very humble and came back a stronger fighter and would see two very impressive victories over Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko.

Next we look at the equally talented Mr. Wonderful, Phil Davis. Mr. Wonderful has a great set of tools that he may use in a fight, he is a great striker and a scary talented wrestler, and he has proven he can finish fights by submission. This past Saturday at UFC 123 Davis finished off UFC vet Tim Boetsch via Kimura, it was later changed to “Wonder Lock” because it was a modified kimura that Phil was first to execute. It is unsure who is next for Phil Davis but with 4 straight wins in the octagon you can be sure that he is getting himself into title contention.

Jon Jones and Phil Davis are both a great threat to the LHW division of the UFC and at the ages of 23 and 26 respectively, it is no doubt that the future is bright for the two young talents. What will happen next is up to them but I can see the two of them fighting for the belt in short future.