MMA Hot Stuff

Nominations for 2009 World MMA Awards closes on Wednesday

Who do you think was the BreakThrough Fighter of the Year? Best MMA Promotion? 

As a reminder, the nomination stage for the 2009 World MMA Awards closes this Wednesday (tomorrow), Sept. 30. 

The World MMA Awards, which is operated by Fighters Only magazine, is viewed as one of the most prestigious awards for the sport, awarding in 18 different MMA related categories

Nominees will be announced on Oct. 5, and final voting will then run until Dec. 5. Winners will be announced at a Dec. 30 "Oscars-style" black-tie ceremony, which streams live on Versus.com (and throughout January on Versus) from The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. 

"Response to the World MMA Awards has been huge this year with thousands of fans worldwide taking part," Fighters Only CEO Rob Hewitt recently stated. "Nominations have been very diverse, and ... most of the categories are still wide open." 

The categories range from Fight of the Year to KO and Submission of the Year to Best MMA Brand and best MMA Media Source. MMA equipment manufactures also vie for a variety of categories. 

But before you place your vote I encourage you to take a minute and think about things. What makes someone the Best Fighter of the Year? Is it the number of wins? Is it the most vicious KnockOut? The biggest upset? Or is it because of heart and dedication?

Another category is Best MMA Journalist. I've thought a lot about this one (for obvious reasons). Always keep in mind the best Journalist may not be the one that breaks every 'story'... Sadly, fact checking has taken a back seat more often than not over being the first to the party. And then there are times the stories are known weeks before the story actually gets out but can't be discussed for confidential reasons. I personally take pride in the fact that while I consider many Fighters (UFC, WEC & Strikeforce) my personal friends, a lot of the information I hear I keep to myself. I'm so proud of what my friends have accomplished and there are times I know the information is just best left unsaid or unwritten. I want them to have time to train in private for a fight before it's publicly announced who their next opponent is. Who do you consider to be a Journalist that writes funny or interesting stories? Gives a different perspective than the 12 other sites that covered the same thing the day before.

So now that I've given you something to think about, please hurry and vote. 

Also, feel free to follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/MMAHotStuff

Strikeforce Lawler vs Shields - How To Watch

This Saturday one of the best cards Strikeforce has put on will take place in St Louis, MO at the Scottrade Center.

On the main card:
Robbie Lawler facing Jake Shields at a catch weight of 182lbs
Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski vs Brett Rogers
Nick Diaz vs Scott Smith
Phil Baroni vs Joe Riggs
Kevin Randleman vs Mike Whitehead

It's definitely a card worth watching. But how can you watch it, you ask?

This particular fight will not be available in restaurant/bars (however Strikeforce has told me going forward it will be, so please check back for future event listings).

If you want to watch this event you either have to find; a friend who happens to have Showtime, Buy it as a Pay Per View event (you should see it available for purchase on one of your standard PPV channels), or order it online - see http://strikeforce.sho.com

For you fellow tweeps (twitter peeps) you can also see a live Twitter feed! Fans can contribute content alongside SHOWTIME Sports' behind-the-scenes staff throughout the evening by adding #strikeforce to their tweets.  
SWEET TWEETS - say that three times.

ESPN MMALive

Here's today's ESPN MMALive episode..

Miguel Torres filled in for Kenny but fellow tweeps (twitter peeps) you can still get your Kenny fix by going here: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4231291

First up was the big news about Kimbo Slice joining the cast of TUF 10. Seems everyone agrees this is a great move by Dana White by bringing Kimbo on the show. As you may know Dana hasn't been shy about his opinion of Kimbo. Seems to me Kimbo will definitely bring the more casual fans to the sport
and of course us MMA Addicts will tune in to see this one time street fighter YouTube sensation try to prove himself. Also as part of the cast are  four ex NFL players. The loser in this may be Strikeforce for not being able to come to an agreement with Slice. Love him or hate him Slice definitely brings viewers!

Stephan Bonnar via satellite says it shows Kimbo has character by joining TUF cast.  Saying Dana has been critical of Kimbo from he beginning but Kimbo is showing he has character by accepting this challenge from Dana.

We can't forget that Kimbo is coming in with options. He has expressed his desire to box so if this doesn't pan it out he has that back up plan! TUF 10 will debut  Sept 16th.

Also discussed:
Rua and Lyoto may meet in October

This Sunday Mike Brown will defend his title against Urjah Faber. Urijah was on the show via satellite saying he knows Brown is a tough opponent. He said he made one small mistake in their last fight. Migel asked how he expects to win this sunday and Urijah's response was " Anyway. My hands are good and I've proven that before. I can submit guys as well. I'll be bringing my A game."

Also this weekend, Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields will face each other at a catch weight of 182lbs. Robbie was on MMALive via satellite and said he won't leave anything behind. Not impressed or worried about Jake moving up a weight.  Jon Anik picked Jake to win this fight.

Pulse question this week: Is Quinton making the right decision by not fighting Lyoto and coaching on TUF 10?  What are your thoughts?

Buy or Sell - Kimbo will win his first fight on TUF.

Week in Review: UFC WEC And Everything In Between

Hi ladies
wow, where have I been?! My body was kind enough to turn a common cold into bronchitis during the weekend of UFC 98 and forced me to take a week "off". But I'm feeling much better and there has been a lot going on!

While UFC 98 has come and gone I need to fess up and say my picks were ALL WRONG. And to those of you that emailed me to point that out, thanks captain obvious(es) and good job in picking the favorites. I had the pleasure of taking my dad to the fights and he had a great time. While you may have better seats while watching the fights at home there's nothing like feeling the excitement in the arena.

Frankie Edgar did an outstanding job against Sean Sherk and I owe him mad props. While I knew Frankie would do well he showed everyone he is deserving of these great match ups. I'm definitely excited to see what is in store for him!

Ohhh so sad. That Matt Serra vs Matt Hughes fight was the fight I was really looking forward to. Hughes had his hands down half way through the first round. Neither of them did a stellar job, but it was a pretty good fight. I had the first round going to Serra, second round going to Hughes and the third round going to Serra. So when it came down to judge's decision, I really thought Serra had won. And frankly, by the expression and body language of both Hughes and Serra I think they both thought Serra had won as well. Everyone in the crowd around me and my Tweeps (people on Twitter) thought the same thing. I guess as the saying goes "Never Leave It Up To The Judges" is very fitting here in this situation. The judges probably saw something that the rest of us didn't.

The Evans vs Machida fight was great. While I thought Evans would have won the fight it was exciting for sure. When Machida knocked Evans out in the second round seeing Evans buckle like that left my mouth open for two minutes. Perhaps we'll be seeing Lyoto face off with Shogun Rua at UFC 104.

All old news but for me the highlight was not only taking my dad to his first UFC event but seeing him get into it and actually say to me stuff like "What a great take down" and knowing the specific hold and submission names really impressed me. I had a great time with him. Thanks for going dad!

Other news worthy items you should know about:

• Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (24-6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) will return to the UFC and fight Mostapha Al-Turk (6-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at next weekend's UFC 99 event.
• EA Sports announced they will release a MMA-themed video game "EA Sports MMA" in 2010. This is another sign how mainstream MMA going. Video games will help reach the younger demographic even more than they are now.
• It was announced that Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans are the new coaches for The Ultimate Fighter.
• Tune in to WEC 41 to not only watch Mike Brown defend his title against Urijah Faber but our friend Kenny Florian will be the commentator. Super excited for this card.
• Frank Trigg signed a new deal with the UFC.

June is not only the month of my birthday (33, already?) but it's also a great month for MMA addicts.

EVENTS
June 5th - Bellator Fighting Championships Week 10
June 6th - Strikeforce Robbie Lawler vs Jake Shields (oh yeah AND Andrei Arlovski vs Brett Rogers as well as Nick Diaz vs Scott Smith) YAY
June 7th - WEC Mike Brown vs Urijah Faber
June 12th - Bellator Fighting Championships Week 11
June 13th - UFC 99 Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva (Marcus Davis vs Dan Hardy also on this card)
June 19th - Strikeforce Challengers: Santos vs Villasenor
June 19th - Bellator Fighting Championships Week 12
June 20th - The Ultimate Fighter Finale 9 (Yes we'll get to see TUF finals but also on the card is Clay Guida vs. Diego Sanchez  and Nate Diaz vs Joe Daddy Stevenson) WTF Chris Lytle is on the prelim card? Breaks my heart. Hopefully he still tries for fight of the night honors!

All in all a great month for MMA fans. More to come. More frequently I promise.

 

Strikeforce: Arlovski VS Rogers added to June 6th card!!! Can you say "stacked"?

ANDREI ARLOVSKI  WILL FIGHT BRETT ROGERS

JUNE 6 IN ST.  LOUIS

Heavyweight Showdown Precedes Lawler vs. Shields Main Event
Live on SHOWTIME from Scottrade Center In St. Louis on June 6

ST. LOUIS (May 19, 2009) - SHOWTIME announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr., announced today that top-10 ranked heavyweight and former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski will face unbeaten heavyweight sensation Brett "The Grim" Rogers on Saturday, June 6 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis and LIVE on SHOWTIME.

The announcement was made at a kick-off press conference for STRIKEFORCE: Lawler vs. Shields at the Atrium at Scottrade Center.  The heavyweight showdown, which will be sponsored by Affliction, will precede the main event fight between two of the most highly regarded fighters in the world, "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields.

The event will be televised live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets for Strikeforce: "Lawler vs. Shields", priced from $30, are on sale now at the Scottrade Center box office as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), and Strikeforce's official website (www.strikeforce.com).

Affliction's Arlovski's (15-6) fight resume includes a who's-who of the heavyweight division with fights against Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia.  Eleven of the 15 victories for the former UFC heavyweight champion have come by way of knockout.  The undefeated Rogers is 9-0 with eight devastating knockouts and one submission.  Only one of his fights has gone past the first round.  The two stand-up specialists stand at 6-foot-4, so fans can expect an all-out slugfest.

Lawler, a world top-10 middleweight, is unbeaten in his last six (5-0 with 1 No Contest). Shields, a winner of 11 in a row, is ranked among the top five welterweights in the world. They will clash at a catch weight of 182 pounds.

The rest of the SHOWTIME portion of the June 6 event rounds out as follows:

Fresh off their respective thrilling wins in the premier of Strikeforce on SHOWTIME (April 11), the versatile Nick Diaz and knockout artist Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith will meet in a special 180-pound showdown.

Diaz, who shocked the MMA world with his complete dominance of four-time world champion Frank Shamrock, has shown tremendous versatility in recent fights, adding top-shelf striking ability to his well-known submission skills.  Smith is coming off a stunning, come-from-behind KO of Benji "The Razor" Radach, in a fight that is sure to be a candidate for 2009 Fight of the Year.

"The New York Badass" Phil Baroni (13-10) will collide with Joe "Diesel" Riggs (29-10) in a 170-pound contest.  Nine of Baroni's 13 wins have come by knockout, so expect the brash, trash talking New Yorker to bang with Riggs.  A former UFC contender, Riggs is a well-rounded fighter with 14 wins by knockout and 13 via submission.  Their war of words in the press is ongoing. Expect an emotionally charged throw-down in this one.

Opening the SHOWTIME telecast, Kevin "The Monster" Randleman (17-12) will face Mike "Iron" Whitehead (23-6) in a 205-pound clash.  Randleman, a former UFC standout who has been tested against some of MMA's most recognizable names, will make his return to the cage and his Strikeforce debut.  Whitehead is a knockout and submission specialists who has won 14 of his last 15 fights.  Whitehead is in for his toughest fight to date.

About Strikeforce
Strikeforce is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its "Shamrock vs. Gracie" event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose's HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265.  Since 1995, Strikeforce has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with "Shamrock vs. Gracie."  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of Strikeforce, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.

About Showtime Networks, Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2(tm), SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

For The Love Of TWITTER

Twitter has taken over the world. You have rockstars, athletes, CEOs, politicians, Oprah and everyday people like me on Twitter. Oh, and my mom! I can't forget to mention her. Hi mom!

Dana White is one of those rockstar/athletes, hell he's probably even considered somewhat of a politician, is he not, that's on twitter. While I think it's great he's on there and adopting this social media monster, he's not quite there just yet. Sure he tweets. But for you to be a successful tweeter, you have to be interactive. One might even say you have to be SOCIAL. I know, weird right? You have to respond to people when they say something to you. You have to follow people. I mean real people not just those that you get as default friends when you sign up (think Tom from MySpace).

In addition to Dana, the UFC and WEC also have official accounts (updated: you can also follow Reed Harris!).  Did you know Kenny Florian and BJ Penn are also on Twitter? Wow, I can't wait to see what my friends feed will look like the night they face each other at UFC 101. Classic Tweets coming up fo'sure.

Here is a pretty thorough list of my peeps that are on twitter. Think of them as my tweeps. I think Shaq coined that phrase so I want to give credit where credit is due. <3 Shaq.

Look at this list as my #followfriday post. If you don't know about #followfriday, tweetdeck, twackle, or twitpic, please feel free to contact me. I'd be happy to help!

Key People To Follow:
http://twitter.com/danawhiteblog
http://twitter.com/reedharriswec (WEC General Manager & GREAT Tweeter)
http://twitter.com/UFC
http://twitter.com/weconversus
http://twitter.com/HDNetFights

Great Tweeters And Know How To Tweet - Follow Them!
(umm do you see a pattern with these)
http://twitter.com/Officialbjpenn
http://twitter.com/Kenny_Florian
http://twitter.com/JoeLauzon
http://twitter.com/joerogandotnet

Working On Twitter Account, Stay Tuned But Start To Follow Now!
http://twitter.com/GilbertMelendez
http://twitter.com/FerociousPhilly

Good Reading Material But Not Interactive. Follow At Your Own Risk!
(if you're the owner of one of these accounts, let me help you!)
http://twitter.com/frankshamrock
http://twitter.com/CarlosCondit
http://twitter.com/NateRockQuarry
http://twitter.com/AndreiArlovski
http://twitter.com/ForrestGriffin
http://twitter.com/urijahfaber
http://twitter.com/ryanbader

Are you on Twitter?

Are you one of the millions of people on Twitter? I am. Finally. I'm not sure what took me so long other than I thought to myself "Oh great, just one more thing I have to find time to update." Ha, was I wrong.

I admit it. I'm addicted to twitter. I even read my twitter feeds while I'm in bed. On the bus. In line for anything. Even in line waiting for the bathroom.

The best thing about twitter is it's easy. I can see at an instant what Andrei Arlovski is doing. How he's getting ready for an upcoming fight. Now, I can see what Nate Quarry is up to. He's one of the first round of fighters to adopt the quickly growing social tool.

This is the best way to let fans feel like they're a part of the action on a daily basis rather than just the few glimpses we see them during their fights or what they write on their static myspace pages.

Joe Rogan is probably one of the best self promoters on Twitter. Not only do you know what he's up to on a daily, wait, almost hourly basis (even while he's partying) but he also does alot of self promoting. Upcoming stand up gigs, his spike tv show that's about to start filming. He even advertises his site on twitter. Encouraging people to read his more detailed (and humorous) posts on his site.

If you're not on twitter people, I say get with it. And feel free to follow me (twitter.com/mmahotstuff) and Nate (NateRockQuarry).

By the way, I'm going to twitter this post. HA!

 

Bars Showing PayPerView Affliction Day of Reckoning Fight

Here's a list of bars showing the Affliction 'Day of Reckoning' fight this weekend!

Affliction Day of Reckoning Press Conferences - Live Stream

Don't miss the Affliction Day of Reckoning Press Conferences being held in New York today and LA tomorrow.

I'm trying to get a list of bars showing the pay per view event. If you know of a bar in your neighborhood, feel free to email me or add a comment here.

Update: today's press conference has ended. please check back tomorrow at 3 p.m. EST/12 p.m. PST for the LA press conference.

Affliction: Fedor VS Arlovski... are you ready?

Here's a great preview of the upcoming battle between Fedor and Arlovski.

Fedor continues to carry a surreal mystique, while Arlovski is the epitome of a physical specimen and amazing athlete. Much has been made about Arlovski's boxing training under famed boxing coach Freddie Roach, but how much will that help against such an aggressive fighter like Fedor, and most importantly, how much will that help in an MMA fight? All of that training could go right out the window if Fedor is able to get Arlovski to the mat with relative ease.

Can't wait for this fight!!!