MMA Hot Stuff

UFC 104 Pay Per View Locations

In May, Lyoto Machida electrified the mixed martial arts world with a stirring knockout of Rashad Evans. On Saturday, October 24th, “The Dragon” will make the first defense of his UFC light heavyweight crown in the main event of UFC 104 against former PRIDE star Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who is coming off back-to-back knockouts of Chuck Liddell and Mark Coleman.

In the co-feature, two of the top young heavyweight contenders in the sport will clash, as unbeaten Cain Velasquez takes on former IFL star “Big” Ben Rothwell in what promises to be one of the most memorable bouts of 2009. 

UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun - Saturday, October 24th, live on Pay-Per-View from Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

List of bars/restaurants by city and state after the page break. See below!

If you want your bar/restaurant listed, please email me at rachel@mmahotstuff.com

 
 

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

Any Publicity Is Not Good Publicity For The UFC Or MMA

You can probably count on both hands the number of times MMA has been on the front of any major media site/newspaper or mentioned on any mainstream news outlet. And yet, it's been on the front of Yahoo a couple of times within the past two days. But sadly, not for the right reasons.

Yes, UFC 100 included Georges St Pierre defending his title (again) and Dan Henderson showcasing that the 38 year old is still on fire by knocking Mike Bisping out cold, that's not what is making the news. While the biggest weekend for the UFC met many milestones such as the first UFC Fan Expo, fastest sell out for a major UFC event, and UFC 100 it's been overshadowed by one specific incident.

Instead we have to continue to hear about the UFC being a 'circus'. Not exactly the adjective I was hoping would be used as a way of describing this last weekend.

I get so frustrated because I see these guys first hand train their butts off. Multiple times a day for hours at a time. Following strict diets, and mastering not just one sport but MANY.  They don't all act like such a fool. In fact that's the exception. The fighters I know personally are some of these most considerate and kind people I've ever met. Sure there are a few knuckleheads out there but aren't some of your own friends knuckleheads? Brock Lesnar is beyond a knucklehead. 

With Frank Mir's face looking like tenderized meat, he walked away the winner in my opinion. Brock didn't use many moves to gain position. He didn't change his guard or control but rather used his size and sort of laid on Mir to hold him down as he punched his face. Sure, it's legal, sure it worked. But when it was said and done and Brock walked away with the "win" Frank gave some undeserved respect to Brock and said semi nice things about him. He out-classed Brock ten fold. As if that was hard to do.

Brock's behavior after beating Frank was disheartening. At first I was disgusted. Then mad. Disappointed. And now I think I'm mad again. Seeing the words "Lesnar's circus antics" on the front page of Yahoo two days later, makes me feel as if his poor choices have set the sport back a few steps in the eyes of people that don't understand the sport. It's not a joke or a circus. It's nothing like WWE, with the exception of Brock Lesnar (aka Nacho Libre ). I've 'talked' to many of you who have told me I'm too harsh on Brock, but I don't think I am. He can apologize but I don't think he's sorry. He's only sorry that Dana White tore him a new ass hole. Remember his behavior after his fight against Heath Herring? Yeah, not classy. And here we are again. History repeating itself. He can apologize but when sponsors start leaving because of the crap he pulled on Saturday hopefully people will see he really isn't more than a 300 lbs WWE guy. What will it take for people to see what a joke he really is? A mask? A folding chair in the cage perhaps?

As someone that spends A LOT of time educating people on the sport, this makes me mad. He's NOT good for the sport. He's a big guy that wrestled and I'm guessing his size was only a benefit even then. I doubt his success was due to his skills. And even if his skills were as good as his college record, I can't see past his personality so it doesn't even matter.

And it also annoys me that everyone is so amped to see him face Fedor. Hello is this thing on... there are plenty of people left in the UFC he hasn't yet fought. I think Shane Carwin or even Cain Velasquez could put him in his place. Both are undefeated and in my opinion more than capable of taking Brock.

 

For those of you that are going to comment or email me saying I'm a bitch, I accept it. Feel free. But just remember, this behavior only means one thing: less overall acceptance as a sport = less advertising money + fewer fans and that means fewer events/fights.

RUMOR: Shane Carwin vs Cain Velasquez UFC 104 in LA

Thanks to Shane Carwin's Twitter, we know he's interested in facing Cain Velasquez October 24th in Los Angeles.  It looks like the bout is not signed sealed and delivered just yet but close.

The Heavyweight division is just so exciting and a match up between these two undefeated fighters would be fantastic.

Shane is coming off an impressive win against Gabriel Gonzaga where he won by Knock-Out 1:09 minutes into the first round.

There's been some buzz about Shane fighting the winner between Randy Couture and Antonio Nogueira.

UFC 99 RECAP

Guest Writer - Salvatore DeRosalia

When I first saw the lineup for UFC 99 in Germany I thought it was pretty underwhelming. The UFC 98 card had been so amazing, full of knock outs, submissions and well… Loyoto Machida, that I was clearly looking at the 99 card through tainted eyes.  For anyone who truly loves the sport of MMA, UFC 99 was a pretty sweet card.  Almost all of the televised matches were great fights. This card was full of grueling, technical hard fought match ups and it even had a “catch weight” fight between Rich “Ace” Franklin and Wanderlei “The Ax Murderer” Silva.  UFC 99 may not have had tons of the most popular fighters the UFC has to offer but they were quality fights, what I like to call “Fighters Fights.”  Here is the recap from UFC 99:

Main Televised Card

Dan Hardy beat Marcus Davis by split decision.  These guys talked more trash about each other before the fight then any two fighters I have ever seen and when Dan Hardy went to shake the hand of Marcus Davis at the end of the fight, “The Irish Hand Grenade” wanted nothing to do with Hardy.  The fight was close but I agree with the decision of Dan Hardy as the winner.  Hardy inflicted copious amounts of damage to Davis and by the end of the fight you could tell who the winner was by the lumps on Davis’s face.  Hopefully the UFC will give us a rematch of this war.  I think they could play it up and make these guys actually hate each other even more then they already do all the selling more tickets then the first fight.

Spencer Fisher beat Caol Uno by unanimous decision. The Fisher, Uno fight was a very even matchup.  I gave the fight to Uno but somehow all three judges gave it to Spencer Fisher.  The one thing I think everyone watching the fight can agree on is that the fight was pretty boring, often ending up a clinch against the cage or the guard on the ground.  Again, this was a technical battle.  Both guys cancelled each others moves out in most of this fight.

Mike Swick stopped Ben Saunders in the second round.  Swick vs. Saunders was one of the two fights that did not go the distance in the main televised card.  The first round was full of Saunders holding Swick in his guard and the crowd let them both know that was not they paid to see.  In the second, Swick was the aggressor and it paid off when he unleashed multiple punches sending Saunders to the mat.  Swick continued to attack the downed fighter until the referee stepped in at 3:47 of the second period to stop the fight. 

Mirko Cro Cop stopped Mostapha Al Turk in the first round.  The inadvertent eye poke of the night goes to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. This was the second of the two fights that did not go the distance. Both fighters were able to land some good hits in before the fight was called by referee Dan Miragliotta at 3:06 of the first round after the eye poke and subsequent flurry of punches by Cro Cop.   

Cain Velasquez beat Cheick Kongo by unanimous decision.  This heavy weight battle was about as one sided a fight as you can have. I counted two good punches and a few elbows by Cheick Kongo but they were not enough as Velasquez was able to dominate Kongo on the ground for the majority of the fight.  The two Kongo punches hurt Velasquez, buckling his knees both times but Kongo could not follow them up leaving room for Velasquez to mount his attack and putting Kongo on his back over and over again.  Cain Velasquez remains undefeated moving to 6-0 and establishes himself as a real threat in the heavy weight division. 

Rich Franklin beat Wanderlei Silva by unanimous decision.  The main event of the night might have been the best fight of the night too.  That pairing does not happen at every UFC event but this fight was the cherry on top of a card that was worth its weight in PPV money.  The first 90 seconds of this fight went by without a hit but as soon as the feeling out period was over these two warriors went to battle.  Both fighters landed some leather, both were taken down to the ground but it was Franklin who got the better in the first round.   

Silva came out ready to fight in the second round and was the clear aggressor.  Just when you thought Franklin was about to turn the round around and steal some points, Silva would land another flurry and swing the momentum back his way.   

The third round started with both fighters touching gloves.  You could tell before, during and after the match that Silva and Franklin had a lot of respect for one another.  As quickly as they touched gloves they were back to brawling.  Silva spent most of the round in the pocket and stalking Franklin around the Octagon.  Franklin would attack and retreat not taking much damage.  The end of the fight was a microcosm of the entire match; Silva and Franklin tangled up on their feet, both throwing punches and elbows with all they had left in the tank.  Just when you thought that was enough, the greatest part of this fight came in the post fight interviews with Wanderlei Silva stating he believes he won the fight and declaring to the world, but more importantly Dana White, that he wants and deserves a rematch. To be continued…

"He's Showing Some Fundamental Holes"....

To quote Joe Rogan "He's showing some fundamental holes"... Joe wasn't referring to Cheick Kongo's shorts, but towards the end of the first round they were almost allll the way down! Not only did he expose his black underwear but that dreadfully ugly thai cup waist band thingy was exposed! Thank goodness for the bell so his cornermen could help the poor guy with his near disastrous wardrobe malfunction!

Although I will say, the Rolling Stone logo and purple walk out tee was a pretty touch. I'd like to see more of that.

PS.
There are A LOT of people out there taking a crack at MMA gear. Whether it be fancy shirts, shorts, hats, etc. How about a new cup? Can someone please address this? Isn't there a company that makes these shorts with the cup built in?

UFC 99: Herring out, Kongo in VS Cain Velasquez

The UFC has announcedthat Heath Herring is pulling out of his UFC 99 bout against Cain Velasquez due to injury. The undefeated Velasquez is one of the rising stars of the Heavyweight division and was finally getting the opportunity to prove himself against upper echelon talent and a veteran in Heath Herring.

While it's always a disappointment when one fighter pulls out due to injury and it usually leads to a less appealing match-up with a last minute replacement, the UFC and Velasquez won'tmiss a beat on this one. Cheick Kongo, another rising star in the Heavyweight division, will step in to take Herring's place.

Kongo, who is riding a three fight winning streak, is a legitimate contender in his own right. He did lose a very close split decision to Heath Herring, but he has since greatly improved his wrestling and we know his striking is top notch. He's a beast of a man and should present an interesting match-up for Velasquez. However, the question remains just how much he's improved his wrestling. Herring exposed his lack of wrestling ability,but Velasquez could downright humiliate him in that department.

The good news for the fans? This is a great fight, and we'll get to see if Velasquez is ready to take that next step up the ladder towards the elite in the Heavyweight division. Is Velasquez the real deal like everyone says? We'll get to find out on June 13th!  

UFC Fight Night: Lauzon VS Franca

The UFC has announced a Fight Night for February 7th, from Tampa, Florida. The main event will pit Joe Lauzon against Hermes Franca in a lightweight battle. Both fighters are coming off of recent victories and looking to climb the lightweight ladder.

Also on the card in another lightweight battle, fans will see Mac Danzig face off against Josh "The Dentist" Neer. Both fighters are in need of a victory after coming off of losses. Danzig is coming off a tough decision loss to Clay Guida while Neer is coming off a loss to Nate Diaz.

In a heavyweight battle, Cain Velasquez will be facing off against UFC newcomer Denis Stojnic. Velasquez looks to continue his winning ways in the Octagon, while Stojnic come in with a 5-1 record in the European MMA circuit. Fans will also get to see Amir Sadollah return to action against Nick Catone.

We're looking forward to seeing the rest of the card which should be finalized soon!

UFC Fight Night 14 Results

Here are the results from UFC Fight Night 14...

CB DOLLAWAY VS. JESSE TAYLOR
CB Dollaway defeats Jesse Taylor by submission (Peruvian Necktie) at 3:57 of the first round. For those girls out there reading my blog, the Peruvian Necktie is not an article of clothing.

KEVIN BURNS VS. ANTHONY JOHNSON
Kevin had been warned about poking Anthony in the eye and in the 3rd round while Kevin threw a left jab and his finger poked Anthony in the eye causing him to turn and fall (after yelling in pain) and then Kevin threw a right uppercut that just grazed Anthony... Kevin defeats Anthony by TKO at 3:35 of the third round. Johnson is gracious in defeat, as he's interviewed by Rogan he asks the crowd to stop booing Burns, noting that "it's a fight and things happen, give the man his props."  If you ask me it was a cheap win. I mean I know shit happens but what a shitty way to win. Even though I did pick Kevin to win this fight, I wasn't happy with the way it ended. Although, I also must say that I think Kevin would have gotten the judges decision had it gone the distance.

JAKE O'BRIEN VS. CAIN VELASQUEZ
I want to go on record and say you guys sent me a lot of emails giving me shit for picking Cain on this fight. Well  while I can't say I picked 'em all right tonight, I did pick this match up. Cain defeats Jake by TKO at 2:02 of the first round!
 
FRANKIE EDGAR VS. HERMES FRANCA
This was the one and only fight I didn't get right with my predictions. Frankie did an unbelievable job getting out of Herme's submission attempts. Hermes hit a beautiful armbar in the first round and I thought Frankie would tap for sure, but he managed to escape. The only other offense that Hermes could muster came at the end of the third round when he threw a nice knee as Frankie shot in, catching him flush on the nose and ringing his bell, but Frankie maintained his composure for the final few seconds. It ended up going all three rounds and in the end Frankie defeated Hermes by unanimous decision.

REESE ANDY VS. BRANDON VERA
Wow is about all I can say for this fight. I was NOT impressed. In fact I was a little disappointed with Brandon. I understand he probably had to cut the weight for the new weight class but I thought Brandon would eat this guy for lunch. That wasn't the case. It ended up going all three rounds and quite frankly was just overall boring. In fact the crowd booed. Don't blame them. Brandon defeated Reese by unanimous decision.

JAMES IRVIN VS. ANDERSON SILVA
Round 1 - The fighters touch gloves and the main event is underway. Anderson circles around from the outside.  He throws a couple low leg kicks, then steps inside and lands a 1-2 combination to the head.  Goldberg lets us know that Anderson's "precision is very precise."  :) Funny how everyone in the room burst into laughs at the same time. James throws a right kick towards the body. Anderson catches it and lands a perfect right hand to the button (that's a technical term for temple I'm guessing).James  is down immediately in the fetal position.  Anderson jumps on top and lands eight punches in a row, putting James out cold before the referee can step in.  Anderson defeats James by knockout at 1:01 of the first round.  Jame's right eye has a massive cut under it! I'm guessing that's going to bruise.

Anderson Silva is still the best fighter pound for pound in my book...

UFC Fight Night Predictions

I've put together my predictions for UFC Fight Night! Disagree with my opinions? Tell me.

Anderson Silva vs James Irvin 

Ranked as one of if not the best middleweight and pound for pound fighter, Anderson Silva will be making his debut at 205lb. Anderson has some major wins under his belt such as Rich Franklin (twice – by tko), Dan Henderson, Travis lutter and Chris  Leben.

His opponent, James Irvin, also has some big wins and BIG knock-outs such as Houston Alexander (dropped him in 8 seconds in the first round tying for the fastest knock out) and Terry Martin (the infamous flying knee!) but some big losses as well; such as Stephan Bonnar. By the way, when will Stephan be returning from suspension? Irvin is trying to prove he belongs at the top of the 205 weight class, but hasn't shown the consistency or dominance to get there yet. 

I think it’s going to be a great fight, but in the end I have Anderson Silva winning his first fight as a light heavyweight. I’d also like to see the winner of the Rashad Evans/Chuck Liddell fight take on Anderson and the winner from that fight face Forrest Griffin (assuming he gets past Rampage in a much anticipated rematch). 

Brandon Vera vs  Reese Andy 

There’s the whole story line about who Brandon wanted to fight but couldn’t get any takers. But his confirmed opponent Reese Andy is no slouch. He’s a 3 time Division 1 All-American Wrestler from the University of Wyoming.

I foresee Reese taking Brandon down right away to stay away from the dangerous Muay Thai striker. He’s going to try to establish a top position where he’s comfortable and can work his ground and pound, forcing Brandon to work to stand back up. Take downs and getting back up will definitely exhaust Brandon but in the end (and I don’t think it’s going to go that many rounds, 2 max) Brandon is going to submit Reece. I think overall, it’s going to come down to experience, nerves and who is more diverse. I give this to Brandon in the 2nd round.

Hermes Franca vs Frankie  Edgar

Hermes is coming off a loss to Sean Sherk that went to the judges. What I really love about Hermes is his diversity, experience and he has some huge wins under his belt – and in some cases for a belt!

Having said that, while Frankie is coming off a loss to Gray Maynard, I think his big wins (example Tyson Griffin) gives him the experience he’ll need to go head to head with Hermes. Frankie is great at avoiding submissions and working for position. In the end though, I think Hermes still has the leg up on this match up  and will take the victory in his return to action.

Cain Velasquez Vs. Jake O'Brien

Cain comes into this fight with a MMA record of 3-0, winning all by TKO. He'll be taking on Jake who has a MMA record of 10-1. Jake’s one notable loss was to Andrei Arlovski.  Both fighters have a Division-I wrestling background, and are comfortable taking this fight to the ground. However, Cain trains at AKA so you know his stand-up will be up to par. This will be a great battle between two solid wrestlers. Cain is looking to make a splash in the UFC and is considered a huge talent coming out of AKA. I give this fight to Cain!

Anthony Johnson Vs. Kevin Burns

Ohh Anthony. Thank you for the abs. No really, thank you.

Anthony has a MMA record of 5 wins and 1 loss. The loss was against Rich Clementi at UFC 76 losing by rear naked choke. His opponent Kevin Burns has a MMA record of 6 wins and 1 loss. While I wish Anthony and his abs the best of luck, I think he’s going to most likely lose by submission (choke).   

Jesse Taylor Vs. CB Dollaway

This will be a highly anticipated fight as many fans probably saw it as the most probable final for the most recent Ultimate Fighter. We've got big controversy with Jesse Taylor, who has supposedly turned over a new leaf. While everyone makes mistakes, you can’t help but look at this guy and say "what in god’s name were you thinking". For those of you that live in a shoe box, this was the guy who was down to the finals for The Ultimate Fighter 7. I think he’s the only guy who has been kicked off after the tournament portion was finalized. After Dana White made him understand his actions were wrong and inexcusable, he was kicked off the show and replaced. Now after sobering up and continuing to train, Jesse is making his UFC debut against fellow TUF 7 cast mate CB Dollaway. CB faced Amir Sadollah for TUF finale and lost  (which counted for his second loss to Amir, both by armbar). While I think Jesse could be a good fighter given he stay on the right path, I’m giving this match up to CB. CB is coming off a somewhat embarassing loss to Amir (no offense Amir, we love you) in the finals of the UF7 and will be hungry for a win, and to prove he belongs in the UFC.