MMA Hot Stuff

UFC 109 in Review

I don't think I'm necessarily easy to please, but I really enjoyed UFC 109 this last weekend. Mind you for me it's not just about the fights. You already know the results (from my twitter account, and if you don't follow me, well you should). But fight weekends for me are about meeting the fans, interviewing fighters and their wives, helping with autograph signings and honestly, I like being a fan once in a while as well.

So, friday I had the pleasure of meeting with Tessa Marquardt (Nate's wife) while he was cutting weight. Look on MMASocialites.com for that interview. 

I attended the Q & A with Brendan Vera and Urijah Faber. I love these. So insightful and it really gives the fans an opportunity to ask just about anything you want. Nobody screens the questions. It's open mic. The questions varied from future fight/opponent questions, tattoos to SuperBowl picks. I thought it was worth noting that there were almost as many women asking questions as men. Including two little girls that were younger than 10 years  in age. One woman (who looked to be 55 years young) got up to ask Urijah a question and literally started to cry. Can't dispute the fact that Urijah gets women of all ages a little weak in the knees. (sorry the pics aren't great. there's a reason i'm not a photog):

 

I met some of the best fans.ever. They ranged from insane UFC Fight Club members to a "cute couple" from Texas. The Fight Club members have a system. I won't go into detail for fear of giving away secrets that they've worked long and hard to perfect. But I will say, if you're not currently a Fight Club member you are MISSING OUT. Not only do they have access to presale tickets but the group  are clearly friends. Going to event to event and really have their own little community. They made me feel welcome with open arms and for that I want to say: Rob, Rob, Rob, (yes there are a lot of Robs), Whitney, Chris, Kevin...thank you for a fun weekend. 

Then I met a couple that was actually dubbed "The Cute Couple" from everyone that met them. And they really are a cute couple. Coming all the way to Vegas without tickets! What are they to do? Let's just say they were taken care of and it's because they are genuinely some of the nicest people I've ever met.  

Saturday I had the opportunity to help the Fight Shop promote an autograph signing with Dethrone... We did it by doing a couple contests that included me sending a Twitter msg. The first five people that showed me the msg got to CUT TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE! People had been waiting in line for hours to meet.. Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Gilbert Melendez, Forrest Griffin, Efrain Escudero and Anthony Njokuani. But my five new twitter friends cut right to the front. VIP style. It was fun to see how personable some of these fighters were making their fans feel special.  I want to give special props to JOSH KOSCHECK and GILBERT MELENDEZ as the stand outs. They were clearly some of the fans favorites. Gilbert is showing he's a PIMP with the gold watch. 

 

Oh, and then of course the fights. So much fun. Congrats to Matt Serra, Randy Couture, Demian Maia and Paulo Thaigo. Sigh, and Chael Sonnen. Still can't believe he beat Nate. The look on Nate's face broke my heart and made me forget that I had a camera with me. Sorry, no pictures. 

Oh, and I don't remember this even being taken. And I look like I had had too much fun by this point!   

 
  
 

A Glimpse Into the Serra Residence

For those of you that have been loyal HotStuffers, know that I've been a Matt Serra fan from day one. There's something about his "New Yorker" personality that I find intriguing and hilarious. And feeling this way has given me a reason to "like" him. In my opinion, I think the Ultimate Fighter has been a great way for people to see a little more personality from fighters than you see in the octagon. I know I know, some of you are going to say oh that's just a reality show and they edit it to look a certain way. Fine. Thanks for your opinion, but I tend to think a little of what you see really is what you get. Look at Rashad and Rampage. Hughes and Franklin. Sure it might be somewhat edited but I think Matt Serra is probably a funny, caring guy in "real life". Knowing that Matt is currently training for his upcoming fight against Frank Trigg I thought what a great time to get to know his wife Ann. 

Q. Where did you and Matt meet?

A. Matt and I met through my sister and his brother almost eight years ago. It was kind of a blind date.

 

Q. How long have you been married? 

A. We've been married for almost 3 years.

 

Q. Some fighters have been forthcoming in saying having a baby (specifically a baby girl) changed them. Made them a little 'softer'. Have you noticed a change with Matt? 

A. It's definitely true that when a man has a baby (especially Matt) they become softies. Matt did become softer, and the thing I like about it is that even when we're out in public he doesn't care how he acts to entertain the baby. We'll be in the supermarket and he'll be talking funny or throwing her up in the air, or even running around with her in the cart. He thinks I get embarrassed but I absolutely love it. He is an awesome father and he's not afraid to show his love and affection for his baby. I think even if we had a baby boy he would act the same exact way. Matt is a family man and I'm proud to be his wife and the mother of his child. I knew since we first started dating that he would be like this because he's always had a soft spot for me, it just became even softer because of our daughter.

 

Q. Also, some guys have said they can't be with their baby girl right before fight time because they think they lose a little bit of that fighter instinct whenever they baby is around.  See any of that with Matt?

A. I do see that with Matt. He'll be going out to vegas two weeks before the fight. Right now I'm staying with my parents, just as I've done last year after we had the baby, because he needs to get that anger in him and he says with the baby around he's just too happy all of the time. Ever since we've had the baby I've stayed with my parents five weeks before the fight.

 

Q. Were you a MMA fan prior to meeting Matt or did he get you involved in the sport?

A. As a little girl I've always watched the WWE with my dad, I know it's not the same because it's fake but I've always been into that kind of sport.

Q. Were you at Matt together during the Ultimate Fighter 4 and 6? How was it to see him as a student or contestant vs a coach?

A. We had just gotten engaged when he was accepted to go onto the Ultimate Fighter 4. It was very difficult not seeing him for six weeks. I didn't see a difference between season six because whether him being a student or a coach he's always a leader and he's always willing to learn. I felt that he was like a coach for his teammates on season four because he was always helping them out and more often than not and he was the corner man for most of them.

 

Q. Is it MMA talk at your house all the time? At the dinner table?

A. We do talk a lot about MMA because Matt owns two Academies along with his brother and that's basically the only sport that either of us really enjoys watching.

 

Q. What has been the hardest fight to see Matt lose and what made it more difficult than others?

A. I think the hardest fight to see Matt "lose" on the books was the Hughes fight. Only because I feel as though Matt had absolutely won that fight. It was crushing because it was such a long feud between them, and he had trained so hard for that fight. That was the first time that he had to leave our newborn at the time and I think it was the hardest training camp for him with everything going on. He really did deserve to win that fight.

 

Q. What do you think has been the most satisfying fight to see Matt win? Why?

A. The most satisfying fight to see Matt win was the Ultimate Fighter 4 finale because that fight had really secured our future. I love Chris Lyttle and his family, but it had gotten him the shot at the title and it had made his name even bigger than it was, which he deserves. He is the nicest, most sincere person, and works hard for where he is today.

Q. Care to share any inside information on how you support him? Do you do anything special while he’s training for a fight? Special recipes to help him lose weight before the big weight cut?

A. First thing is I move out of the house for five weeks with my daughter. I have to prepare many meals a day for him, he needs to eat every three hours. I make him brown rice with some kind of seasoned chicken. And I just basically support him in everything.

 

Q. Have you ever cut weight with him?

A. I always try to eat healthy with him in the beginning, but having the same thing every day for three months is boring. I give him a lot of credit for what he does in preparing for a fight, especially the fact that he's a typical Italian who loves food. I'm not sure if I could ever do it.

 

Q. I understand Las Vegas is a long flight for baby Angelina, so will you watch UFC 109 with friends/family at home? 

A. I will watch 109 with my whole family. I have a huge family on my dads side (he's one of 10), so whenever Matt fights we all get together at someone's house and we make a party of it.

 

Q. What do you as a family like to do when he’s not training?

A. Matt and I are pretty easy going. We like to make a date night once a week, we go to eat and then to a movie. In the summer we like to take the baby to the park, but in the winter we're stuck indoors, so we just enjoy playing with the baby or watching the shows that she loves (Your Baby Can Read).

 

Q. How's the Serra Academy doing? Anything special you want to tell our readers about?

A. The Serra Academies are doing very well, it's becoming so packed in there. Matt will be opening another school in a couple of months. The new school will be in Huntington next to where the old one was, it's going to be 8300 square feet. It's going to be a beautiful facility where they will not only teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu but MMA, Muay Thai, and wrestling, not to mention there will be an area for personal training. So we're all very excited about it.

 

Q. My fiance and I have a set routine of things we do leading up to his fight. I have sort of figured out his behavior and habits and I know when I should leave him alone to get 'fight focused'. Do you and Matt have any special routine leading up to a fight?

A. Basically I leave the house for five weeks, he still comes visits everyday but we still miss each other. Just like you, I know when to leave him alone, or when he has his mind set on fighting.

If you have any questions about the Serra Academies go to mattserra.net.

So, as you can see from my interview with Ann, she confirmed everything I had sort of 'expected' of Matt. He is a great father and husband. And you have to be funny to do funny baby talk in a super market. Right?

Here's to hoping the sacrifices he's made for this camp will pay off at UFC 109. 

 

 

  

UFC 103 Predictions FROM A GIRL

UFC 103 has been a bit of a roller coaster and it hasn't even started. At least that's how it's felt to me. Due to injuries and strategic match up changes, we've seen a bit of a shuffle for this card. At one point we were expecting to see Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson fight for a second time within a year, as the main event. However it was announced at the end of July the main event had been changed to Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort at a catchweight of 195lbs. Not a negative move considering many people thought it was too soon for a rematch between Franklin and Henderson. And who doesn't want to see how Vitor does with his UFC return?

Also, at one point the card  we were going to see if Mike Swick could get past Martin Kampmann and move one step closer to being the number one centender and face Georges St Pierre. Unfortunately, during a sparring session with training partner Josh Koscheck, Mike had his legs swept out from under him and landed on his head/neck. He suffered what appears to be a minor concussion. While no return date or future opponenet has been named (I'm hoping Joe Silva matches him up against Matt Hughes!), we're hoping to see Mike return very soon. It's my opinion that he's on the right track to face the quality of competitors he deserves and I look forward to seeing his talents challenged. Please follow mike on twitter at twitter.com/officialswick 

With the fight starting in just hours, here are my predictions for the main card: (if you're a loyal reader you know, winners in green)

Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort: While I'm picking Vitor, I think we could possibly see one of two outcomes. Either Vitor comes out and knocks Rich out right off the bat (first round) or if these two exchange punch for punch and it lingers into the later rounds, I'd say Rich will probably win by points. Vitor has something to prove with his return to the UFC. I think that passion to prove himself, coupled with the fact he's been training with Randy Couture, this is going to go by quick TKO in the first. Either way, I wish Rich would stop fighting at catch weights. I mean I get why he does it (so he can fight often) but these catch weights aren't really moving him closer to being a contender in the 185lb weight class nor the 205 weight class. I love fighters that stay busy but as everyone knows I'm not a huge fan of catch weights.

Cro Cop vs Junior dos Santos: I flipped my original pick for this fight. I was going to pick Cro Cop but in reflecting on his return (again) to the UFC, I'm not impressed. However looking at dos Santos, his wins and who he has fought, I think he could win this fight. Oh and I'd like to say one thing to Cro Cop. PLEASE STICK TO ONE ORGANIZATION. Seriously. You'll grow a more loyal fan following if you just stay put.  I'm picking dos Santos KO in the first.

Martin Kampmann vs Paul Daley: Again, Paul Daley took this fight on pretty late notice due to Mike Swick's injury. Martin has a few inches on Daley and if you recall, he used to fight at Middleweight until he lost to Nate Marquardt at UFC 88. While I think they're both good strikers, I think Kampmann might be slightly better and also has better wrestling skills. I'm giving this to Kampmann by TKO in the second.

Josh Koscheck vs Frank Trigg: I don't think this is going to be even close. I expect Koscheck to OWN Trigg from the start of "Lets get it on". I think Josh's wrestling is just a lot better and I expect to see him take Frank down a lot. While Josh hasn't won many fights lately by submission I'm picking him to win by Submission (Choke) in the second.

Tyson Griffin vs Hermes Franca: I'm secretly most excited about this fight. Hermes has really good JJ but in my opinion, didn't look great against Frank Edgar (his first fight after his suspension). While most of Tyson's fights tend to go the distance, he's received Fight of the Night award something like 5 out of his last 7 fights. That's pretty impressive. With a solid win by Tyson it could put him on the track for a contender spot. Many people will debate me on this (and that's fine) but I think he's a gate keeper for the 155lbs weight class. One thing to note, this fight is at a catch weight of 159. I'm picking Griffin to win by Decision and I HOPE this fight gets Fight of the Night honors as well.

Agree or disagree I don't really care. As long as you have an opinion! 

UFC 103 Pay Per View Locations

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® presents the fight the entire mixed martial arts world is talking about when “The Phenom”, former UFC® light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon™ to face UFC superstar Rich “Ace” Franklin in the main event of UFC 103. Also featured on the biggest MMA event to ever hit Texas will be perhaps the most explosive heavyweight battle of the year when one of the sport’s most feared strikers, Mirko Cro Cop, takes on Brazilian knockout artist Junior Dos Santos.

UFC® 103 FRANKLIN vs BELFORT - Saturday, September 19th, live on Pay-Per-View from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

American Airlines Center doors open at 4:50pm CENTRAL TIME
First bout is scheduled to begin at 5:20pm CT
First fight on television at 9pm CT (7pm PT / 10pm ET)

Pay Per View Locations after the jump:

UFC 103 Card Confirmed

We're all anxious to see the Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort at UFC 103 next Saturday Sept 19th taking place in Dallas Texas at the American Airlines Center. Today, the UFC officially confirmed the rest of the bouts for the card. Not only will the people attending the event see a pretty stacked card of great match ups but those at home can watch the main card as a PPV event as always and see the prelim bouts FREE on Spike!

 

Here's the rest of the 103 bouts!

MIRKO CRO COP vs. JUNIOR DOS SANTOS

MARTIN KAMPMANN vs. PAUL DALEY

JOSH KOSCHECK vs. FRANK TRIGG

TYSON GRIFFIN vs. HERMES FRANCA

EFRAIN ESCUDERO vs. COLE MILLER

DREW MCFEDRIES vs. TOMASZ DRWAL

JIM MILLER vs. STEVE LOPEZ

NIK LENTZ vs. RAFAELLO OLIVEIRA

RICK STORY vs. BRIAN FOSTER

ELIOT MARSHALL vs. JASON BRILZ

VLADIMIR MATYUSHENKO vs. IGOR POKRAJAC

ROBERT EMERSON vs. RAFAEL DOS ANJOS

 

LIVE FROM THE AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER

 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2009

 

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – As the saying goes, everything’s bigger in Texas – including the fight cards. With the superfight between former middleweight champion Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort already signed, the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) is set to put on a record 13 fights for UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort, which is presented by TEQUILA CAZADORES, live from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on September 19.

 

Tickets for UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort are still on sale and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com, AmericanAirlinesCenter.com, American Airlines Center Box Office and by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Prices do not include service charges.

 

Mirko Cro Cop (fighting out of Zagreb, Croatia) has fought some of the best heavyweights in the world. The seasoned striker with 25 professional wins is coming off a TKO victory against Mostapha Al Turk in June, but the former PRIDE® Grand Prix champion could be facing one of his toughest challenges in recent memory when he takes on the dangerous Brazilian Junior Dos Santos (fighting out of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil). With two knockout wins in his first two UFC fights, no one has lasted longer than 80 seconds in the UFC against the 25-year-old. The 6-foot-4, 238-pound fighter will need to bring his sharpest standup game yet against the feared Croatian kickboxer.

 

Coming off the biggest win of his career, welterweight contender Martin Kampmann (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) is fresh from an impressive split decision victory over former World Extreme Cagefighting® welterweight champion Carlos Condit in April. Since dropping down to the 170-pound weight class, the 27-year-old former Danish Thai boxing champion is a perfect 2-0 but will be pitted against the extremely explosive Paul Daley (fighting out of Nottingham, England). An exciting striker that has fought around the globe, Daley owns KO wins over UFC veterans John Alessio and Duane Ludwig and is making his UFC debut.

 

A former national college wrestling champion, Josh Koscheck (fighting out of Fresno, Calif.) has compiled 10 UFC wins in his career. The Waynesburg, Pennsylvania native has wins over Diego Sanchez, Chris Lytle and Dustin Hazelett, but he has never faced someone like returning UFC veteran Frank Trigg (fighting out of Las Vegas, NV.). One half of two memorable fights with then UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, Trigg has the experience, wrestling background and Octagon savvy to give Koscheck the most difficult test of his career. With two UFC victories already on his resume`, Trigg makes his first trip back into the Octagon™ since 2005.

 

At only 25 years old, Tyson Griffin (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) has already compiled six wins in the UFC. The powerful lightweight fighter holds victories over Clay Guida, Gleison Tibau and most recently a unanimous decision win against Rafael Dos Anjos in April. But now the Sacramento, California born mixed martial artist turns his attention to another tough Brazilian in Hermes Franca (fighting out of Miami, Fla.). The decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt holds two submission victories in the UFC and is coming off a unanimous decision win against his former jiu-jitsu instructor Marcus Aurelio at UFC 90.

 

Winner of the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter™, Efrain Escudero (fighting out of Tempe, Ariz.) remains undefeated (12-0) as a professional mixed martial artist and holds a win over Phillipe Nover in the show’s finale. Now the former All-American college wrestler and Mexico-born fighter will face the red-hot Cole Miller (fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.). The 25-year-old Augusta, Ga. native is coming off two consecutive submission victories, tapping out Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jorge Gurgel and TUF 8’s Junie Browning in successive bouts. The 6-foot-1 lightweight has four total wins in the UFC, and he’ll be looking for number five on September 19^th.

 

With all four of his UFC wins coming via KO/TKO, Drew McFedries (fighting out of Bettendorf, Iowa) has the power and the talent to put anyone’s lights out. It took the Ames, Iowa born fighter only 37 seconds to take Xavier Foupa-Pokam out in his last fight at UFC 98 and the talented middleweight will need every bit of his standup skill when he mixes it up with the aggressive Tomasz Drwal (fighting out of San Diego, Calif. / Krakow, Poland). The heavy-handed 27-year-old is coming off of two knockout victories, including a devastating TKO win over Mike Ciesnolevicz in June. Drwal, who has a 16-2 record, will look for his third UFC win in 2009.

 

Jim Miller (fighting out of Whippany, N.J.) has impressed many during his time in the UFC. Winner of three of his four UFC fights, the Sparta, New Jersey native earned a unanimous decision win against the experienced Mac Danzig at UFC 100 in July. Now the lightweight with the 14-2 pro record faces UFC newcomer Steve Lopez (fighting out of South Bend, Ind.). A national qualifier as a college wrestler, the 25-year-old Lopez holds a 12-1 record and makes his UFC debut on September 19.

 

Two fighters that are making their UFC debuts, Nik Lentz (fighting out of Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Rafaello Oliveira (fighting out of Knoxville, Tenn. / Janja, Brazil) are looking to put on a show in their respective premieres. Lentz, an El Paso, Texas native, wrestled at the University of Minnesota, where he is one semester away from graduating in Pre-Med. Lentz puts his 18-3-1 career mark against Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Rafaello Oliveira. Riding a three-fight win streak, the 9-1 Oliveira has three wins by submission and three by TKO.

 

Heading into his second UFC fight, Rick Story (Vancouver, Wash.) is coming off a three-round battle with John Hathaway. The 25-year-old welterweight holds a 7-3 pro record and is looking for his first UFC win when he takes on Sallisaw, Oklahoma’s Brian Foster (fighting out of Granite City, Ill.). With an impressive 14-3 pro record, Foster has eight wins by KO/TKO, four by submission and is making his UFC debut.

 

Making plenty of noise in the ultra-stacked light heavyweight division is Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Eliot Marshall (fighting out of Boulder, Colo.). With back-to-back wins against Jules Bruchez and Vinny Magalhaes, the Franklinville, N.J. native is a perfect 2-0 in the UFC and 7-2 overall. Marshall looks for his third UFC win when he faces Jason Brilz (fighting out of Omaha, Neb.). The Bismarck, North Dakota fighter also has wins in his two UFC fights, including a unanimous decision victory against Tim Boetsch in March.

 

Making his return to the Octagon after six years, Vladimir Matyushenko (fighting out of El Segundo, Calif.) is back and has won nine of his last 10 fights. The 22-4 Belarusian holds seven wins by submission and seven by TKO and is looking to shake up the light heavyweight division when he returns to face Igor Pokrajac (fighting out of Zagreb, Croatia). A protégé of Mirko Cro Cop, Pokrajac is on an eight-fight win streak and brings a 21-5 record into his UFC debut.

 

A veteran of four UFC fights, lightweight Rob Emerson (fighting out of Irvine, Calif.) is remembered for his 12 second TKO victory against the aggressive Manny Gamburyan. Now the 28-year-old from Huntington, California looks for his third UFC win when he takes on Rafael Dos Anjos (fighting out of Rio de Janeiro). The 24-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion last fought Tyson Griffin in a three-round battle that turned many heads. Now Dos Anjos heads into his third UFC match against the experienced Emerson.

 

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship®

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. Owned and operated by Zuffa™, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN Entertainment, BellTV, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Viewers Choice, and WOWOW in Japan, and Premiere Combate and SporTV in Brazil, and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada.  In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world.

 

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa® , The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, registered service marks, trademarks, trade dress and/or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and licensed to its affiliated entities and other licensees in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective owners.

 

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.

 

Vitale Fight “Just Another Day” For Trigg

From my friends at Strikeforce - Press Release:

SAN JOSE, Calif. —Off the heels of his latest conquest in Japan, mixed martial arts (MMA) superstar Frank Trigg (17-6) doesn’t seem too concerned about his next challenge, submission expert, Falaniko “Niko” Vitale (26-8).  In fact, Trigg’s seemingly nonchalant attitude toward the 185-pound limit matchup with Hawaii’s top talent could be mistaken for brash overconfidence.

“To me, it’s just another day for me,” said Trigg, a 2000 Olympic wrestling trials finalist and former UFC welterweight championship challenger who will battle Vitale in a featured Strikeforce “Payback” MMA contest at Broomfield, Colorado’s Broomfield Event Center on Friday, October 3^rd.  “All of my days start to run together so I don’t have any thoughts about a particular fighter.”

When the subject of conversation turns to the state of his career, though, Trigg’s tone suddenly becomes more focused and intense. “I’ve only got a couple fights left so every fight is important to me.”

At 38, Trigg may be nearing the end of his splendid run in professional MMA.  It is in the last two years, however, which he has also turned in some of his most impressive performances, to date, including back-to-back wins over Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Kazo “The Grabaka Hitman” Misaki.

Trigg attributes these recent, good fortunes to his adoption of all-time great, Randy “The Natural” Couture, as a mentor.  Training at the Xtreme Couture academy in Las Vegas, Nevada has provided him with a new outlook towards competition.

“One of my biggest problems has been that I’ve been my own worst enemy,” admitted Trigg.  “I let that get in the way of my fights.  One thing about Xtreme Couture, especially hanging out with Randy, is he (emphasizes) doing the best you can, so it really takes the stress off of you.  For him, it’s always about being fun.  So, it’s kind of interesting to see how he trains and I try to mimic the style.”

While he has surely carved out a legacy in the sport that almost anyone would be proud to call his own, Trigg remains most proud of his career in amateur wrestling, which included team competition at University of Oklahoma and culminated with his outstanding showing in the Olympic trials.

“The whole thing was a great memory for me,” said Trigg.  “It’s one of those things that I’ll never forget, especially at the level I took it to.  I took it to a level that very few people ever get to go to.  Being an amateur wrestler is something that will always be important to me.  It developed who I am, what I do, and how I approach things.”

Tickets for Strikeforce “Payback,” priced from $30, are on sale at Ticketmaster (303-830-TIXS) and Ticketmaster.com

In the main event, knockout artist and Denver native, Duane “Bang” Ludwig (16-8), will attempt to avenge a previous defeat at the hands of “The Ultimate Fighter” season three veteran, Sam “The Squeeze” Morgan (19-10).

Also back in action at Strikeforce “Payback” will be “The New York Badass” Phil Baroni (12-10) and “The Ultimate Fighter” season four veteran, “The Secret Weapon” Pete Spratt (18-14), who will battle Donnie Liles (11-5).

Broomfield Event Center doors will open for Strikeforce “Payback” at 5:30 PM MST and the preliminary card will begin at 6:30 PM MST.  The main card will commence at 8 PM MST.

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.”  Since then, it has co-produced the first SHOWTIME PPV mixed martial arts event in history with its world championship “Shamrock vs. Baroni” card on June 22, 2007 followed by the first-ever mixed martial arts event at the world-famous Playboy Mansion on September 29, 2007.  On April 12^th of this year, Strikeforce launched the first-ever 52 week MMA series on one of the four major television networks in The U.S. – NBC.