MMA Hot Stuff

SkrapPack Radio Debut

I'm very excited (and proud) to announce SkrapPack Radio in conjunction with Heavy.com!

Debut scheduled for October 18th at 10:30am pacific time.

Gilbert Melendez and Phil Baldacci introduce the SkrapPack as well talk to Jake Shields just days leading into his UFC debut at UFC 121.

Call in with questions! Call in number:  (619) 638-8523

Follow the SkrapPackRadio team on twitter!

Tune in!

 

 

Strikeforce: Evolution Predictions

Never mind the co-main event and TITLE FIGHT guys aren't even on the billboards around the bay area, I'm really excited about this weekend's Strikeforce Evolution card happening Saturday at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA. Here are my predictions, winners in green. Let me know if you agree or disagree.

Cung Le vs Scott Smith - In my opinion there are two areas in which Scott beats Cung... Power and Heart. Aside from that Cung takes the cake. He's got more technical and refined striking, better footwork and ultimately can keep Smith away with his arsenal of kicks. I don't see Smith being able to generate a whole lot of offense here. I expect the movie star to knock Scott out in the second round. There isn't really much more to say other than go check out Cung's latest movie Bodyguards and Assassins coming out later this month.

Josh Thomson vs Gilbert Melendez(to unify the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship belts). As you may recall, Gilbert was the defending LW champion when he and Josh first met in June 2008. Josh won taking the title and belt home. They were set to fight again in April 2009 but the fight was called off because Josh broke his ankle during practice. They were scheduled to fight again in August 2009 but that was cancelled as well due to Josh's lingering ankle injury (or re-injury). During that time Strikeforce created an interim title given Josh's inability to fight, and Gilbert won the title against Rodrigo Damm and then defended that interim title against Mitsuhiro Ishida. So, this fight on Saturday is for us to see who will go home with the true Strikeforce Lightweight Champion title. Is Josh's ankle back to 100%? Has he developed a little 'ring rust' given he hasn't competed in quite some time? My break down is this: No, Josh will not have ring rust. He's been training with some of the best guys in his weight class down at AKA in San Jose.... he trains with the likes of Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Jon Fitch... and knowing AKA they go hard all the time. A la remember not that long ago Swick had to pull out of a bout because his training partner (Koscheck) caught him with a leg sweep, giving Swick a concussion? They go hard. HOWEVER, he's fighting GILBERT MELENDEZ. I almost feel like saying enough said, because I think it is. But I can say more. Gilbert has a great camp that includes Jake Shields, the Diaz brothers and of course, the SkrapPack. Gilbert has been spending a lot of time with a trainer focusing on his strength & conditioning, and says his training is more focused and regimented this time around. He's a fantastic wrestler, and isn't afraid to exchange a few blows (or, "throw hooks" as he sometimes says). I'm excited to see how both of these guys have improved since the last time they met. Two great guys. Two fantastic fighters. One winner. I'm going with Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez via decision. I think both guys are just too tough to be finished early, but ultimately Johs' long lay off and Gilbert's more focused training will show, and Gilbert will walk home the undisputed LW Champ. Oh and for extra points I'll say if we see Gilbert dominate Josh like he did against Mitsuhiro I wouldn't be surprised to see the UFC knocking on his door soon. The reality is he's a great person, good for the sport and oh yeah, that hispanic demographic that's out there... yeah I'm sure they'll all be wearing their El Nino shirts tomorrow tonight!

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs Matt Lindland - I'm really excited to see how Jacare does in Strikeforce... coming from Dream. I definitely don't expect to see these two exchange blows or keep it standing for more than 20 seconds in the first round. This is going to be a grappling/wrestling match. I know more people will be putting their new shoe money on Jacare but I expect to see Lindland win this by submission (guillotine) in the second round.

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal vs Mike Whitehead - We've heard and seen lots of promoting of King Mo! This is his debut with Strikeforce where he's coming from M-1 Global with a record of 5-0. He's known for his knock out power but he's fighting Mike Whitehead who comes with tons of experience. It's hard to say exactly what Mike's area of expertiese is other than he's a calculated fighter and pretty well rounded. I think this is a big fight for King Mo and will NOT be an easy win. Having said that, I'm picking King Mo to win this by TKO... King Mo has a ton of talent and potential, and I think this is the beginning of big things for him with Strikeforce.

If you're going to the event, feel free to msg me on twitter and come say hi! twitter.com/mmahotstuff

 

Strikeforce: Evolution - Melendez VS Thomson

I'll be posting my entire list of predictions for the main card of Strikeforce: Evolution tomorrow, but has there ever been any doubt who I'm going with for the lightweight title bout?

 

Thanks to Sherdog for the picture (you can see a full gallery of Gil training here), and to Gilbert for showing MMAHotStuff a little love! Can't wait to see this fight! Can't wait for Gilbert to get his belt back! 

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

Don't Forget To Thank The Fighters

You can say what you will about the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. Whether you love it, hate it or just don't understand it, you can definitely walk away with one understanding of the sport if you have time to watch just about any given fight. A big reason why the fighters are in the cage and doing what they do is because of the fans. Okay so not ALL the fighters are always so generous to their fans but never mind the exceptions. The vast majority of the fighters are extremely thoughtful, respectful and GRATEFUL for their fans.

Think about it. After every fight when Joe Rogan (or whoever) is talking to the winning fighter, the fighter always thanks his team, sponsors and the fans. When was the last time a baseball player thanked the fans? A football player? Okay, you can make the argument they're on a team and not being interviewed individually so I'll make more points.

Name a fighter. Any fighter. Have you ever tried to get into contact with that fighter? Most likely they're on Twitter. Or Facebook. Come on give me a name. You even have the Real Chuck Liddell now on Twitter. Randy Couture? Check. Tito Ortiz? Yep. And no offense but those are exactly the youngest of the fighters! Okay mind you I just mentioned the three fighters that probably need the most help with their Twitter-skills! LOL They're great with posting but not so great with being interactive. But come on, they're at least on there and posting what they're up to right? And why do they do this? Purely for the fans. Umm where's Peyton Manning? Not on Twitter. Reggie Bush on Twitter but let's be real here, it's probably just because Kim Kardashian got him up and going on it! Okay, I kid I kid!

Some fighters are very interactive on their personal websites. Daily video posts? Hello have you been on BJPenn.com? The guy shows you what he eats for every meal. 

Oh you want to roll around with these guys. Most likely you can find a gym in a city near you where there's a top tier fighter that's a household name you can roll around with. I'm not kidding. Of course they're not looking to give free lessons to any Larry or Stan off the street, but if you're a dedicated fighter in the making, these guys have opened gyms and are teaching classes. When they're not personally training for a fight they're most likely helping one of their team mates prepare for a fight. 

And now you're starting to see fighters go one step further in how they interact with fans. Shane Carwin will send you a hand written and signed letter. The guy is BUSY. I mean crazy busy. And he hand writes letters. Who even writes letters now days? You can go to Shane's store http://www.performancemma.com/Shane-Carwin-s/215.htm?Click=1592  buy something and you'll get the letter with the merchandise! 

I just think it's worth noting and making sure the MMA fans (like me) don't take the accessibility of fighters for granted. I think this is one of the many things that makes this sport so special. The next time you see a fighter you should thank him for everything he does since they're so quick to thank us.

Strikeforce Results

Guest Writer: Salvatore DeRosalia

STRIKEFORCE 

Televised Fights: 

MAIN CARD (BEGINNING AT 7:30PM): 

Gina “Conviction” Carano (7-0) vs. Cris “Cyborg” (7-1) – 145lb Female Championship Bout 

Gina and Cyborg both look calm as they make their walk to the cage.  The crowd is certainly on Gina’s side as it roars when she enters the cage.  This is quite possibly the most important in STRIKEFORCE history.  Fighters are you ready? Fans are you ready?  “Let’s go!” 

Round one starts with Cyborg staking Gina and she takes eventually takes her down after a short flurry.  Somehow Gina ends up on top but Cyborg is goes for a heel hook.  Gina escapes and Cyborg takes her back and initiates ground and pound.  Gina gets out and gets up but only to more vicious blows from Cyborg.  Gina and Cyborg go down to the ground again and Gina ends up in full mount.  She delivers her own vicious ground and pound.  Gina and Cyborg stand up and trade heavy punches in the middle of the ring.  Both fighters are tired.  Gina lands a SUPERWOMAN punch to the face of Cyborg.  Both girls are trading blows as Cyborg takes Gina down again.  Cyborg seems to be hurting Gina more then she is being hurt.  They clinch in the middle of the cage.  Cyborg falls on Gina and lands in half guard.  Cyborg attempts an Americana twice but Gina rolls out of it.  Cyborg initiates ground and pound. Gina curls up against the cage and covers her face.  The Ref yells at Gina to fight back or he will stop the match.  The Ref warns her again.  Cyborg continues to deliver horrific blows to Gina’s face as Josh Rosenthal steps in and stops the fight as the horn sounds to end the round.  There is confusion in the ring for a moment but the fight is over.  Gina is still on the mat as Cyborg runs around the ring elated with her accomplishment.  Gina fought hard but the strength of Cyborg was just too much and she is now the STRIKEFORCE WOMANS 145LB CHAMPION. 

Renato "Babalu" Sobral (35-8) vs. Gegard Mousasi (25-2-1) - Light Heavyweight Championship Bout 

First things first, Referee BIG JOHN MCCARTHY is huge. 

Bell rings and Babalu meanders to the center of the cage.  Babalu catches Mousasi kick and clinches.  Mousasi establishes side control. Babalu tries to get up but Mousasi destroys Babalu with straight hard punches to the head.  Babalu’s body goes stiff.  Mousasi wins fight by KO at1:00 in the first round and is now the STRIKEFORCE Light Heavyweight Champion 
 
 
 

Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez (15-2) vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida (18-5-1) – Lightweight Interim Championship Bout 

El Nino takes the center of the cage and spends the first 3 minutes of round 1 picking apart Ishida’s face with jabs, hooks and crosses.  Ishida shoots for and get a double leg takedown, almost secures a rear naked choke but Gilbert turns it around into his own takedown which is where the round comes to an end.  

Gilbert used his reach in round 2.  Gilbert sprawls on a shot attempt from Ishida and then uses the clinch to administer some dirty boxing and knees.  Gilbert lets his hands fly with bunches of punches to Ishida’s face.  Ishida starts bleeding from the top of his head. Ishida takes heavy knees to the torso with a 1:30 left in round 2. Round 2 ends with another takedown from Melendez, Ishida seems gassed. 

Round 3 opens with Melendez taking the center of the cage again.  The two fighters’ trade punches.  Both fighters are hanging their hands low which is opening them up for punches.  Gilbert takes Ishida down with 3 minutes left and jumps on top of him with a flurry of punches, and knees to the body.  Melendez mounts Ishida’s back delivering furious blows to side of head.  Fight is stopped by Herb Dean because Ishida is not intelligently defending himself.  Gilbert wins fight by TKO at 3:56 in round 3.  Melendez avenges his first loss to Ishida in convincing fashion and remains the STRIKEFORCE Lightweight Interim Champion! And now I'm off to his after party.. I MIGHT post pictures tomorrow. Might.

Mike "Mak" Kyle (12-6-1) vs. Fabricio "Vai Cavalo" Werdum (11-4-1) 

Both fighters come out to center of the ring and waste no time throwing kicks and punches.  Werdum shoots for single leg and ends up in Kyle’s guard.  Kyle almost secures arm bar from the bottom on Werdum, the Jiu Jitsu specialist, but Werdum fights out of it gets side control.  Werdum wraps the neck of Kyle with a guillotine choke.  Kyle tries hard to fight out of it but the fight ends a few seconds later by tapout.   

Preliminary Bouts:

Alex Trevino Defeated Isiah Hill via Submission (Side Choke) at 3:56 in the 1^st round

James Terry Defeated Zak Bucia via TKO at 1:23 in the 1^st round

Justin Wilcox Defeated David Douglas via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:16 in the 3^rd round

Jay Hieron Defeated Jesse Taylor via Unanimous Decision (30-27 on all three scorecards)

Also,  don't forget to follow me at Twitter.com/MMAHotStuff 

Josh Thomson Out - Strikeforce

It looks like its been confirmed Josh Thomson is out and Gilbert Melendez will now be fighting Mitsuhiro Ishida. To quote gil, he "didn't train for nothing.WAR!!!"

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

StrikeForce and Rockstar Energy Drink Present "Carano vs Cyborg"

In what's being said to be THE biggest female MMA fight ever, Gina "Conviction" Carano (7-0) will face Cris "Cyborg" Santos (7-1) August 15th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. The Co-Main Event will be the Lightweight Title Unification between Gilbert Melendez (15-2) and Josh Thomson (16-2). For those ladies that may not recall, Gilbert was the title holder but lost it to Josh last June. They were set to have a rematch in April but it was canceled because Josh broke his ankle while training. And interim title was created and Gilbert won the title in a fight against Rodrigo Damm April 11 2009. So this match up between Gilbert and Josh is huge in my opinion. I mean I'm thrilled to see Gina and Cyborg finally go at it but this match up between Gilbert and Josh is pretty long over due.

Also rumored to be on the card is Joe Riggs (31-11-1) and Nick Diaz (20-7-1). These two met in February 2006 while they were under contract with the UFC, in what has been deemed as being one of the craziest post-fight fights that took place at the hospital. Now that they're with Strikeforce these two very well could possibly face each other again. Joe has been calling out Jake Shields in hopes of fighting him but Jake has made it very clear he has no interest in fight Joe and is looking for "big names".

While Strikeforce has a fairly small talent pool, they've been producing some very decent cards as of late.

Hope to see you all August 15th in San Jose.

MMA Returns to San Francisco... FINALLY!

MMA will make its return to the city by the bay on Saturday May 30th at Kezar Pavilion as World Combat Sports Challenge will put on a hybrid card featuring MMA and Muay Thai fights. This event is stacked with exciting fights!

World Combat Sports Challenge has been promoting martial arts events in the Bay Area for 20 years, and knows how to put on an exciting fight. The card will feature a wealth of local talent, including fighters out of Gilbert Melendez's camp! Come out and support the up and coming Bay Area fighters for a great night of action. You can get your tickets here!

The Lightweight Division, Anything But Light

Everyone has their favorite fighter(s). But for me, it's a weight class.

The UFC Lightweight division in my opinion is the most stacked weight class. For you ladies that are coming up to speed on the sport, this is is the 146-155lb weight class.

The number of grade A/top tier fighters in this weight class means a lot of great match ups.

Look at this list:
BJ Penn: Current UFC lightweight champ! Former UFC Welterweight Champ. First non-Brazilian born winner of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the black-belt category. He has either fought for or defended a UFC championship belt 7 times! BJ and his team have started a new program that starts 1/1/2010. If you haven't checked it out, I highly encourage you to do so. I've signed up to get the ongoing newsletters and they're fantastic.

Kenny Florian: Kenny is known for much more than just having the "razor sharp" elbows! His background isn't your standard wrestler or bjj but rather he grew up playing soccer! At least that explains where his strong high kicks come from. His wins include some very well known names (on this list). He will soon attempt to take the belt from BJ! Also, if you live in or around Boston, check out his gym. And tell them I sent you!

Clay Guida: 11 out of 25 of his fights have gone all the way to judge's decision, 2 of those earned him Fight of the Night! He'll face Diego Sanchez on June 20th. He's also a former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion. His nickname is the "Carpenter" but honestly he reminds me of a "Bulldog"

Nate Diaz: Nate is a jiu jitsu brown belt under Cesar Gracie, and Cesar is notorious for being very stringent when it comes to handing out belts. He's the former WEC Lightweight Champ, winner of TUF Season 5, and has won Fight of the Night honors 3 out of 13 fights. 

Tyson Griffin:  Tyson is another Fight of the Night kind of guy. He goes in to get the job done. He's earned the Fight of the Night bonus 5 times out of 8 UFC fights! And who doesn't love a guy that comes out to "Eye of the Tiger" as his entrance music.

Diego Sanchez: Diego won his Lightweight debut against Joe Stevenson and also earned the Fight of the Night honors. Diego was the TUF season 1 champ at middleweight, which is 171 - 185 lbs... that's right, and now he fights at lightweight. But previously he was a powerhouse at 170lbs and I'm looking forward to seeing him showcase his ability against the others here at 155lbs.

Joe Stevenson: This guy has 39 fights under his belt and he's only 26! He's another one that is fun to watch and has been known to get guys in Guillotine chokes that are almost impossible to get out of. Plus have you seen his kids? ADORABLE. Joe has also fought the toughest guys in the weight class, including BJ Penn and Kenny Florian.

Honorable Mentions:

Sean Sherk: Also a former UFC Lightweight Champion!

Joe Lauzon: Pretty impressive UFC record so far (5-1). He is currently rehabbing his knee but I'm confident he's going to be even stronger once he's back!

Cole Miller: Hello! He beat Junie Browning in the first round!

Josh Neer: 33 fights already and he's only 26!  25-7-1

Frankie Edgar: Frankie made a splash in the lightweight division with a debut victory over Tyson Griffin, which was an amazing fight. This guy is a former NCAA All-American wrestler and has a very exciting style.

Gray Maynard: His nickname is "The Bully", and for good reason. He's another NCAA All-American wrestler, and uses that background to get guys to the ground and dominate them. But don't let his takedowns fool you, his striking is GOOD. Many consider Gray to be a future contender in this division.

Upcoming Match Ups That You Must Watch!

Sean vs Frankie at UFC 98 May 23rd - Two great wrestlers with good boxing, this will be a war!

Diego vs Clay at The Ultimate Fighter Finale June 20th - Are you kidding me? Both of these guys go all out for all 3 rounds. This one will be action packed without a doubt!

Joe "Daddy" vs Nate at The Ultimate Fighter Finale June 20th - This one will be interesting. Two very different body types, both with great jiu jitsu. Plus, you gotta love Nate Diaz's swagger in the cage.

BJ vs Kenny at UFC 101 August 8th - It's for the title folks... need I say more?

In my opinion the guys in this weight class are the most well rounded fighters. They've got a combination of all aspects of the fighting game. You get it all with lightweight fights... great submissions, great knockouts, great wrestling and scrambles, the whole 9 yards. There's never a dull moment when these guys step into the cage, and you can always count on a great fight! These guys always come to fight!

Honorable Mentions Outside the UFC:

Gilbert Melednez, Shinya Aoki, Eddie Alvarez, Josh Thomson, Satoru Kitaoka