MMA Hot Stuff

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.

UFC Fight Night TUF Finale Drug Tests

Keith Kizer has confirmed, the following fighters were tested fight night: Sanchez, Guida, Johnson, Wilks, Pearson, Winner, Lytle, Stevenson, Blackburn, Osipczak, Guillard and Drwal.

All tests came back negative.

The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale Fight Recap & Results

Wow. Some exciting brawls tonight.

Joe Daddy Stevenson vs Nate Diaz - This was a back and forth match. It went to the judges.  Joe won via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Ross Pearson vs Andre Winner (TUF Lightweight finale) - Ross Pearson won via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) to become "TUF 9" lightweight winner. Honestly, in my opinion this was one of the most boring TUF finale fights. These guys did not fight as though they were fighting for a major contract.

Chris Lytle vs Kevin Burns - I was really looking forward to this fight because Chris is such an exciting fighter to watch. He's always trying to get fight of the night or submission/knock outs of the night. I love how he was "toying" with Kevin. Kevin seemed to gas out somewhat quickly, and Chris would do what looked to be a pretty basic one two combo then step back and do it over and over again. While I actually thought (hoped) Chris was going to take this in the first round, it ended up going to the judges. And just to note, Kevin kneed/kicked Chris in the balls THREE times during the fight. THREE. Who does that? Chris Lytle won via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Damarques Johnson vs James Wilks (TUF welterweight finale) - While Damarques was able to fend off a few early chokes, he was finally caught in a rear naked choke at the very tail end of the first round. Just as the 10 second warning was heard, Johnson tapped.  James Wilks won via rear-naked choke in Round 1, 4:54 to become "TUF 9" welterweight winner.

Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida

THE MAIN EVENT was one of THE best fights I've seen in a long time. Such different styles yet both FEROCIOUS. In what started out as a serious boxing match, was coupled with superb wresting, tight  armbars and lots of blood. I loved the fight, it was exactly my kind of fight! What I really love is Diego Sanchez just adds even more excitement to one of the best weight classes. Anyway both fighters rocked it. It went the distance and Diego won via split decision split decision (28-29, 29-27, 29-28). These two will definitely meet again at some point.

By the way, I ended up at 106 out of 16046 in UFC Fantasy. How did you do?

The Ultimate Fighter Finale Sanchez vs Guida

Tomorrow night is the much anticipated Finale between Team US and Team UK. Although there will be one fight where it's team UK vs team UK because there are 3 Team UK guys and one Team US appearing in the Finale. Not only will we see the TUF guys fight it out for a contract but we will also see some other great match ups. Below are some of my predictions, winners in green!

Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida - This has all the ingredients for a spectacular fight. Clay is one of the most ferocious and explosive fighters in the light-weight division. Diego has recently dropped a weight and has shown he's comfortable in the 155 weight class. I'm really looking forward to this fight. Both fighters are coming off of wins (Diego beat Joe Daddy and Clay recently beat Nate Diaz). As far as my prediction goes, I'm going to give the W to Clay. 

Chris Lytle vs Kevin Burns - Kevin is still somewhat new to MMA, however his record isn't too shabby at 7-2 overall and 2-1 in the UFC. If you recall Kevin is the one that fought Anthony Johnson twice. The first fight he won although be-it in a controversial way with his open hand punches. He's going to have a tough fight on his hands as he takes on the veteran (26-17) Chris "Lights Out" Lytle. Chris is coming off a loss against Marcus Davis via split decision but still won Fight of the Night honors. As many of Chris' fights do. I give this fight to Lytle. In fact I'll even say it'll go in the first round by TKO.

Joe Daddy Stevenson vs Nate Diaz - I love the light-weight division. Joe daddy is another veteran of the sport with a record of 29-10 although he's coming off a tough unanimous decision loss against Diego Sanchez. And while Nate doesn't have the depth in his record (10-3) his fights have been explosive winning him fight of the night honors as well as submission of the night.  I'm also excited to see this fight because I think it's going to be a fun match up to watch. I hope this one goes the distance with Joe daddy winning via decision.

DaMarques Johnson Vs. James Wilks - True Team US vs Team UK fighting for the contract in the welterweight division. This will be interesting to watch because as you may recall DeMarques is the guy that had some funny run-ins with Michael Bisping. The water throwing incident. Given the records of both fighters, I'll go with the more 'experienced' one and give the win to DaMarques Johnson. Plus I'd like to see Bispings reaction to the loss.

Ross Pearson Vs. Andre Winner - Team UK vs Team UK fighting for the light-weight contract. I guess this is a win win situation (for Team UK).  Tough to call but I'll go with Ross Pearson on this one.

Good Luck Frank Lester. I can't help but cheer for him. He lost, worked his way back into the house and even though he lost again I'm glad to see him get another chance. I'm hoping this is the fight he wins!

Don't forget to fill out your UFC Fantasy picks!

Event information:

Date/Time:  June 20 9pm ET/PT

TV: Spike TV

Location: If you're in Las Vegas, you're in luck because tickets are still available. The event will take place at the Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort. For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com

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.

 

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

Dream UFC MatchUps

Where have I been?! Sorry y'all, I've been busy with the "day" job. And while I've been away I've put some thought into a few fights I'd like to see.

These are the fights that would really get me pumped up. Before you all send me messages saying "silly girl at least one of these fights has already been announced" I know that. But this is my list of fights I'd like to see. Announced already or not. 
What are your thoughts? Who do you think would win these match-ups?

Oh, and Joe Silva; if you need any more match ups from me feel free to email me. MKThanks.

Brock Lesnar  vs  Shane Carwin

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira  vs  Randy Couture

Rashad Evans  vs  Lyoto Machida

Matt Hamill  vs  Brandon Vera

Dan Henderson  vs  Keith Jardine

Michael Bisping  vs  Patrick Cote

Damien Maia  vs  Anderson Silva

Matt Brown  vs  Tamdan McCrory

Jon Fitch  vs  Marcus Davis

Clay Guida  vs  Joe Stevenson

Sean Sherk  vs  Nate Diaz

UFC: TUF 9 Finale to feature Nate Diaz VS Joe Stevenson

GracieFighter.com has confirmed that Nate Diaz will be fighting Joe Stevenson at UFC Fight Night on June 20th, which happens to be the TUF 9 Finale.

The two lightweights and TUF alumni, will both be looking to get back to their winning ways. Diaz is coming off a razor close decision loss to Clay Guida, while Stevenson is trying to bounce back off of a two fight losing streak. Stevenson suffered a loss to Kenny Florian at UFC 91 and another loss to Diego Sanchez at UFC 95.

Speaking of Guida and Sanchez, those two will be facing off as part of the TUF 9 finale as well, making for another exciting lightweight fight.

Diaz VS Stevenson is quite an interesting battle. Both have great Jiu Jitsu, but are polar opposites when it comes to body type. Diaz is tall with long limbs and will clearly have the reach advantage, while Stevenson is short and powerful. This should be a great fight!

ESPN MMA Live: From U.K. to Corpus

MMALive recap from UK to corpus



With a recap of Diego/Stevenson fight. There was a lot of emphasis on Stevenson now losing 3 of his last 4 fights. Sure but Joe Stevenson is a fun fighter to watch and if you ask me he's always going to be the opponent the other big guys fight. He's the one you have to fight to get a title shot. He's my Keith Jardine but for lightweights. Joe Stevenson will always be around. As far as the fight between Diego and Stevenson, Diego did get the W however it wasn't the way he wanted it. While that fight went to the judges I think Diego will only get better. He's definitely going to give the 155lbers a run for their money. My guess is he'll get a title shot at some point. Perhaps fighting the loser between Kenny and BJ and then the winner of that fight getting a title shot.

Speaking of Kenny Florian vs BJ Penn - WHEN WHEN WHEN? It won't happen at UFC 99 in Germany (Thank goodness. I think it'd be a great co-main event on UFC 100)! This will allow good recovery time for BJ from the fight with GSP, but is it too much time off for KenFlo? Ha hardly. I assure you his training camp will continue to keep him busy.

p.s. wow did anyone count how many times Diego said YES during his walk out to the octagon.  Think he was a bit excited?


I'm definitely happy  to see Gilbert vs Josh Thomson on the upcoming Strikeforce card. Josh will be defending his title.

Oh and p.s.s. I'm THE "Rachel from San Francisco" that submitted the question about catch weights :)

Keep up the great work ESPN MMA Live crew

“The Fight Expo” on tap March 21-22 in Del Mar

“The Fight Expo” on tap March 21-22 in Del Mar

Dreams come true for 5 Make-A-Wish children

DEL MAR, California (February 25, 2009) -- A massive two-day Mixed Martial Arts and Extreme Sports extravaganza, “The Fight Expo,” is coming to the Del  Mar Fairgrounds, the weekend of March 21-22,  in Del Mar, California.

“The Fight Expo” is the first event of its kind, infusing MMA, Grappling, Pankration, and several Extreme Sports -- Motocross, Skateboarding, Harley Davidson Pulls and much more -- into one giant entertainment supershow.  “The Fight Expo” has chosen The Make-A-Wish Foundation of San Diego as its beneficiary with portions of proceeds from every ticket sold, charity auctions, and MMA seminars going to this worthwhile cause. 

UFC announcer, Bruce Buffer, “The Voice of the Octagon,” has joined the team to create a very special event for five Make-A-Wish children suffering from life threatening illnesses, which will include the children being escorted around by American Gladiator and the World’s Most Famous Female Fighter, Gina Carano, as well as getting publicly introduced by Bruce Buffer as Honorary Fighters in the Cage. They will also have an opportunity to meet their favorite MMA Superstars from a group including Brandon Vera, Joe Stevenson, Jake Shields, Cung Le, TUF Season 8 finalist Vinny Magalhães, Eliot Marshall, the Tapout Crew (Punkass, Mask and Skrape), Dean Lister, and many more. 

For Grappling and Pankration fans, “The Fight Expo” will host the 10^th anniversary of Grapplers Quest Competition with 300 Submission Grappling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Divisions, plus two mega-Superfight Divisions to crown The World’s Best Submission Fighters, totaling $25,000 in prizes.

Bud Light presents the Pankration Team Battles on Saturday night (Mar. 21), pitting two military teams, 29 Palms vs. Camp Pendleton. 

Greg Jackson, coach of UFC champions Georges St. Pierre and Rashad Evans, will be conducting the inaugural 100% Make-A-Wish Charity MMA Seminar on Sunday (Mar. 22) for MMA fighters and fans.

Other event highlights include G.I. Joe star and world famous model, Channing Tatum, and other stars from the upcoming Rogue Picture's film release, "Fighting," 100+ exhibits selling top MMA clothing, nutrition and health products; special area for women including the "Chic Boutique," which will have clothing, jewelry, massage therapists and an "elite" dating service; as well as the Grappling Hall of Fame award presentations by Grapplers Quest.  

Proceeds from every ticket sale will benefit fundraisers for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of San Diego.

For discount tickets and more information about “The Fight Expo,” go to www.TheFightExpo.com.

For more information on Grapplers Quest, go to: http://www.GrapplersQuest.com.

For Exhibit & Sponsorship opportunities, contact Ken Schmitz of SALESFISH, the marketing and sponsorship sales agency for “The Fight Expo” at kschmitz@salesfish.com.