MMA Hot Stuff

Nominations for 2009 World MMA Awards closes on Wednesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

 

UFC 98 Predictions - From A Girl's Perspective.

I've really been looking forward to this card for a while now. Specifically because of the co-main event match up between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. Okay okay squeal, see I'm so excited! Here are my predictions for the main card. Where do you agree? Where do you think I have it all wrong? Tell me about it!

Also, if you haven't done so already, don't forget to fill out your UFC Fantasy picks for the fight! I do this solely for bragging rights.

For those of you that have read my predictions before, you know the drill. Winners in green!

Rashad Evans Vs. Lyoto Machida - The interesting thing with this match up is the champion (Rashad) enters the fight as the underdog. As of today, according to gamblerspalace, the odds are Rashad +170  and Lyoto -220. Ladies, trust me I've gone over this a thousand times with my male friends because it can be a little confusing, that but means if you lay down $100 on Rashad and if he wins you'll get $170.00 back (plus you get back the $100 you used to bet). Whereas if you bet on Lyoto, you have to bet $220 to win $100. But that tells you Lyoto is the favorite in this situation.  Rashad comes in with a record of 13-0-1 with some HUGE names under his belt - Forrest Griffin, Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell... He's known for his strong wrestling background, but is also one of the better strikers in the weight class (see victory over Chuck Liddell... wow he has fast hands). Lyoto "the Dragon" is on fire with a record of 14-0. He's known for having a very different style, and a karate background. I don't know that I've ever seen Lyoto take a big punch, he only dishes them out. But I still think if there's anyone out there that can beat him it's Rashad. Remember, Rashad trains out of Greg Jackson's camp, and they're notorious for having full-proof gameplans for every opponent! I'll be putting my money on Rashad on this one. I CAN NOT wait to see it!

Matt Hughes vs Matt Serra - THIS IS IT! I've been waiting. And waiting. This much anticipated match up was supposed to take place over a year ago. The hype has been building. Matt Hughes comes in with a deep record of 43-7. Hughes has lost three of his last four (mind you they were to two of the best in the weight class). He may be more experienced and bigger, but does he have it in him to beat Serra?   Matt Serra is 9-4 and he wants this win badly (say it with a new york/jersey accent).  He lost his last fight to Georges St Pierre over a year ago. Does he have ring rust? Is his age starting to catch up to him? I think not! As you may remember he's the one who beat GSP in April of 2007, showing his power in that TKO victory. The guy has the will to kill Hughes. I'm definitely laying down some Benjamins on Matt Serra for this one. He's going to buy ma'ma a new pair of shoes! I'm also guessing the loser of this fight will probably announce his retirement.

Drew McFedries Vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam - Drew was originally set to face James Irvin but that was scratched due to an injury. Drew is currently 7-5 winning 4 of his last 8 fights in the first round either via TKO or KO. Xavier comes into the fight with a record of 20-9 and has a Muay Thai background. Even with his deep record I still think Drew will win this fight by TKO. Drew has some HEAVY hands, so don't blink.

Dan Miller Vs. Chael Sonnen - This is another fight that was changed up due to injury. Dan was originally scheduled to face Yushin Okami. He's currently 11-1-1 where his only loss was back 2006. Chael is coming off a first round loss against Damien Maia (one of my new favorites) and currently has a record of 21-10-1. Given Chael's experience, I'm picking him to take home the 'W'. A loss to Damien Maia is nothing to be ashamed of as many are saying he's the #1 contender at Middleweight. Chael is a very cerebral fighter, and will come in with a great game plan. He's got good striking, and his wrestling is top notch (2000 Olympic alternate in Greco Roman), so I think Chael takes this fight wherever he wants it to be.

Sean Sherk Vs. Frank Edgar - Another great match up. As you may recall from my previous post about the light weight devision, both of these guys were on my Honorable Mention list. Sean not only has an incredible record of 33-3-1, with his three losses going to TOP TIER guys such as BJ Penn, GSP and Matt Hughes but he has a nickname of "The Muscle Shark"! This former UFC Lightweight Champion is a true legend. Frankie has a record of 9-1, and won his UFC debut against Tyson Griffin in style by being awarded Fight of the Night honors. Both are great wrestlers with great striking and crisp combinations, and I definitely think Frankie Edgar is a great asset to the Lightweight division and he'll be around for a while but I think he's going to be beaten down by Sean. Sean's tenacity and pace are ridiculous. I'd like to see a great fight between these two and would love to see it  go the distance, but I still give this to Sean.

UFC 98 Pay Per View Locations

Here's a list of bars/restaurants showing UFC 98: Rashad Evans vs Lyoto Machida - Saturday May 23rd live on Pay-Per-View from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

With a combined record of 32-0-1, light heavyweight stars "Sugar" Rashad Evans and Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida have left a trail of destruction behind them that includes some of the greatest fighters in UFC® history. Now in the main event of UFC® 98, the two will meet in an epic showdown pitting champion Evans against challenger Machida to not only determine the best 205-pound fighter on the planet, but to see who leaves with a loss on their record for the first time.

Also, former UFC® welterweight champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra finally meet to settle their long-standing grudge.

Featured Locations:

Hey fellow San Francisco fans! Looking for a place to watch UFC 98 that also serves the best martinis in town?  The Dirty Martini has three 9-foot projection screens and 2 plasma tv's!  There will be a $10.00 cover charge at the door for this event!

click here to see the full list:

ESPN MMA Live: UFC 96 / Episode 43

Here's a recap from today's ESPN MMALive:

This weekend UFC 96 from Nationwide Arena (Ohio) Quinton Jackson vs Keith Jardine.

What does Keith need to do: Use his standup. Jardine has been here before. This would be a big win for Keith.
I personally think Keith is always the underdog but surprises people (remember 2007 vs Chuck).

If Rampage wins this fight he'll most likely fight Rashad Evans for the title.

Also on the card is Matt Hamill vs Mark Munoz. Both wrestlers. Should be a good match up. Frank pointed out he thinks Matt is a bit better on his feet than Mark.

As announced UFC 98: Lesnar vs Mir II - Also, on the card Matt Hughes vs Matt Serra. I can't wait for this. For those of you that follow me on a regular basis (and if you don't, you should) you know why this is a much anticipated card for me!

Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira have both verbally agreed to UFC 101.

We are all blessed by Rashad Evans signing an 8 fight contract with the UFC!

If you missed the Mike Brown vs Leanard Garcia fight last week in Corpus Christi it was a fantastic show of Mike Brown retaining his WEC Featherweight Title. After the end he called out Urijah for another match up. Definitely defended in style.

They also got Stephan Bonnar on the phone asking him his opinion of boxer Hasim Rahman taking a shot at MMA.

Kenny and brother/mma coach Keith (hi keith) showed the foot sweep and how to counter it.

watch the rest of the episode here:

UFC 98 adds another grudge match!

As if the grudge match between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir wasn't enough, the UFC has announced that Matt Hughes and Matt Serra will square off on the card as well! This fight has been a long time coming as both fighters were eager to square off after their coaching stints on TUF 6. Since then injuries have riddled both fighters, postponing this bout numerous times. Well the time has come for these two veterans to let their fists fly!

Along with Hughes VS Serra, the UFC has also announced the following bouts as additions to the card:

• Yushin Okami VS Dan Miller
• Sean Sherk VS Franki Edgar
• James Irvin VS Drew McFedries
• Houston Alexander VS Andre Gusmao
• Patrick Barry VS Tim Hague
• Phillipe Nover VS Kyle Bradley
• Dave Kaplan VS George Roop
• Yoshiyuki Yoshida VS Brandon Wolff

UFC: Matt Serra VS Matt Hughes in May

According to Matt Hughes' web-site, he is expecting to fight Matt Serra in Las Vegas on May 23rd.

This fight has been a long time coming, definitely since Season 6 of the Ultimate Fighter, and long before since they've never liked each other. Although they've never fought, they have always wanted to. Hughes doesn't like Serra's attitude and Serra thinks Hughes has a huge ego.

Even though they're both entering the twilight of their careers, it should make for an entertaining fight... as there's nothing better than watching a fight between two guys that dislike each other as much as these two fighters do.

UFC 85 Weigh-In Results: Alves misses weight

As reported on UFC.com today, UFC 85 weigh-ins took place at the O2 Arena in London and the main event between Matt Hughes and Thiago Alves will take place at a catchweight of 174 pounds. Alves failed to make weight, coming it 3 pounds above the welterweight limit of 171 pounds, while Hughes weighed in at 170 pounds.

Each weight class is given a 1 pound allowance above the actual weight class, for instance the lightweight class is described as "155 pounds" yet participants are allowed to weigh in at 156 pounds or below.

The fact that Alves did not make the 171 pound limit is pretty interesting given the fact that he's been suspended in the past for the use of a diuretic. Alves served an 8-month suspension for the use of Spironolactone, which is a diuretic that helps fighters shed water weight in order to more easily get their weight down to the necessary limit. Alves has been known to cut a lot of weight as a fairly big welterweigh. One could interpret a few things from Alves failure to make weight; 1) either he's just a really big welterweight that has trouble cutting that much water weight, or 2) Alves' training camp wasn't as focused as it needed to be (both cardio and diet) and he's not coming into this fight in top physicial condition.

Should make for an interesting fight. Will Alves come in out of shape and run out of gas agains the notoriously intense and in-shape Hughes? Or is he just "big", and how will that effect the smaller Hughes? Will Matt be able to deal with Alves' youth and size? Will he be able to take the youngster down and keep him there? We'll find out tomorrow!

Read more for the other weigh-in results!

UFC 85 and Predictions (UPDATED)

I gave my predictions based on the original UFC 85 card, but given all the changes, I need to make an updated version with my new predictions.  Winners in Green!

Matt Hughes Vs. Thiago Alves - If I hear Matt Hughes ramble on about how Thiago is "young" I think I'm going to vomit in my mouth. He says it as if it's a bad thing to be the ripe age of 24 in this sport. Thiago has beat some good fighters, including; Karo Parisyan. And if you want to play the connect the dot game, Karo beat  Matt Serra and Matt Serra beat GSP and GSP killed Matt Hughes. Not to mention I don't like Matt Hughes. Thiago wins this bout. There I said it. Phew.

Michael Bisping Vs. Jason Day - Michael is going to continue to mark his territory in the middle weight class. He's taking this win home with him. Doesn't hurt that he's clearly a crowd favorite with his "home" octagon advantage.

Marcus Davis Vs. Mike Swick - Marcus has beaten his last few opponents in the first round by either KO or submission, where as Mike's fights have gone to judge's decision. Given Marcus' skills as a boxer (that's where he got his start) I think he is going to win by KO.

Nate Marquardt Vs. Thales Leites  - Nate is 26-7 & 2. He clearly has A LOT of fights under his belt. Has Thales' hand fully recovered from the break? They both like to submit their opponents so this will be a good match up. I expect to see it on the ground most of the time. I'm picking Nate for this one.

Fabricio Werdum Vs. Brandon Vera - I'm sure everyone recalls the management dispute that prevented Vera from stepping into the Octagon for almost a year. His last fight was against Tim Sylvia where Vera lost the fight via unanimous decision and also broke his left hand in the first round of the fight. I think Brandon is going to win this fight.... and reclaim his presence in the UFC!

UFC 85 Pay Per View Locations

Here are the approved sports bars showing UFC 85!

Read More... & Don't forget to check back for bars showing UFC 86!