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

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 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.

 

UFC 103: FRANKLIN vs. BELFORT MEDIA CALL

Hey everyone! Here are my notes from the UFC 103 Media Call, featuring Rich Franklin, Virot Belfort, Mirko Cro Cop, and Junior Dos Santos. This should be a great event!

• Main Event is Franklin VS Belfort at a catch-weight of 195

• Co-Main Event is Cro Cop VS Dos Santos

• Franklin states that fighting at 195 was not his idea. It was requested by Vitor. At this time since Franklin is not in the title hunt at 205, he's willing to fight at 195 if the UFC has exciting fights for him and the fans want to see it.

• Vitor is training out of Extreme Couture in Las Vegas, and is planning on fighting at 185 in the UFC. He's weighting 195 right now, and 185 is his weight class.

• Vitor states that he is honored to be fighting Franklin and believes he was a great champion and is a legend in the UFC. He's happy to be back in the UFC where he started his career.
• Vitor has learned from all the experiences in his life, good or bad, and is at a very content and happy place in his life right now.
• Cro Cop has followed Dos Santos' career and believes he is one of the "young lions" of the heavyweight division. He is looking forward to this fight and believes it will be a very tough fight.
• Cro Cop is looking forward to being very active in the UFC. He expects to fight again in the beginning of January, 2010. Needing a few weeks off after a fight, and 10 to 11 weeks to train.
• Franklin's focus right now is fighting, and not acting. Asked about pursuing his acting career, he chuckled. Apparently during his downtime Franklin enjoys playing the drums.
• Franklin's interest right now is in putting on exciting fights for the fans. He feels eventually he'll make his way back to a title run, and it will be a great "Cinderella story" for his career before retirement, but right now he's interested in focusing on exciting fights.
• Vitor sees the middleweight division as being very tough, but that is the weight he's going to fight at.
• Cro Cop feels much better in the cage now, and has a cage to train in at his gym. He feels like he's back to the old Cro Cop and is excited.
• Cro Cop does not want to comment on any rumors of him possibly wanting to fight anywhere else. He's clearly wanting to stay with the UFC, and is happy to be there.
• Franklin speaks about what it's like to be recognized now and have to sign more autographs. He states that there are days he wants to be left alone, and on those days he tries to stay out of the public eye. Ultimately he knows the fans pay his salary, and he knows what it's like to be a fan and looking up to a sports figure, so he always tries his best to be available to the fans.
• Vitor makes a good point stating that the fans never know if you've had a bad day, so you must always treat your fans well and realize they pay your salary. He learned this valuable lesson from his old soccer coach in Brazil, who was a popular sports figure.
• When asked about the rumors that he was going to PRIDE after his last fight, Cro Cop states that he was free to go where ever he wanted after his last fight, and he wanted to fight in the UFC. He stated that any true fighter today should want to fight in the UFC because it is the best organization in the world, and the true global organization.
• Cro Cop was asked what he thought about Fedor's decision to go to Strikeforce, and stated that he "really doesn't understand his attitude". He knows the UFC offered him the best possible deal today, but he does not know Fedor's reasoning. He doesn't think Fedor is afraid, but he does not know. He respects his wishes, but would definitely like to see him in the UFC.
• Franklin was asked if he would go back down to 185 if Silva were to lose or vacate the title. He answered that he thought it would feel like, or be perceived that he dodged a bullet, and he doesn't want fans to think that.
• Franklin thinks that Vitor possesses the same threats he did when he was in the UFC before, his explosiveness and power. He knows he must push his game plan and not let Vitor get his game plan going.
• Cro Cop believes that if he wins his next two fights, the third will be a title shot. But of course everything will be up to Dana and what the UFC wants.
• Cro Cop is happy to be back in the UFC because it's the only real global promotion, and presents the greatest challenges for him.
• Franklin does feel that there is some unfinished business with Henderson, and wants to fight him again, but also understands that there was not a great amount of fan interest in that fight / re-match, so he understands the need to switch to Vitor.

UFC 99 RECAP

Guest Writer - Salvatore DeRosalia

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

Main Televised Card

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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