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

Fight Night Predictions

I'm always doing these last minute. But just so I can get them done here they are!!!

Ryan Jensen vs Steve Steinbeiss - Predicted Winner Ryan by Submission (choke) 1st round 2nd minute

Brock Larson vs Mike Pierce - Predicted Winner Brock by Submission (choke) 1st round 4th minute

Jeremy Stephens vs Justin Buchholz - Predicted WInner Jeremy by TKO 2nd round 4th minute

CB Dollaway vs Jay Silva - Predicted Winner CB by Submission (choke) 1st round 3rd minute

Chris Wilson vs Mike Pyle - Predicted Winner Mike by Unanimous Decision

Steve Cantwell vs Brian Stann - Predicted WInner Brian by TKO 1st round 3rd minute

Nate Quarry vs Tim Credeur - Predicted Winner Nate by KO 3rd round 2nd minute

Carlos Condit vs Jake Ellenberger - Predicted Winner Jake by TKO 1st round 2nd minute

Gray Maynard vs Roger Huerta - Predicted Winner Roger by TKO 2nd round 3rd minute

Nate Diaz vs Melvin Guillard - Predicted Winner Nate by Submission (choke) 2nd round 1st minute

I'm mmahotstuff on fantasy.ufc.com

Don't forget to listen to MMAScraps Radio immediately following The Ultimate Fighter tonight (west coast time). 

Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez... What's Next?

As reported, Gilbert has one fight left on his Strikeforce contract. What will he do next?

He's made it clear that he plans to win back the 155-lb title . The loss to Josh Thomson was only Gilbert's second loss in his 16 fight career.  His other loss was against Mitsuhiro Ishida this past New Year’s Eve.

With the one fight left on his contract, I doubt he'll take any other fight other than against Josh "The Punk". Here's what Gilbert said to MMAWeekly.com: “I have one fight left with Strikeforce. I really do like Strikeforce, I think they’re a great organization and they took care of me, but I have other goals too, other dreams. I do want to get my payback against Josh and Ishida, but I’m just going to make sure I do really good on my next fight and then I’m going to weigh out all my options.”

So fast forward past the last fight, does he stay with the Strikeforce family or enter the much bigger organization (UFC) that has many more quality 155-lb fighters for him to pick through?  He told MMAWeekly.com “There’s a big chance. That’s an organization I’ve always liked to be a part of and a lot of the guys in there I would want to fight. A lot of those guys motivate me. It’s motivating to test yourself in front of the world. That’s the most motivating thing about going to the UFC is that you really get to showcase yourself.”

But the one thing that we know for sure is Gilbert is going to be focusing on a new endeavor as well. While fighting has always been a part of Gilbert's life, it's just been moved up a notch. He's now living and breathing fighting even more. He'll actually be SLEEPING in his gym. No, really. He's opening a gym/loft in the Bayview neighborhood in San Francisco. It's a great spot. I was fortunate enough to check it out at his pre-launch party last weekend. Not only does he have a great area for his MMA/JJ Fight Academy (that is still yet to be named), but he also has a great living space. Even with the large number of people that were at the event one thing was very clear. Gibert views the people that train with him as part of his family. When you walked into the building there was a white board where you could write down your suggested name for the gym. If you get a chance to check it out, I suggest you do.

Wherever Gilbert goes, whichever organization is lucky enough to sign him one thing is certain. Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez has a lot more fighting to do. 

Here's who I would love to see Gilbert face off with should he go to the UFC:
Roger Huerta - UFC if you've ever wanted to do a show in Mexico what a perfect opportunity!
Kenny Florian
Sean Sherk
Joe Stevenson

Hey, a girl can dream can't she?

ESPN MMA Live Episode 14

Here is Episode 14 of ESPN's MMA Live. We get to hear from Kenny Florian himself regarding his win over Roger Huerta, and his thoughts on what is next for him given the pending fight between GSP and BJ Penn in December.

Poor Kenny, everyone thought his fight with Huerta would determine the next contender for the lightweight belt. Kenny wins and then has to sit back and watch BJ Penn come into the cage after GSP's victory over Fitch and say he wants that fight (and hear GSP agree).

On another note, apparently we'll have to wait a while longer for MMA Live to make it's move from the net to TV.

Enjoy!

UFC 87: Post-Fight Interviews

Here are some of the post-fight interviews from UFC 87. As always the fighters show great class in speaking of each other. A note to Brock Lesnar, you need learn more about what to do in the post-fight press conferences as well as what to do in the Octogon. Just an FYI..

Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta discuss their fight, and Kenny talks about a fight with BJ Penn.

GSP discusses his fight with Jon Fitch and his thoughts on taking on all challengers. GSP is a true champion.

UFC 87 Results

Here are the high level results for ya.

GSP vs Fitch

Judges Decision! The official judges see the contest 50-43 and 50-44 (twice) for Georges St. Pierre. It was a great fight. GSP did clearly win/dominate the fight but hats off to Jon. He did a great job against a very tough opponent.

After the fight, as expected GSP called out BJ Penn. While I can't wait to see that fight happen, I would like to throw an idea out to Joe Silva and suggest Jake Shields and GSP meet up at some point!

Kenny Florian vs Roger Huerta

Judges decision - unanimous decision winner Florian!

Kenny you continue to look great!

Brock Lesnar vs Heath Herring

All three official judges see the bout 30-26 for Brock Lesnar. Wow this was NOT an exciting fight. In fact:

Dear Brock

Congratulations on defeating Heath Herring. No, really. A win is a win. Or is it? You had ONE good punch on the guy. The replays showed the same (one) punch over and over again! And you had at LEAST 15 pounds on him - that was at weigh-ins but who knows how much more you weighed tonight.

You hit him a couple of times, but didn't really rock his house. You had him in every dominating position possible, and didn't do anything with it. You didn't take his back. You didn't choke him out. You weren't even close to getting him in an arm bar.

You just used your weight advantage and laid on him. Lay and wait.

Then after the judges decision -why the hell it even went to judges decision is beyond me - you did the happy dance and a flex as if you had just won a WWE Title Belt. Much like this one here you can buy from Amazon.

No, you're not a big name in the heavyweight class for the UFC. Andrei Arlovski, Randy Couture, Frank Mir - those my friend are big names.

You've got a long ways to go to be a contender for any belt with the UFC or with Amazon. Show some respect to your opponents and fellow fighters. Don't get cocky and learn a legitimate move or two.

Update: Dana White thinks Tito is a moron!

Have you heard? Dana White doesn't think too much of Tito. Apparently Dana thinks Tito is "an idiot", "a moron", and hopes Tito and Jenna's kid "looks like Jenna". Who knew? (Kidding of course)

Dana White did an interview in Minneapolis while at the press events for UFC 87. You can hear it here.

I must admit, as abrasive as Dana can be he is a funny S.O.B. He talks about the rumor that Tito has signed a ground-breaking deal with Affliction, and how "excited" he is that he can lay money down to watch Tito and Babalu fight (two guys that got knocked out by Chuck).

He also discusses the latest with Rampage and his brush with Johnny Law, as well as the lady accusing Rampage of causing her miscarriage.

What does Dana think of Roger Huerta's latest comments about the way the UFC treats their fighters?

And most importantly (and probably the most entertaining part of the interview), hear about the law suit Dana is involved in regarding the pool he's building in his back yard. I love his thoughts on "rich people".

UFC 87 SEEK and DESTROY Predictions

This Saturday, Georges 'Rush' St-Pierre defends the UFC® Welterweight Championship at UFC® 87: SEEK AND DESTROY, as number one contender Jon Fitch steps up to take on the newly crowned champion. Then, hometown hero Brock Lesnar returns to the Octagon™ to seek redemption in the Heavyweight Division. Plus, in what could end up being the matchup of the year, lightweight contenders face off as Kenny 'KenFlo' Florian battles Roger 'El Matador' Huerta.

Here are my predictions for the main card.

Georges St-Pierre Vs. Jon Fitch
This is without a doubt going to be a great fight. While GSP has had some perfect match ups, I think this one may surprise people. We'll either see GSP showcase his ability or we'll see Jon push GSP to limits until now unseen.

GSP will enter the fight with a record of 16-2 with some major wins under his belt. Those wins include Matt Serra, Matt Hughes (twice), Josh Koscheck, Bj Penn, Sean Sherk, Frank Trigg and Karo Parisyan. His two losses were against Matt Serra and  Matt Hughes.  I need to make the disclaimer that I'm a huge  Matt Serra fan, but having said that his win over GSP was a fluke, in my opinion.  He trains with some big guys and heavy hitters such as Rashad 'Sugar' Evans and Keith "the Dean of Mean" Jardine.

Jon  comes with a record of  19-2 with wins over Chris Wilson, Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves, Alex Serdyukov and Shonie Carter. Jon has a wrestling background (at Purdue) and is a jiu-jitsu black belt.

Fitch began his career at Light-Heavyweight with a record of four wins, two losses, and one No Contest. Understanding that the sport required cross training in the martial arts, Fitch soon left for San Jose, California to train with the American Kickboxing Academy and has been undefeated since.

In his next seven fights, Fitch amassed wins over fighters such as Shonie Carter, Alex Serdyukov, and Jeff Joslin. After failing to make the selection process for the first season of The Ultimate Fighter – a last-minute decision by the production team that left Fitch stranded in an airport with his luggage already boarded – he earned a shot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 3, 2005 where Fitch defeated Brock Larson in a middleweight bout.

Soon after, Fitch dropped to the welterweight division and won his next six fights. With victories over Josh Burkman, Thiago Alves, Luigi Fioravanti and Diego Sanchez, Fitch was now seen as a welterweight contender. On march 1st, 2008 Fitch defeated Chris Wilson by unanimous decision at UFC 82. This marked his 8th consecutive victory in the UFC, tying the record set by Royce Gracie for most consecutive wins in the UFC. UFC President Dana White has recently praised Fitch's performances inside the Octagon, and indicated that Fitch would fight the winner of the GSP vs Matt Serra Welterweight title fight.

My prediction is this fight will come down to two things. GSPs overall athletic ability and the fact that Jon is known for having a late start, I predict GSP takes this win and continues to hold the belt.

Brock Lesnar Vs. Heath Herring
There's one thing you can say about Brock and that is he's a great and established wrestler. And wrestlers do well in MMA... He wrestled throughout his four years at college (University of Minnesota on a full wrestling scholarship) and at the end of his college career has a record of 106-5 taking some key titles such as two-time NJCAA All-American, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Champion, and the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion.
After college he made a career in the WWE. I'm not going to go into depth with his "titles" while in the WWE because I don't really think much of it. Sorry, but it's true. It's fake.
After leaving the-so-fake-WWE he entered the NFL and "played" for the Minnesota Vikings.
But since entering the world of MMA he has a record of 1-1. He won his first fight against Min Soo Kim, whom Brock defeated by submission (via strikes) in under two minutes of the first round. During his second fight (and first in the UFC) was against Frank Mir. When they met at UFC 81, Lesnar secured an early takedown, but was deducted a point for hitting Mir at the back of the head. Brock this is MMA/UFC not WWE! Following another takedown by Lesnar, Mir managed to secure a kneebar and force a submission at 1:30 of the first round. And the kicker is Brock was paid $250,000 for losing the fight whereas Frank Mir received $80,000.

Heath "the Crazy Horse" comes to us with a record of 28-13. And none of his fights included a folding chair or costumes. To be honest, I'm not quite sure why Brock Lesnar, at 1-1 in his MMA career, is favored over Heath Herring at 28-13. I would be all over this. Heath has fought the best and toughest at heavyweight, and often made it very close. He's on a new strength and conditioning program and is coming off a victory over a very big and strong Cheick Kongo, so he knows how to fight bigger and strong opponents. Herring did have some problems with a wrestler when he lost to Jake O'Brien over a year ago, but I think his experience and toughness will win this fight for him. I don't think Brock has what it takes yet to compete with a veteran like Herring. My predictions for this fight goes to Heath.

Kenny Florian Vs. Roger Huerta
I'm most looking forward to this fight!

KenFlo comes to this fight with a record of 10-3 and is on a four fight winning streak. His three losses are with big name fighters that went to the judges decision with the exception of Diego Sanchez.  As Joe Rogan likes to say, Kenny has elbow strikes that are "razor sharp" and known to leave his opponents bloody and beaten.

Roger "El Matador" Huerta has a record of 25-1-1-1. Since entering the UFC he has won all six of his fights with his latest fight against Clay Guida.

His one and only loss came as a result of a dislocated jaw early in the finals of the SuperBrawl 36 tournament against Ryan Schultz on June 18, 2004, his third match of the day.

This is a tough one to predict, but I'm going to give this to Kenny, and I do think it's going to the judges.

UFC 87 Tickets are STILL available?!

Maybe it's the location?
Because it's definitely NOT the card that's preventing people from buying tickets to one of the most anticipated fights in quite some time.

This Saturday,Georges 'Rush' St-Pierre defends the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 87: SEEK AND DESTROY, as number one contender Jon Fitch steps up to take on the newly crowned champion. Then, hometown hero Brock Lesnar returns to the Octagon to seek redemption in the Heavyweight Division. Plus, in what could end up being the matchup of the year, lightweight contenders face off as Kenny 'KenFlo' Florian battles Roger 'El Matador' Huerta.

If you live in or around Minneapolis, you do NOT want to miss these fights.
And if you aren't able to attend the fight, check out my post listing bars in your neighborhood showing the PPV fights.

For tickets go to www.ticketmaster.com
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Doors to the Target Center open at 6pm CT
First bout is scheduled to begin at 7pm CT
Live on television at 9pm CT

My prediction post will be coming later today...

UFC 87: List of bars showing UFC 87. Where will you be?

UFC 87 promises to be an exciting event, whether you're looking forward to GSP VS Fitch, Lesnar VS Herring, or Florian VS Huerta, there's a fight for everyone. Here's a list of bars showing the fight for your viewing pleasure. Don't miss it!