MMA Hot Stuff

UFC 104 Machida vs Shogun Controversy CONTINUES

UFC 104: Machida vs. Rua

10/24/09 - Los Angeles, CA

CompuStrike Round-by-Round Stats

 Main Event

Lyoto Machida W 5 (Unan) Maurico Rua

View Round-by-Round Stats

 

Inside the Numbers: Rua outlanded Machida 89-50 in Total Strikes landed including 73 Leg Strikes landed. Rua dominated the fight and did just about everything he needed to do to beat the undefeated Machida, including out-landing Machida in every round, but apparently it wasn't enough for the judges. All 3 judges scored it 48-47 or 3-2.

The Arm Strikes were virtually the same as both fighters landed 16 total Arm Strikes but it was Rua who dominated every position by landing the damaging Leg Strikes. Rua was able to land 46 kicks when going toe-to-toe with Machida, and landing 27 knees when in the clinch. (thanks Compustrike for the info)

You can read more here: Machida vs Shogun Controversy

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UFC 104 Machida vs Shogun Controversy

I've let some time pass. I've even had a massage because I was so stressed out about last night's decision between Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua. Okay, so maybe that's not why I had my monthly massage but I did think about it during my aromatherapy. 

I watched the same fight everyone else did. Mind you my seats were in front of a tv. I had perfect viewing pleasure - no toddlers or drunks in my way. Sure, I picked Shogun in my UFC Fantasy picks, but after watching all 5 rounds I thought for sure clear the judges would also vote unanimously for Shogun as the winner. The new Light Heavyweight champion, the first person to defeat Lyoto Machida. I just got up to get more guacamole as they started to read the judges scores. Before the fresh green spicy goop hit my plate Bruce Buffer announced that all three judges scored the contest for Machida, the winner by unanimous decision and "still the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion". You could hear everyone's jaw hit the floor in my living room in absolute shock. 

There was a flurry of internet activity from people like me calling bullsh!t. Throw the challenge flag! Open the ballot box! I demand a recount! There was NO way it could have gone that way.  Fighters and journalists took to twitter also saying they disagreed with the judges. Even Dana White expressed his dissatisfaction with the judges decision during the post fight press conference.

As it grew later in the evening and into the early morning, some people started calming down a bit. Then people started saying things like "this is why you never leave it up to the judges."  Even I made a very conscious effort to NEVER disagree with judge's decisions in a public forum. Sure, I've thought it many times. But I'd NEVER say so on my site. I thought doing so would be disrespectful. But I've been giving it a lot of thought. What are the judges for if not to render a decision on the outcome of a bout that is so evenly matched as Shogun Rua and Lyoto Machida? Isn't that what they're expected to do? Their job is to judge who was 'better' in these areas: Clean Strikes, Effective Grappling, Octagon Control and Effective Aggressiveness. So, why should it be that dangerous for a fight to go the distance? Why not leave it up to the judges? Not every fight is going to end in a submission or knockout. As much as we fans would like for it to be that way, it's not.

I certainly understand the concept of fighters wanting to control their own destiny. And it's such a great motivational speech to hear your coach say "don't leave it in the hands of the judges" or "don't rely on someone else to give you the win". However, the time we need judges reliable judges the most is in title fights like Shogun VS Machida. In fights that pit two very evenly matched fighters against each other. Fights that are determined by the closest of margins and the slightest details. We can't expect title fights to always end by submission or KO / TKO, and do we really want them to? Isn't it the goal of an organization to pit two amazing fighters against each other such that they fully test each others arsenal of skills?

Sure this was a close fight, and judges have a view that we the public really don't have. Also, all we know about their criteria are the basic areas we're told about by Mike Goldberg before each event. However, Dana White has always said that the reason MMA will become so popular across the globe is because fighting is something that everyone understands, regardless of nationality or language spoken. Unfortunately for Shogun, last night fighting was not something everyone understood, because those judges saw something drastically different over five rounds than the majority of the crowd and those of us watching at home.

Oh, and this talk about 'taking a belt from the champion'... I've given that some thought as well! How does that make sense? It's like implying that the defending champ doesn't have to do as much to win.It's like saying that beating the defending Super Bowl Champs by only one point isn't winning 'by enough'. A win is a win, even if you're the challenger and it's by a razor thin margin. Both fighters should walk into the cage with the same blank slate and not a +1 point for the reigning champion. 

All I ask is that the judges and the athletic commission give the fans and the sport what we want. That's the ability for a fight to be judged in an educated and consistent manner. Many more of these questionable decisions will start to make us lose credibility as a sport.

This is just my personal opinion. I know some of my friends (all of which I highly respect) will have a different opinion and I welcome the discussion. If you agree or disagree, feel free to leave me a comment, email or send me a message on Twitter!

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If you missed the fights I think you can find them here... UFC MAIN EVENT

Having said all of that, I'm looking forward to the rematch. 

Want to know who had more strikes/kicks? Go here: THIS SAYS IT ALL

UFC 100 FanExpo - Who will be there?

Today the UFC® confirmed the fighters that will be attending the first ever UFC^® Fan Expo™. The two day expo will be held at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas July 10th and 11th. The fighters that will be at the expo for meet and greets will be UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, UFC Hall of Famers Royce Gracie and Randy “The Natural” Couture,  and former world champions Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, “Suga” Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. UFC contenders Kenny Florian, Steve Cantwell, Shane Carwin, Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis, Tyson Griffin, Clay Guida, Dustin Hazelett, Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann, Josh Koscheck, Joe Lauzon, Junie Browning, Nate Marquardt, Gray Maynard, Karo Parisyan, Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez, Sean Sherk and Mike Swick will also be meeting fans, along with The Ultimate Fighter winners Nate Diaz and Efrain Escudero.

 Fans of the PRIDE Fighting Championships will have the chance to re-live the excitement of Japan’s classic organization as well, with MMA icons Renzo Gracie and Gary Goodridge being joined by “The Texas Crazy Horse”, Heath Herring, and Brazilian superstars Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

And if that’s not enough MMA star power, the premier fighters of the WEC will be on hand to sign autographs, with current champions Miguel Torres, Mike Brown, and Jamie Varner sharing the convention center floor with Urijah Faber, Jens Pulver, Brian Bowles, Joseph Benavidez, Donald Cerrone, Leonard Garcia, Ben Henderson, and Alex Karalexis.

For a list of bars/restaurants showing the historic UFC 100 Pay Per View event - check out this link.

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 97 Pay Per View Locations

Here's a list of bars/restaurants showing UFC 97: Redemption - Saturday April 18th live on Pay-Per-View from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva returns to the Octagon on Saturday, April 18th to defend his crown against number one contender Thales Leites in the main event of UFC 97. The pound for pound king has already defended his title more times than anyone in UFC middleweight history and will battle Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Leites - winner of five in a row.

Also featured in the UFC's return to Canada is the light heavyweight showdown fans have waited for years to see, as UFC legend Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell squares off against Brazilian superstar Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in what promises to be one of the most explosive bouts of 2009.

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Featured Locations:

Are you in Seattle and wondering where you're going to watch UFC 97? You're in luck because Piecoras is your home for MMA on Capitol Hill! They have a 10 foot diagonal high definition big screen for your viewing pleasure plus many other big screens around the restaurant.

*Minimum order during showing is $5.00.

Table service is available for purchase. Bring your friends and come watch MMA with us! Will Anderson Silva hold on to the belt?

If you have any questions, please feel free to email dakwon_1999@yahoo.com

And if you're lazy or can't get out of the house, we also deliver! Pizza, not the fight! http://www.piecoras.com

 

 

Hey fellow San Francisco fans! Looking for a place to watch UFC 97 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 the UFC 97 PPV event that is being sponsored by Red Bull and Svedka Vodka!

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For a full list of bars/restaurants go here:

UFC 97 Sold Out

Press Release from the UFC:

For Immediate Release:

February 20, 2009

UFC^® 97: REDEMPTION IS SOLD OUT;

UFC IN MONTREAL, 2-FOR-2 WITH SELL OUTS

ANDERSON SILVA vs. THALES LEITES

CHUCK LIDDELL vs. MAURICIO “SHOGUN” RUA

 

Live from the Bell Centre, Saturday April 18, 2009

 

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – For the second time in a row, the UFC^® has sold out the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Tickets for UFC 97: REDEMPTION are no longer available less than one week after they went on sale to the public. Now the only place to watch this star-studded event on Saturday, April 18 is on pay-per-view.

 

“I knew going back to Montreal would be another homerun,” UFC President Dana White said. “Our Canadian fan base is incredibly strong and continues to grow even in these hard times. UFC events continue to bring a substantial economic impact to the city of Montreal - tickets for this fight sold out faster than UFC 83 did last year.”

 

For the UFC’s last trip up to Montreal for UFC 83, more than 13,000 tickets were sold the first day through the UFC^® Fight Club^™ Presale. The eventual sellout last year and this year’s record sellout cement Montreal as a true hub for mixed martial arts and the UFC.

 

Unstoppable UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will meet his toughest test to date when he faces submission specialist Thales Leites. Also on the card, former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell will trade punches with another dangerous striker when he takes on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

 

 

UFC 97: REDEMPTION, presented by TapOut^® will be available live on pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).

 

In the world of mixed martial arts there is not a more feared striker than Anderson Silva (fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil). While posting an amazing eight fight win streak in the UFC, the 33-year-old champion has stopped seven of those eight fights within two rounds, with only Patrick Cote seeing daylight in Round 3 before the champion earned the TKO victory at UFC 90. With two impressive wins over former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin, one over Nate Marquardt and a submission victory against former Pride® champion Dan Henderson, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is riding high heading into his match with Thales Leites.

 

“I’m looking forward to fighting in Montreal,” Silva said. “I have a lot of Canadian fans. Thales is a very tough opponent, and it’s going to be a great fight.”

 

Winner of his last five UFC matches, 27-year-old Thales Leites (fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is truly hitting his stride in the world of mixed martial arts. With a split decision victory against Marquardt, submission victories over Ryan Jensen and Floyd Sword and most recently Drew McFedries, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt could be Silva’s greatest test on the ground to date.

 

“I feel great about this fight and I will be one hundred percent for sure.” Leites said. “I did my job to get recognized by the UFC, and this will be the fight of my life. I know Anderson Silva is a very, very tough guy, but I know that I can do it.”

 

There are a few names that are synonymous with the UFC and Chuck Liddell (fighting out of San Luis Obispo) is one of those. The former UFC light heavyweight champion is coming off a loss to the division’s present title holder Rashad Evans and is looking to recapture the magic that saw him win an amazing 14 of 15 UFC matches from 1999-2006. The 39-year-old is now focused on getting back on another winning streak.

 

“I’m very excited about fighting Shogun,” Liddell said. “It’s another step in getting back my title. I’m going to hit him hard and I plan on knocking him out. The Canadian fans have been great for years. They are some of the most exciting fans in the world.”

 

With an impressive resume overseas, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil) is starting to make a name for himself in the UFC. The 27-year-old is coming off a TKO victory against former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman at UFC 93 and is excited at the opportunity to fight a legend.

 

“It is an honor to fight Chuck Liddell, one of the greatest light heavyweights ever in the UFC,” Rua said. “I have a lot of respect for him, and I am very excited to fight him. I like to keep myself challenged, and this fight with Chuck is definitely a big fight for me and for UFC fans.”

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, Bell ExpressVU, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Viewers Choice, and WOWOW in Japan, 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. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or ufcespanol.com.

 

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, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.

 

Press Contact:

Jennifer Wenk, UFC Public Relations

UFC 97: UFC announces Silva VS Leites in Montreal

The UFC has officially announced UFC 97, taking place in Montreal on April 18th and featuring a middleweight title fight between the pound-for-pound king, Anderson Silva versus Thales Leites. This event will also feature a light heavyweight battle between Chuck Liddell and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

Anderson Silva has been unstoppable at both middleweight and light heavyweight since coming into the UFC. He's on an 8 fight (UFC) win streak, and seven of those wins have come within the first two rounds. Only Patrcik Cote has lasted outside of the second round with "The Spider". Silva will be facing Leites, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, who is also on quite a win streak. Leites has won his last five in the UFC, including a split decision victory over Nate Marquardt.

Chuck "the Iceman" Liddell will be looking to get back to his winning ways with a long-awaited battle with Shogun Rua. Liddell is returning to the Octagon for the first time since his loss to the newly crowned light heavyweight champ, Rashad Evans. Rua on the other hand is coming off a very recent victory over Marc Coleman at UFC 93. These two fighters will finally meet about a year after they were originally scheduled to. Injuries had sidelined Rua and caused him to pull out of their first scheduled bout. Both men have something to prove in this fight!

UFC 93 Recap: Hendo & Franklin Battle... Rua & Coleman Struggle

UFC 93 has come and gone, and although the card wasn't what one would consider "stellar", it certainly didn't disappoint (well, almost). So for the first time, I've decided to start handing out MMAHotStuff awards for each UFC event. Here we go!

MMAHotStuff "MVP" Award- The Irish fans. European fans never disappoint. There's really nothing cooler than hearing the entire crowd break into song while the fight is going on. If I were a fighter I wouldn't be able to contain a smile. I'm just amazed that they break into song all at once and with the same song. How do they know what song to sing? How do they all jump into it at exactly the same time? It's not like when one poor section of the stands at a baseball game tries to start a "wave" and it takes a good 5 minutes of pathetic attempt before they get it going. It's like all the entire crowd at UFC 93 was a big group of drinking buddies that knew each other. Amazing... MMAHotStuff loves the Irish fans!

MMAHotStuff "Corner Man of the Night" Award- Without a doubt, this goes to Phil Baroni for his work in Mark Coleman's corner. Coleman was on the verge of collapse at the end of the first round, and Baroni probably knew it. Telling Coleman to "slip the jab and counter" or "set up your shots with some punches" probably wasn't going to get him anywhere, so Baroni stuck with the inspiring "great fucking fight... this is a great fucking fight!", which actually seemed to work. He would sprinkle in a few comments like "I know you're tired, he's tired too", but mostly he just kept saying "this is a great fucking fight". At first I was perplexed with this approach, but then I began to find it actually somewhat endearing. Great fucking job Baroni!

MMAHotStuff "This is painful to watch" Award- Hands down, Shogun VS Coleman. They easily snatched this award away from Horn VS Palhares who were the early front-runners. I'll give Coleman some leeway here as it was his first time down in the 205 lb class, and it couldn't have been an easy cut for that monster of a man, but Rua has no excuse. I know he states that he was sidelined for many months due to knee injury, and that fighting is different than training, but could he really not come in shape? And how many chances did he need to put Coleman away before he finally did? Rua's inability to put Coleman away when Coleman looked as gassed as an obese 3rd grader after running his first mile in PE class was pathetic, and only prolonged the agony of the fight. This was about as tough to watch as Dick Clark on his annual NYE Celebration show. Perhaps Shogun could take a lesson from Ryan Seacrest on how to jump in and put an end to the agony.

MMAHotStuff "Did he see the same fight I saw?" Award - This award goes to judge Chris Watts, who scored the fight 30-27 Franklin, giving all three rounds to Franklin. Now I wouldn't necessarily disagree if Franklin had been given the victory because it was a close fight, but to give all three rounds to Franklin??? What fight was he watching? By the way, judges, you know you did a bad job scoring the fight if the fighter you just gave three rounds to rolls his eyes in confusion when your scoring is announced.

So there you have it... the first ever "MMAHotStuff Award" presentation. What do you think? Any awards I missed?

UFC 93: Henderson VS Franklin; Rua VS Coleman to kick-off 2009!

Today the UFC announced that it will kick off 2009 in Dublin, Ireland with a card featuring Dan Henderson VS Rich Franklin and also Mauricio "Shogun" Rua VS Mark "The Hammer" Coleman.

Henderson and Franklin will meet in the main event for a light heavyweight showdown. Both fighters are coming off big wins, both at UFC 88. Henderson picked up his first win in the Octogon with a hard fought 3 round unanimous decision over a dangerous ground fighter in Rousimar Palhares. Although Palhares is not a well known fighter he presented a tough challenge for Henderson.

Franklin also picked up an important victory at UFC 88, knocking off Matt Hamill for his first fight back at the light heavyweight division. Franklin showed a disciplined game as he kept the fight standing and stayed away from Hamill's dangerous takedowns.

This will be a great fight! Both are true veterans and former champions, and both are well liked by the fans. I can't wait to see these two go to war, but am going to need to take some time to seriously analyze this match-up before making a prediction.