MMA Hot Stuff

Roy Jones Jr joins the ESPN MMA Live crew at UFC 101

Roy Jones Jr stopped by ESPN's MMA Live set at UFC 101 to talk boxing, Anderson Silva and other topics with Jon Anik, Randy Couture and Stephan Bonnar. Will Jones and Silva ever meet in the boxing ring? And what does Jones think about the boxing skills of MMA fighters in general (this is the best explanation by a professional boxer I've ever heard, finally someone that realizes MMA fighters are not suppose to be experts at boxing). A great interview and makes me really like Roy!

UFC 100 Results

UFC 100 did not disappoint, it was full of great fights, rowdy fans and a little bit of drama. Here are the results at a glance.

Jon Fitch beat Paulo Thiago via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Brock Lesnar beat Frank Mir via technical knockout at 1.48, round two

Georges St Pierre beat Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-45)

Dan Henderson defeated Michael Bisping via knockout at 3.20, round two

Yoshihiro Akiyama defeated Alan Belcher via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

Mark Coleman defeated Stephan Bonnar via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Jim Miller defeated Mac Danzig via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Jon Jones defeated Jake O'Brien via submission (D'Arce choke) at 2.43, round two

Dong-Hyun Kim defeated T.J. Grant via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

Tom Lawlor defeated CB Dolloway via submission (guillotine choke) at 55 seconds, round one

Shannon Gugerty defeated Matt Grice via submission (guillotine choke) at 2.36, round one

The drama came in a couple different fashions. Dan Henderson worked Michael Bisping and a few fans thought that last punch he landed after Bisping was already out was a bit uncalled for. If you ask me it was just his way of getting the last word in. Bisping sort of set it up by running his mouth a little too much before the fights.

I had picked Thiago Alves to beat Georges St Pierre. I really thought he was going to be the upset pick. While it did go the distance, unfortunately Thiago wasn't able to win even one round. I am happy to see he was able to go the distance and look forward to seeing their next opponents. In my opinion, the 170 lb weight class is a bit shallow compared to the other weight classes.

Yikes the drama-rama of the night award goes to Broke Lesnar (aka Nacho Libre). After beating Frank Mir Brock managed to showcase the WWE still left in him by running his mouth. He said something about a horse shoe up the bum, flipped off the 11,000 or so fans that were booing him and then proceeded to say he was going to go drink a Coors Light not a Bud Light because Bud Light won't pay him. And if that weren't enough he closed his speech by saying something about getting on top of his wife...

The lesson learned tonight my friends is there is always a winner and a loser. But in some cases even the winners are losers. Behavior like Brock's will only tarnish the image of a sport that has been fighting for so long to be more mainstream. It's a shame when a publication as great as MSNBC doesn't really showcase MMA and yet when it does it's highlight is Brock's bad behavior.

To be fair, Brock did apologize during his post fight interview with ESPN MMALive. I'm guessing he got a good talking to after his stupidity. I was also reminded by a fellow MMA writer who said "Don't forget he's new to the sport, give him time." Point made but Brock needs to remember he's no longer in the WWE. MMA/UFC fans are a little smarter and a smidgen classier.

I pushed UFC Fantasy all week. How did you guys do? I ended up at 112 out of 24865...

I can't wait for UFC 101. Philly bound. We should have a tweet up! Don't forget you can follow me at twitter.com/mmahotstuff

UFC 100 Predictions Lesnar vs Mir

I've been looking forward to doing these predictions for this historic event, but managed to put it off until the last minute. And now I think I know why. I'm a huge Frank Mir fan. Huge. I think it's great to see his career and personal story evolve over the past few years. And the fact that he's the only person to have beaten Brock Lesnar, well that makes me love him even more. But the truth is, while I want to see him do it again at UFC 100, I just don't think he's going to.

I've had this bad habit of making my predictions based on who I want to see win rather than who I honestly believe is going to win.

For these few of you that read my predictions you know the drill... winners in green!

Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir - Grrrrr I'm picking Brock to win this match up. I have him as winning by TKO in the 2nd round. (and I look at it this way, if I'm wrong and Frank wins well I'll still be happy because my loyal readers know how I feel about Brock (aka Nacho Libre)).

Georges St Pierre vs Thiago Alves -this is my upset pick. Hearing these guys on the media calls they have mad respect for each other and the skills they posses. It's great when two fighters go into a fight knowing it's going to be the biggest fight of their careers. While GSP is the defending champion, Thiago is the up-and-comer that wants that title more so than anyone else in that weight class right now. And the skills to make it happen.  I'm giving this fight to Thaigo by TKO in the 3rd. If it goes past the third round I think GSP would probably outlast Thiago. But I'm putting my shoe money on Thiago. Come on Thaigoooooooo! Ma'ma needs a new pair of shoes!

Dan Henderson vs Mike Bisping - This is a no brainer for me. Bisping doesn't stand a chance against Dan's wrestling skills (sorry mike). He'll never get in a position to take Dan down and when it comes to striking skills, again I give those to Dan. Dan Henderson for the win. TKO in the 2nd!

Jon Fitch Vs. Paulo Thiago  - while this will be a good fight (every fight that includes Jon Fitch is likely to be good) Jon will definitely give Paulo his first loss. Jon is also the huge favorite in this match up. I have Jon winning by rear naked choke in the 2nd.

Yoshihiro Akiyama Vs. Alan Belcher - Assuming there aren't any questionable "substances" used in this fight (that was sort of a joke), I give this fight to Yoshihiro by submission (arm bar) in the 1st. He's going to go in and get the job done early.

Mark Coleman vs Stephan Bonnar - Stephan is coming off a loss against Jon Jones (unanimous decision). I hate to say this (because I said it when he fought jon jones and see how that turned out) but I do think this will be a failry easy win for Stephan. In fact I'll say he wins by TKO in the 1st. I mean come on,  we are talking about The American Psycho!

So, tell me where you agree or disagree. Come on, I have thick skin.

Also, if you're wondering where you're going to watch the fights, check out this list of bars/restaurants showing the fight on PPV.ufc 100 ppv list

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.

ESPN MMALive

Here's today's ESPN MMALive episode..

Miguel Torres filled in for Kenny but fellow tweeps (twitter peeps) you can still get your Kenny fix by going here: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4231291

First up was the big news about Kimbo Slice joining the cast of TUF 10. Seems everyone agrees this is a great move by Dana White by bringing Kimbo on the show. As you may know Dana hasn't been shy about his opinion of Kimbo. Seems to me Kimbo will definitely bring the more casual fans to the sport
and of course us MMA Addicts will tune in to see this one time street fighter YouTube sensation try to prove himself. Also as part of the cast are  four ex NFL players. The loser in this may be Strikeforce for not being able to come to an agreement with Slice. Love him or hate him Slice definitely brings viewers!

Stephan Bonnar via satellite says it shows Kimbo has character by joining TUF cast.  Saying Dana has been critical of Kimbo from he beginning but Kimbo is showing he has character by accepting this challenge from Dana.

We can't forget that Kimbo is coming in with options. He has expressed his desire to box so if this doesn't pan it out he has that back up plan! TUF 10 will debut  Sept 16th.

Also discussed:
Rua and Lyoto may meet in October

This Sunday Mike Brown will defend his title against Urjah Faber. Urijah was on the show via satellite saying he knows Brown is a tough opponent. He said he made one small mistake in their last fight. Migel asked how he expects to win this sunday and Urijah's response was " Anyway. My hands are good and I've proven that before. I can submit guys as well. I'll be bringing my A game."

Also this weekend, Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields will face each other at a catch weight of 182lbs. Robbie was on MMALive via satellite and said he won't leave anything behind. Not impressed or worried about Jake moving up a weight.  Jon Anik picked Jake to win this fight.

Pulse question this week: Is Quinton making the right decision by not fighting Lyoto and coaching on TUF 10?  What are your thoughts?

Buy or Sell - Kimbo will win his first fight on TUF.

ESPN MMALive: Sticky Situation RECAP

Hey guys, sorry I'm a day or so late on this. I've been down and out with the 'sick-ick'.

Here's a recap from the Sticky Situation from MMALive

Sitting in for Kenny was a suit wearing Stephan Bonnar

'Greasegate' testimonies heard; no formal action taken by NSAC, even with BJ's mom being present, the fight wasn't overturned.
GSP didn't even show up for the hearing.
BJ made an interesting quote about GSP "cheating"... get the full quote from MMALive
Strong words, but lets just see it again. How about a rematch!

Karo Parisyan fined, suspended 9 months from the failed drug test at UFC 94, he also saw the win overturned and ruled as a NC

Ken Shamrock suspended due to steroids...
The team talks about how steroids are different in MMA with fighters being regulated by state commission.  And now every fighter is tested before /after fights as well as randomly.

Kimbo Slice transitioning to boxing? Apparently MMA training is too hard.

Forrest Griffin vs Thiago Silva at UFC 101 in August

UFC announces first-ever 'UFC Fan Expo' for the UFC 100 weekend!

Pat Miletich from WAMMA joined in on the episode to give the rankings.

Heavyweights - Congrats to Shane Carwin at #9!

Light Heavyweights - Keith Jardine at #8! Check out the rest of the top 10!

WAMMA's mission is to be what the AP is to other sports. Ratings/Rankings of fighters and to potentially let the true #3 & #2 fight no matter what the division.

Middleweight - Demian Maia at #6? I might argue that one.

Welterweight - I'm surprised to see Carlos conduit at #7. Shields definitely should be higher. It will be interesting to see where he lands after his fight with Robbie.

Lightweights - Josh Thomson may be #7 but I expect to see that change after his fight with Gilbert Melendez.

Featherweight - No surprise to see Mike Brown at number 1. He's on FIRE!

Bantamweight - Miguel Torres also at number 1. Wouldn't it be interesting to see Mike Brown and Miguel Torres meet at a catch weight?

The rumored fight:  Stephan Bonnar vs Mark Coleman at UFC 100 July 11th. Looks like it's a go as soon as Mark Coleman gets his paperwork in order
My opinion, this is a must win fight for Stephan.

Miletich to fight again? Possibly could be back to fight a "big name" this summer.

I wonder how many fighters watch Kenny's MMA for Dummies? Great moves and very educational.

For some reason I'm craving a Whopper...One that I can have my way.!
Follow me on twitter if you aren't already. twitter.com/mmahotstuff

ESPN MMALive: Episode 44 UFC 96 Recap

This week Kenny was MIA but we were blessed to see Miguel Torres in the studio and Stephan Bonnar via satellite (looking good in the suit/ties boys).

They gave a review of Quinton / Jardine fight. It definitely wasn't Rampage's best performance and he looked a little flat. However having said that Keith deserves credit for making it a difficult fight for Rampage.
It was also noted that Rampage is a bit inconsistent at this point in his career. Having time off to recover before his next fight will do him good.

The MMALive crew also talked about frank mir's announcement at ufc 96 that he will not fight brock Lesnar at UFC 98 as planned due to knee surgery. The question is that will be a pretty significant amount of time off for Brock. Is it too much time off?

Whoa, y'all Don King entering MMA?

Matt Hughes moving to middleweight? I personally think he needs to get through the fight with Matt Serra first and I'm VERY anxious for that match-up!

Shane Carwin called into the program to talk about breaking his nose at UFC 96 against Gabriel Gonzaga. What does Shane think of his performance? And what's next for Shane? Find out...

UFC 96 also showed MORE questionable officiating and everyone had an opinion on that especially Stephan!

Randy couture as a referee?

By the way, I agree with you kevin about the taunting being a bit WWE like. I even sent it out on
my twitter last saturday night after the fights. I'd prefer keeping it alittle more respectful and
leaving the WWE showdown out of MMA.

This week's episode was dedicated to Mask. Friendly reminder; tomorrow is National TapOuT day! Pay your respect to Mask and show support to PunkAss and Skyscrape. More information can be found on my site.

A Great Month To Be A MMA Fan!

What a way to start a new year!

January is mapped out to be a killermonth for MMA Fans! This month we have four star studded events:

·         Jan. 17^th– UFC 93: Dublin (PPV)

·         Jan 24^th – Affliction: Day of Reckoning (PPV)

·         Jan 25^th -  WEC 38: Varner vs Cerrone

·         Jan 31^st- UFC 94: St Pierre vs Penn II

UFC 93 is being held in Dublin, Ireland  In the light heavyweight main event, former two-division world champion Dan Henderson will collide with former UFC middleweight king Rich Franklin in three-round war which will set the tone for the 205lbs division in 2009.

With more than just a win on the line, the winner of Franklin vs Henderson fight will be "crowned" the next coach for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Michael Bisping.

Then, 2005 PRIDE® Grand Prix Champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua returns to the Octagon™  to throw down with UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman in a rematch MMA fans thought they would never see. The pair last met in Japan in 2006, with the legendary Coleman pulling off a stunning upset by breaking Rua’s arm in the first round.

Also making his UFC debut is former PRIDE standout Denis Kang!

The match-ups for the event are:
MAIN CARD

• Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin
• Mark Coleman vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
• Alan Belcher vs. Denis Kang
• Jeremy Horn vs. Rousimar Palhares
• Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Alexandre Barros vs. Martin Kampmann
• Antonio Mendes vs. Eric Schafer
• Thomasz Drwal vs. Ivan Serati
• Tom Egan vs. John Hathaway
• Denis Siver vs. Nate Mohr

Affliction Day of Reckoning  This event is being promoted by Affliction Entertainment and is scheduled to take place in Anaheim, California at the Honda Center. The event was originally scheduled for October 11, 2008 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. FormerUFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz will be a commentator for the event. Tickets are still available at www.ticketmaster.com

The main event features current World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts(WAMMA) Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko defending his belt against former UFCHeavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Also on the card is Josh "Babyface Assassin" Barnett who takes on Gilbert Yvel. In a light-heavyweight match, current Strikeforce Champion Renato "Babalu" Sobraltakes on former UFC fighter Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Matt Lindland was re-assigned from a 195-pound catchweight bout with Sobral to a middleweight matchup against former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort.

Headlining the undercard, which will be broadcast on HDNet Fights, the last IFL Light-Heavyweight Champion Vladimir Matyushenko will take on PRIDE veteran (and twin brother of Antônio RodrigoNogueira) Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

The match ups for the event are:

PPV matches

• WAMMA Heavyweight Championship bout: Fedor Emelianenko (Champ) vs. Andrei Arlovski
• Heavyweight bout: Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel
• Light Heavyweight bout: Renato Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
• Middleweight bout: Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort
• Lightweight bout: Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
• Heavyweight bout: Paul Buentello vs. Kiril Sidelnikov

HDNet matches

• Light Heavyweight bout: Vladimir Matyushenko  vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
• Welterweight bout: Jay Hieron vs. Jason High
• Featherweight bout: Mark Hominick vs. LC Davis
• Featherweight bout: Albert Rios vs. Antonio Duarte
• Welterweight bout: Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight

WEC 38 will bring not only a title fight but also the highly anticpaited rematch between former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver! I don't know why but when I see these two in the cage the song "Eye of the Tiger" runs through my head. The event will take placein San Diego at the San Diego Sports Arena and is expected to air on the Versus Network.

Varner will be making his second title defense after winning the belt. His last fight was an amazing KO victory over Marcus Hicks. Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is coming into the fight on a high note after defeatingformer lightweight champion "Razor" Rob McCullough in one of the most exciting fights of 2008. Varner has great wrestling and boxing skills, while Cerrone brings great boxing and a wicked submission game. Not to mention that Cerrone fights out of Greg Jackson's camp, so you know he'll come in prepared with a great game plan.

The match ups for the event are:

MAIN CARD

• Lightweight Championship bout: Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone
• Featherweight bout: Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver^]
• Welterweight bout: Danillo Villefort vs. Mike Campabell
• Featherweight bout: Jose Aldo vs. Fredson Paixao

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Welterweight bout: Hiromitsu Miur  vs. Edgar Garcia
• Lightweight bout: Ed Ratcliff vs. Anthony Njokuani
• Bantamweight bout: Dominick Cruz vs. Ian McCall
• Welterweight bout: Blas Avena vs. Jesse Lennox
• Bantamweight bout: Scott Jorgensen vs. Frank Gomez
• Bantamweight bout: Charlie Valencia vs. Seth Dikun

UFC 94 - St Pierre vs Penn 2 In March 2006, top welterweights Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn fought for the division’s No. 1 contender’s spot. St-Pierre earned a razor-thin split decision and went on to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship® welterweight title. Penn dropped to the lightweight division and won the organization’s 155-pound title.

Now they’re about to do it again. But this time, there’s much more at stake. UFC® lightweight champion BJ Penn looks to be the first fighter in history to hold two UFC® championships at the same time when he faces Georges St-Pierre for the UFC® welterweight championship at UFC® 94: ST-PIERRE VS. PENN 2

Also on the card is the American Psycho, Stephan Bonnar taking on the quick rising star Jon Jones, aka Bones. As well as Lyoto Machida, as he returns to the Octagon to continue his run towards a light heavyweight title shot. I also can't wait to see one of our bay area boys Nate Diaz taking on Clay "The Carpenter" Guida! You know a card is packed full of great fights when a fighter such as Jon Fitch is on the preliminary card!

The rest of the match ups are:
MAIN CARD

• Welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre vs. lightweight champ B.J. Penn (for welterweight title)
• Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva
• Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones
• Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun Kim
• Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono
• Manny Gamburyan vs. Thiago Tavares
• John Howard vs. Chris Wilson
• Jake O'Brien vs. Christian Wellisch
• Matt Arroyo vs. Dan Cramer

As you can see, January is packed full of great MMA events, including one of the biggest fights in UFC history as BJ Penn attempts to show he's one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. My predictions will soon follow!!!Also check back for a listing of bars in your area showing the PayPerView events!

Stephan Bonnar: Interview with MMAHotStuff.com

Sure, everyone is hyped for the Welterweight championship fight between BJ Penn and GSP at UFC 94, but personally I'm looking forward to seeing one of my favorite fighters, Stephan Bonnar, return to the cage to take on fast rising star Jon Jones.

A finalist from the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality show, and one-half of what could possibly be the most significant fight in the history of the UFC (see Bonnar VS Griffin 1), Bonnar has played a special role in the rise of MMA as a mainstream sport. Whether it's in the cage or in front of a camera and microphone, Bonnar continues to be a familiar face for UFC and MMA fans alike.

I had the pleasure of interviewing a charismatic Stephan. Find out what "The American Psycho" has been up to, how he got involved with ESPN's MMALive, why Hugh Hefner is one of his heroes, and much more:

Rachel: You've been a prominent figure on ESPN's MMA Live. How did you get involved with the program and are you setting yourself up for a career in TV after fighting?
Stephan: I got involved in that partially through my agent Dean Albrecht...a real cool mofo, and also by the recommendation of my comrade Kenflo Florian.  ESPN is sports defined & now they cover MMA. It is so sweet to go out to the beautiful ESPN university and do that show....and walk around and see the Sportscenter dudes and big football players in suits.  It is such a great time.  I definitely enjoy doing the show.  I have also had the opportunity to do other work in this field, such as: I had the opportunity to do cast interviews, weekly episode recaps, and live webshows for Spike TV on seasons 2, 3, & 4 of the Ultimate Fighter.  They also had Forrest and I host, "The TUFfest 25 Moments" TV show, and I have done some other shows, commercials, and appearances for Spike and it is a blast.  Spike has been great to me. I've also done some public speaking to teenagers at schools for the UFC.  I have done color commentary on smaller MMA shows.  I've even done ring announcing.....Oh yeah, I'm starring in a movie coming out  too....check it out at ultimatechampionmovie.com. 
Doing stuff like that has been so much fun....and the best part is I actually get paid for it.  It really beats the sh!@ out of any other job I have had like office work, laboring, probably even teaching martial arts....although that is pretty fun too.  It's still not as much fun as getting beat up in a cage though.  So to answer your question, Yes, I would like to continue doing these sort of things.

Rachel: You're on a show seen by millions, and you fight in front of thousands. Do you ever get nervous? 
Stephan:Yes of course, more for fighting, but its a good nervousness. Kind of like a super altert feeling.

Rachel: What's your favorite scene from "American Psycho"? Are you as rigid with your hygiene routine as Patrick Bateman?
Stephan: I wouldn't be called that if you saw my hygiene routine.  I live in warm up suits & workout clothes, shave twice a week, hate shopping & haircuts.  I will tell you, the hardest part of doing the "Ultimate Champion" movie was the grooming.  I had to groom my body hair, shave, clear up the ringworm.  I even tanned so the movie wouldn't be mistaken for Powder 2. Oh yeah....my favorite American Psycho scene is when he's having the menage a trois and he keeps looking in the mirror and flexing. I just found that hilarious.

Rachel: On your UFC profile you list Hugh Hefner as one of your heroes. Is it the sheer number of girls or the amount of money? Be honest…
Stephan: The reason Hugh Hefner is listed is because we filled out those questionairres after being locked inside the TUF house for 8 weeks, and all I could think of was, "So this is my big opportunity, huh? Locked up with 16 dudes for two months fighting with them twice a day.  What did I do wrong with my life? How did the cards fall this way...  Why couldn't I have been like Hugh Hefner and photographed beautiful naked women for a living...Hmmm must be nice."  But then I saw his TV show with the 3 blondes he's dating and realized...Wow! If I had to deal with the 3 of them 24/7 I'd blow my brains out.

Rachel: What would you be doing with yourself if you hadn't found your way into MMA?
Stephan: It'd probably be back to gangbanging and rapping.

Rachel: I see you're a Chicago Bears fan. I have Kyle Orton on my fantasy team this season and he hasn't been bringing me many points. Can you have a talk with your fellow Purdue Alum?
Stephan: They almost made the playoffs. They could've won that game.  I was there when Brees was QB...always wished the Bears would've drafted him.

Rachel: It'll have been about 18 months since you've fought. Did you focus on any specific skills or aspects of your game during your break?
Stephan: It will be 15 months since my last fight actually and I have focused on a lot things...striking, submissions for all of that time minus of course the injury & surgery time.

Rachel: How do you feel you have evolved as a fighter since your famous Ultimate Fighter finale fight? Which by the way is still my favorite TUF fight, ever.
Stephan: I've gotten older...kicks and jiujitsu a lot better....wrestling a lot better...and defense improved.

Rachel: Who has been the biggest influence in your fighting career?
Stephan: All my  teachers.  I thank them all.  Dexter Grove for taekwondo.  Kent Lewis high school wrestling. Carlson Gracie..God bless his soul, former jiujitsu teacher, and Joe Kaehn..my first boxing coach.  I thank them all for getting me started.  And of course I thanks  all my teachers since then & now, like Randy, Sergio Penha, Duke Roufus, Mark Dellagrotte and Sityodtong...and my training partners and coaches at Xtreme Couture, Warrior, Master Toddys.

Rachel: Your opponent at UFC 94, Jon Jones, is a relative UFC newcomer, but looks to have a solid wrestling background with overall athleticism. What challenges do you think he poses for you?
Stephan: He's long, explosive, and unorthodox.

Rachel: You began wrestling at the early age of 10 and Tae Kwon Do at thirteen. You began training at Carlson Gracie Jr Jiu Jitsu School in 1999 and won the Heavyweight Chicago Golden Gloves titles in 2002 and 2004. Out of all of the disciplines what is your favorite and why?
Stephan: To be honest with you I get sick of them all.  I always have gone through phases.  For example in 2002 I was in a boxing phase and did the Golden Gloves. 2003 was a jiujitsu phase.  2004 another boxing phase. 2005 was TUF season 1. Then I got really into muay thai after the show. Then wrestling. I always feel like I'm doing more of 1 discipline until I'm close to a fight, then its more even.

Here's to wishing Stephan the best of luck at UFC 94. If you're not going to make it to the event, check back in a couple of weeks for a list of bars showing the fight! And come February, don't forget to check out Stephan as he makes his acting debut as the lead in Ultimate Champion. For a sneak preview of the movie:
ULTIMATE CHAMPION MOVIE TRAILER ULTIMATE CHAMPION MOVIE TRAILER

UFC Fighters Signing at Barnes & Noble Near You!

Join fighters of the UFC® for the release of the trade edition of Octagon book at Barnes & Noble. Fighters will sign purchased copies, so check back as we add more fighters and locations!

The UFC® Octagon Trade Edition gets up close and personal with the warriors of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Explore the work of photographer Kevin Lynch and track the evolution of UFC over five years through incredible photos of the fighters. See these amazing warriors from the tense moments before going into battle through to the emotional end of the combat. Explosive photographs capture the confidence, fear and passion in the eyes of key athletes from Anderson Silva and Chuck Liddell to Georges St. Pierre and B.J.Penn.

ALBUQUERQUE     Keith Jardine    7:00 PM 6600 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110
BOSTON    Kenny Florian    6:00 PM 800 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02119
CHICAGO    Clay Guida    7:30 PM 297 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, IL 60523
INDIANAPOLIS    Chris Lytle    6:00 PM 3748 East 82nd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46240
LAS VEGAS    Stephan Bonnar    7:00 PM 8915 W. Charleston, Las Vegas, NV  89117
LONG ISLAND    Matt Serra    7:00 PM 600 Smith Haven Mall, Lake Grove, NY 11755
MAUI    Kendall Grove    7:00 PM 325 Keawe #101, Lahaina, Hi 96761
MIAMI    Thiago Alves    7:00 PM 12405 N Kendall Drive, Miami, FL 33186
NEW ORLEANS    Rich Clementi    7:00 PM 3721 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, LA  70002
OMAHA    Houston Alexander    7:00 PM 3333 Oakview Dr, Omaha, NE 68144
PORTLAND    Nate Quarry    6:30 PM 12000 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97266
SACRAMENTO    James Irvin    7:00 PM 1725 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA  95815
SAN DIEGO    Diego Sanchez    7:00 PM 2015 Birch Rd, San Diego, CA 91915
SAN JOSE    Mike Swick    7:00 PM 2200 Eastridge Loop, San Jose, CA 95122
SAN LUIS OBISPO    Chuck Liddell    7:00 PM 894 Marsh Street, Bldg. G, San Luis Obispo, CA  93401