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). 

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.

 

ESPN MMA Live: Episode 47

Miguel Torres will be defending his title against Takeya Mizugaki in his own back yard this Sunday!

Miguel called in talked about not feeling the additional pressure fighting in front of his hometown fans, they're what helped him get where he is today. He also talked about his training preparations.

He also talked about his plans to move up a weight class. I'd LOVE to see this.

Kenny confirmed the fight with BJPenn will in fact be happening and as he announced on KennyFlorian.com looks like UFC 101 August 8^th in Philly.

Lashley joined in and he talks about his performance against Jason Guida. Find out what he thought of his performance also find out if he would fight for the UFC now. Is there a possibility he'll appear on The Ultimate Fighter? Also, find out his thoughts on being compared to Lesnar.

 

Announced/Rumored Fights:

• Forrest Griffin vs Thiago Silva happening at UFC 101
• Matt Hamill vs Brandon Verra UFC 101
• Rousimar Palhares vs Alessio Sakara UFC 99
• "JZ" Cavalvante vs Tatsuya Kawajiri Dream 9
• Gegard Mousasi vs Rameau Sokokjou Dream 9

 

Versus to sign multi-year extension with WEC that could run two more years

--I'd like to see old fights hosted on versus.com.

The crew gave a Fight Night debrief. If you missed the fights check out what they had to say.

Loving the training table series keep it up guys. Although I'm still craving a whopper my way.

ESPN's MMA Live: Strikeforce Rises

Here's a great episode of MMA Live, focusing on the Strikeforce acquisition of ProElite / EliteXC assets. Hear from Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker as he joins Jon Anik via phone. Hear the crew discuss the April 11th card which includes Frank Shamrock VS Nick Diaz. Also get a recap of last weekend's Ultimate Fight Night.

"Fight For The Troops" Auction

From UFC.com

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® and Spike TV have launched an exclusive auction to make tickets available to the public for UFC® Fight For The Troops™. This special live UFC event will raise funds to build a hospital for traumatic brain injuries for the brave men and women in the United States Armed Forces. Thousands of soldiers from nearby Fort Bragg, the proud home of the U.S. Airborne and Special Operations Forces, will be in attendance, but now 30 members of the public also have an opportunity to watch the fight live.
This exclusive auction is being held through Ticketmaster.com and is ongoing now through Dec. 1st. Only 30 tickets will be available to the public, with bidding starting at $200 per ticket.

UFC Fight For The Troops will air live on Spike TV Wednesday, December 10 starting at 9:00 PM, ET. More information about the facility, including ways to donate, can be found online at http://www.fallenheroesfund.org or by calling 1-800-340 HERO

Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida headlines the event, with Mike Swick taking on Jonathan Goulet in the co-main event matchup. The event also showcases five current UFC fighters who are all U.S. military veterans including Luigi Fioravanti, Tim Credeur, Dale Hartt, Brandon Wolff, and Steve Bruno.

“The Ultimate Fighter 1” standout Koscheck (13-3) has won seven of his last nine decisions, and is one of the premier 170-pound fighters in the world. His opponent, Tokyo native Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida (10-2), has won nine straight pro mixed martial arts fights including his UFC debut last May at UFC 84 with a victory via submission over Jon Koppenhaver.

Swick (12-2), fighting out of San Jose, CA, has won seven of his last eight bouts in the Octagon, including a three round decision over Marcus Davis this past June at UFC 85. To continue his quest for a title shot, he must defeat fellow welterweight contender, Jonathon Goulet (22-9). The hard-hitting 29-year old Canadian recently scored a TKO victory at UFC 83 over Kuniyoshi Hironaka that was awarded Fight of The Night honors.

“The Ultimate Fighter 5” standout Matt Wiman (10-3), a resident of Dallas, Texas, has won four straight contests in the Octagon, including an impressive 2nd round knockout of Thiago Tavares at UFC 85 in June. “Handsome” Matt will face his toughest test yet against the pride of Toms River, NJ, Frankie Edgar. A rising star in the lightweight division, Edgar (9-1) is coming off the biggest win of his professional career, a three-round decision over the dangerous Hermes Franca this past July at “UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin” on Spike TV.

On the undercard, two promising fighters make their UFC Octagon® debut as Steve Cantwell battles Razak Al- Hassan. The 22 year-old Cantwell, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada, held the WEC light heavyweight belt and has won six of his seven pro mixed martial arts fights. His most recent victory, a 2nd round TKO victory over Brian Stann in August, was the biggest of his career and netted him the WEC belt. In the opposite corner will be the unbeaten Al-Hassan of Des Moines, IA, who possesses a 6-0 professional MMA record, and a reputation as one of the Midwest’s top 205-pound prospects.

The undercard also includes former U.S. Marine Luigi Fioravanti vs. Brodie Farber; U.S. Navy veteran Dale Hartt vs. Corey Hill from “The Ultimate Fighter 5;” Ben Saunders from “The Ultimate Fighter 5” vs. former Navy SEAL Brandon Wolff; “The Ultimate Fighter 7” semi-finalist and U.S. Navy veteran Tim Credeur vs. Nate Loughran; Johnny Rees vs. U.S. Navy veteran Steve Bruno; and Justin McCully vs Eddie Sanchez.

UFC Fight Night: Post Fighter Interviews with Diaz and Guida

Here's a post-fight interview with Nat Diaz after his decision victory over Josh Neer:

And here's an interview with Clay Guida after his decision victory over Mac Danzig:

UFC Fight Night Predictions

I've put together my predictions for UFC Fight Night! Disagree with my opinions? Tell me.

Anderson Silva vs James Irvin 

Ranked as one of if not the best middleweight and pound for pound fighter, Anderson Silva will be making his debut at 205lb. Anderson has some major wins under his belt such as Rich Franklin (twice – by tko), Dan Henderson, Travis lutter and Chris  Leben.

His opponent, James Irvin, also has some big wins and BIG knock-outs such as Houston Alexander (dropped him in 8 seconds in the first round tying for the fastest knock out) and Terry Martin (the infamous flying knee!) but some big losses as well; such as Stephan Bonnar. By the way, when will Stephan be returning from suspension? Irvin is trying to prove he belongs at the top of the 205 weight class, but hasn't shown the consistency or dominance to get there yet. 

I think it’s going to be a great fight, but in the end I have Anderson Silva winning his first fight as a light heavyweight. I’d also like to see the winner of the Rashad Evans/Chuck Liddell fight take on Anderson and the winner from that fight face Forrest Griffin (assuming he gets past Rampage in a much anticipated rematch). 

Brandon Vera vs  Reese Andy 

There’s the whole story line about who Brandon wanted to fight but couldn’t get any takers. But his confirmed opponent Reese Andy is no slouch. He’s a 3 time Division 1 All-American Wrestler from the University of Wyoming.

I foresee Reese taking Brandon down right away to stay away from the dangerous Muay Thai striker. He’s going to try to establish a top position where he’s comfortable and can work his ground and pound, forcing Brandon to work to stand back up. Take downs and getting back up will definitely exhaust Brandon but in the end (and I don’t think it’s going to go that many rounds, 2 max) Brandon is going to submit Reece. I think overall, it’s going to come down to experience, nerves and who is more diverse. I give this to Brandon in the 2nd round.

Hermes Franca vs Frankie  Edgar

Hermes is coming off a loss to Sean Sherk that went to the judges. What I really love about Hermes is his diversity, experience and he has some huge wins under his belt – and in some cases for a belt!

Having said that, while Frankie is coming off a loss to Gray Maynard, I think his big wins (example Tyson Griffin) gives him the experience he’ll need to go head to head with Hermes. Frankie is great at avoiding submissions and working for position. In the end though, I think Hermes still has the leg up on this match up  and will take the victory in his return to action.

Cain Velasquez Vs. Jake O'Brien

Cain comes into this fight with a MMA record of 3-0, winning all by TKO. He'll be taking on Jake who has a MMA record of 10-1. Jake’s one notable loss was to Andrei Arlovski.  Both fighters have a Division-I wrestling background, and are comfortable taking this fight to the ground. However, Cain trains at AKA so you know his stand-up will be up to par. This will be a great battle between two solid wrestlers. Cain is looking to make a splash in the UFC and is considered a huge talent coming out of AKA. I give this fight to Cain!

Anthony Johnson Vs. Kevin Burns

Ohh Anthony. Thank you for the abs. No really, thank you.

Anthony has a MMA record of 5 wins and 1 loss. The loss was against Rich Clementi at UFC 76 losing by rear naked choke. His opponent Kevin Burns has a MMA record of 6 wins and 1 loss. While I wish Anthony and his abs the best of luck, I think he’s going to most likely lose by submission (choke).   

Jesse Taylor Vs. CB Dollaway

This will be a highly anticipated fight as many fans probably saw it as the most probable final for the most recent Ultimate Fighter. We've got big controversy with Jesse Taylor, who has supposedly turned over a new leaf. While everyone makes mistakes, you can’t help but look at this guy and say "what in god’s name were you thinking". For those of you that live in a shoe box, this was the guy who was down to the finals for The Ultimate Fighter 7. I think he’s the only guy who has been kicked off after the tournament portion was finalized. After Dana White made him understand his actions were wrong and inexcusable, he was kicked off the show and replaced. Now after sobering up and continuing to train, Jesse is making his UFC debut against fellow TUF 7 cast mate CB Dollaway. CB faced Amir Sadollah for TUF finale and lost  (which counted for his second loss to Amir, both by armbar). While I think Jesse could be a good fighter given he stay on the right path, I’m giving this match up to CB. CB is coming off a somewhat embarassing loss to Amir (no offense Amir, we love you) in the finals of the UF7 and will be hungry for a win, and to prove he belongs in the UFC. 

Anderson Silva VS James Irvin: The Keys to Victory

Want to know what "The Sandman" James Irvin thinks about his upcoming battle with the current UFC welterweight champ and best pound-for-pound fighter in the world? You can check out his thoughts here.

It's always good to hear from the fighters themselves, but what do some past opponents of both Irvin and Silva think? You can find out what Stephan Bonnar thinks the keys to an Irvin victory are by checking out this video. Bonnar claimed a submission victory over Irvin in 2006 at Ultimate Fight Night 3.

But what about "The Spider" Silva? Check out what Rich Franklin has to say about Anderson's abilities and if he's a real threat to the light heavyweight belt. I'm sure we all remember how "the Spider" dismantled Franklin not once, but twice.

I haven't made my pick for this fight yet, but check back later for my fight card predictions! Oh and remember, if you're looking to put down some money on fights you can see my advice here!

Tit for Tat: The UFC schedules a counter to EliteXC Saturday Night Fights

According to the UFC's TV Programming schedule, they are set to air quite a bit of MMA on Spike TV during the same time slot as the next installment of EliteXC and CBS' Saturday Night Fights on July 26th. The UFC has made no secret that they will counter every competitors show with a show of their own.

First they countered the first EliteXC / CBS event on May 31st with a tribute to "The Iceman", Chuck Liddell on Spike TV, followed by a replay of his victory over Wanderlei Silva. Next they countered the Affliction: Banned card with a card of their own, thrown together at the last minute, featuring Anderson Silva VS James Irvin as well as a host of other talent. Now they are set to counter the second EliteXC / CBS prime-time card with a whole host of programming on Spike. The line-up looks like this:

Saturday, July 26thMMA Television Schedule
Time (EST)	CBS / EliteXC	Spike / UFC
4 PM		UFC: Silva vs Irvin
7 PM		UFC Unleashed
8 PM	Live – Under card Fights	Ultimate Knockouts 5
9 PM	Live – Main Card	UFC 84: Penn vs Sherk (Replay)
11:30 PM		UFC 84: Penn vs Sherk (Replay)

They didn't go so far as to pull together another fight card, but they will be re-airing the very exciting UFC 84 card featuring BJ Penn VS Sean Sherk, Wanderlei Silva VS Keith Jardine, Lyoto Machida VS Tito Ortiz and other great fights.

It's pretty clear Dana White is sending a message to every competitor that dare try and step in the sandbox, he's going to make them earn their share of the pie. The UFC, through it's wealth of fighter talent and relationship with Spike TV has the ability to pull this sort of thing off on short notice and wreak havoc on another promotions goal of attracting fans. The UFC currently has two attributes that no one else has, the ability to immediately put fights (new or replayed) on free TV, and consistent talent that is well known to the MMA fan base.

Unfortunately for competing promotions the UFC can offer high quality fights consistently on free TV. For Affliction, in the age of YouTube, it's tough for a fan to justify shelling out some hard earned money for fights they can watch later on the Internet. Especially when they can watch one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in Anderson Silva make his light-heavyweight debut on free TV.

As for the July 26th counter to EliteXC / CBS, that may be a little harder for the UFC to yank fans away from. After all, EliteXC / CBS is offering new fights on free TV, versus the UFC's re-run of older fights. The UFC definitely has the ability to make life difficult for new promotions trying to earn a fan base, and their tactics probably aren't good for the sport but then again the UFC isn't a sport, it's a business.

From my point of view, EliteXC has a few things the UFC doesn't on July 26th. They've got the rematch between Scott Smith and Robbie Lawler, Jake Shields fighting for the EliteXC welterweight title, and Nick Diaz fighting in front of his hometown of Stockton, CA. Sorry UFC, that's too much to pass up... which is why I'll be in Stockton watching the fights LIVE!!!