How cool are the Pride Posters?

What is Strikeforce doing?

Tomorrow night is Strikeforce Miami and once again Strikeforce is somewhat dropping the ball. It could turn out to be a great card but the Nick Diaz vs. Zaromskis match up should really be Diaz vs. Jay Heiron, and I regret that fight is not happening now.

I think Strikeforce is making another mistake by putting the Hieon vs. Joe Riggs on the under card and thereby missing a chance to build those names up for their growing audience. Instead we get Greg Nagy and Herschell Walker and Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims? Don't get me wrong I think that Walker is good for the card as he did a lot of press before the fight and was on numerous shows promoting the fight. But what does it say about the sport that two vets like Riggs and Hieron are pushed to the undercard while Lashley and Walker, both more famous for other sports besides MMA, go to the main televised event.

While I will definitely watch, as I am sure all other hardcore MMA fans will as well, it does seem like Strikeforce is more interested in putting on the freak show style matches that are more popular in Japan- instead of finding out who the best fighters in their organization are and promoting them.

Should you watch "Facing Ali"?

I just watched "Facing Ali" and the answer is if you like really well made boxing documentaries than you should watch it. "Facing Ali" is a documentary that follows Ali's career chronologically by interviewing the men that fought him. All the great challengers are here given their versions of the legendary fights. The doc does a great job of weaving, "where are they now" style pieces, along with each man telling how they got started in boxing. Each challenger and champ talks about how the fight with Ali affected their lives both good and bad. The movie is well paced and nicely edited. It is a good companion to "When We Were Kings" another great documentary about Ali. But where "When We Were Kings" focus on "The Greatest" in his prime. "Facing Ali" chronicles the many seasons of Ali's career. The stories here are told by the men who knew him in the ring-where it counted, and listening to them recount tales of the punches they took and the shots they delivered, made for an interesting picture.

Brock Lesnar...good for the sport?

Brock Lesnar…love him or hate him…but welcome him back

This week Brock Lesnar announced a “medical miracle” that will allow him to make a return to the UFC this summer to defend his belt. While the champ’s explanation of his illness was interesting, the more fascinating aspect of his announcement was that Lesnar was interviewed on ESPN, a channel that in the past has avoided MMA coverage. This is why the champ should be welcomed back with open arms by all MMA fans. Despite anyone’s personal opinions of Lesnar or his antics, all real MMA fans should be glad that Lesnar is back for the eyes he brings to the sport. The more casual fans that tune in to see Lesnar the better it is for the UFC and the sport of MMA. Lesnar brings with him name recognition and coverage by the mainstream media. This leads to more money and more opportunities for all professional MMA fighters. So whether you love Lesnar or hate him the ratings and attention that he brings with him are good for MMA overall.

Should BJ move up in weight?

With his recent destruction of Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez, many are now calling for BJ Penn to vacate his lightweight belt and move up in weight. Proponents of this plan cite the lack of competition for BJ at 155lbs and point out that the two most obvious contenders, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, are huge long shots.

While it is true that there seems to be a lack of exciting contenders at lightweight, there are interesting match ups for BJ at 170lbs. For example a fight between BJ and Josh Koscheik could be interesting and a fight with Thiago Alves could pose some problems for the 155 champ. That being said, I firmly believe that BJ should stay at his true weight of 155 lbs.

It is not up to BJ to find worthy opponents. Instead it is the UFC's responsibilities to bring new faces and established veterans into the organizations to challenge BJ. BJ should tell the world, here is the belt..now come and get it. Moving up in weight does nothing to prove who the best 155lber in the world is, instead it just provides new challenges to BJ. Not that BJ avoids new challenges. Remember, he fought Lyoto Machida to a decision at light heavyweight. But it is not BJ responsibility to face bigger guys outside of his natural weight division.

Instead BJ Penn should stay at 155 and dominate until someone shocks the world and beats him or the UFC brings in a fresh face to make some interesting match ups. I truly believe with his skill set that as long as BJ stays committed to fighting, he could rule the division for some time.

Charles Kessinger...mad respect?

Last night my wife and some friends went to the amateur fights here locally. The place was hard to find and when I did find it, I realized why...it was in a barn. That being said it was packed. We got there 30 minutes after start time and were told the only tickets left were the $100 ringside tickets and $45 dollar tickets. Having just gone to the UFC, my MMA budget was a little tapped out so I said thanks but no thanks. I was then promptly told that I could get in "standing room only" for $20. That sounded good to me so I took it and the only few few left in the whole place to stand was in front of the concession stand and bathrooms.

It wasn't too bad standing all night, and EVERYWHERE is close to the cage when you are in a big barn. They did have a nice cage and a professional sound system. They also had a screen for when you couldn't see but unlike other shows with the Jumbotron above, this was a screen in the back so one would have to swivel 180 to see what was on the screen. Overlooking a loooong intermission and some technical difficulties with the lights it was a good time. The crowd was pretty drunk and really into the fights. It seemed a mix of family and friends of the fighters and was definitely fill up. All the patrons and the staff where really nice and everyone seemed pretty educated. I did not hear a single boo the whole night except for when one local fighter was DQed for a supposed blow to the back of the head. Overall their was a sense of comradere between the fighters and the fans who embrace what is very much still a fringe sport. I would estimate there were several hundred people at the fight.

I didn't stay for the whole night but the fights were pretty good. There was one slick armbar but for me the highlight of the night was the fight between Charles Kessinger and his opponent Christopher "Hard Rock" Hendrick. Hendrick came into the fight with a 0-0 record while Kessinger surprised me with an 0-3 record. Hearing his record announced I have to admit I was impressed. Going 0-3 and getting into your fourth fight means either you love fighting or you are stubborn as hell. There are plenty of guys 0-1 and 0-2 and mad respect for guys for even getting in there...I will never do it. So when I heard his record I was definitely supporting him and guess what- he delivered.

It was a fast paced aggressive bantam weight fight with each guy scrapping and scrambling. There was back and forth action and then late in the first round, bam a beautiful spinning back fist from Kessinger sends Hendrick down. Kessinger is on him in an instant and after a few shots it is over. With the TKO Kessinger moves to 1-3 and I was reminded again part of why I like fighting...It shows us what man is capable of, it shows us that when challenged one can overcome. If a guy who is 0-3 is willing to get in there and fight and win, then maybe everyone can find the strengths to overcome what challenges them.

When Kessinger walked back to the dressing room/ bathroom he walked by me and I shook his hand and said good fight. He said, "Thanks" and looked really happy. I was happy for him too.

The New Pride Show?

Friday night at 10 pm the new Pride Show debuted. They showed four full fights and they seemed to be in their entirety, not like the old Fox Pride show that cut out the foot stomps. It was great to see Pride back on TV and maybe it will do a lot to educate newer fans about the awesomeness that was Pride. One thing I missed from the old show was the break down by Trigg and Glazier. The new show is hosted by a model Kendra Hance. Hance is barely on the show just for a few seconds before each fight. She did look pretty good in a half shirt though.

Being a dedicated Pride fan, I will be DVRing it every Friday and if you are a fan of MMA you should too. If you do you will see some great fights.

Fight Night 20 Recap

So last weekend I attended UFC Fight Night 20 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax VA. I took my two oldest sons and my wife. We had a great tome and it was wonderful to see my first UFC in person. Hockey and NASCAR are two sports that I was always told that you hav eto see live to really appreciate. Having never been to NASCAR I can't comment but I know this is true with the NHL. The action, and ability just does not translate to television. But seeing it live is a whole other experience. The same is true with the UFC.

Seeing it live takes it to a whole other level. The energy that was in the sold out crowd was electric. I had heard alot about the Baba O'Reily opening montage and how cool it was, but seeing it in person was incredible. It got the whole crowd hyped.

The awesomeness started the day before at the free and open to the public weigh in held the day before. It was pretty well attended and started with a Q and A with Frankie Edgar. While there was no earth shattering news uncovered it was cool to see a fighter answer questions from the fans. He even let some kid come up and stafge and choke him out. As I would find out the UFC really cares about the fans. After the Q and A you could go down and get your picture with Edgar. The picture above is Frankie with one of my sons.

After the photo op was the weigh ins and the weigh ins were great. Joe Silva was there with Goldy and Rogan it was really neat and some of the stare downs got the crowd really pumped for the fight. I would definitely recommend that anyone who has a chance to go to a weigh in does.

After the weigh ins everybody filters out. I decided to drive around the building to see if I could see any fighters exiting and sure enough I saw a small group of people gathered around some Tahoes surrounded by Security. I got out of my car with my son and sister right when Gray Maynard was walking by. Talk about a cool guy. He stopped for a picture the day before his fight. My sister sent him a thank you on Facebook and he sent back a really nice message to her saying he always has time for his fans.

A couple minutes later Arianny and Chandella came out and walked over to say hi to the fans and took a couple of photos. Then the man himself, Lorenzo Fertita came out. I called out to him and he walked up the little hill and shook hands with fans and took the above picture with my son. I cannot express enough how cool this is that the owner of the UFC took his time to come over and speak to about 10 fans and take pictures. In no other sport would you see that and it is just further proof that MMA is the best sport in the world. I am a fan for life.

We waited about an hour until a UFC worker told us to leave. It was obvious that Dana was still inside but my kid was cold so we split. My friend Ron acted like he was leaving but came right back and in a few minutes Goldy came out and said that Dana would come out in a few minutes. By this time there were only a few fans still around. Dana took pics with everyone and gave everybody there 4 free tickets each! I regret missing him but hopefully I will see him again one day.

The next nights were the fights and although it was a card full of close decisions. One really cool thing happened. Gerald Harris fought early in the night and after showering and changing he came up into the stands and took pics with fans including my son. By the end of the night we were exhausted from yelling and cheering and I cannot wait to go to my next UFC.

How did I do in my UFC 108 Picks?

Not good...

Rafaello Oliveira vs. John Gunderson- The only fight not shown...but Oliveira won decision so +1

Jake Ellenberger vs. Mike Pyle- Ellenberger avoided the subs and caught him at the end of the first round with some heavy shots. Ellenberger finished Pyle in the second with a TKO from the GNP. I picked Ellenberger so +1

Munoz vs. Jensen- Munoz took him down and grounded and pound Jensen, who never got much if any offense going. I hoped that Jensen could surprise Munoz from hi back bu† he never got close and was Ground and pounded to a TKO. Jensen-1

Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon- This was a close fight as I predicted, with Miller getting dropped in the first round. Cole survived some how and in a scramble ended up in an inverted triangle/kimura. He subbed Lauzon as I predicted Miller +1

Kampmann vs. Volkmann- This fight went pretty much how I laid itout with Kampmann getting the better of Volkmann on the feet and eventually subbing him in RD. 1 Kampmann +1

Junior Dos Santos vs. Gilbert Yvel- I picked JSD who looked great in this fight TKOing Yvel in the first round. Dos Santos +1

Jim Miller vs. Duane Ludwig- I thought that Miller would sub Ludwig early and guess what, he arm barred him in Rd. 1 Miller +1

Then things really feel apart...

Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout- I really thought that Stout would get crushed in this fight. Lauzon had looked so good in his previous fights. Stout avoided an early sub attempt and then treated "J-Lau" like a punching bag. Joe showed that he was tough but nowhere near the same level as Stout on the feet. Stout destroyed him for the easy decision. Joe did almost get him at the end of the third in a last ditch effort at a sub but he was beat to hell at that point and it was not enough. Stout- 1

Dustin Hazelett vs. Paul Dailey- Dailey KTFOed Hazelett in Rd. 1. Hazelett never even attempted to take it down to the ground...it was like Maia vs. Marqart part 2 or something...Hazelett -1

Thiago Silva vs. Rashad Evans- Remember in my write up how I said that if Rashad goes to his wrestling then Thiago was in a world of trouble. Guess what Rashad went to his wrestling and owned Thiago in Rd. 1 and 2. Then Thiago was able to bait him into a brawling match and hurt Rashad badly who was doing the chicken dance all around the ring...I was up and yelling imaging the victory so late in the thir round..the Thiago backed off and stood there with his hands on his hips exhausted? It was puzzling as hell as he gave Rashad time to recover and win the decision...I cried...Silva -1

I called every fight for 108 and did lots of research to little or no avail. I went 6 right and 4 wrong. 6-4 ouch.

This brings my over all record of since making public picks a meager 21 right and 15 wrong. I lost big hypothetical dollars on Joe Lauzon a heavy favorite and Thiago Silva a underdog. I also really learned what everyone has been telling me, parlays are for chumps. Guess I had to learn the hard way.

Who Will Win UFC 108??

Here are my picks for tonights card:

Rafaello Oliveira Vs. John Gunderson

Oliveira is 0-1 in the UFC and I am sure he knows what going 0-2 could mean. It could possibly lead to an early exist from the UFC. It is a must win for Oliveira and I think this will affect his performance.
Gunderson is making his Octagon debut and as such may succumb to some Octagon jitters. He is doing the UFC a solid by taking the fight on 4 weeks notice so he should get a second shot if he has a good showing but comes up short.
Gunderson is on a three-fight win streak, while Oliveira lost his last fight against Nik “the Carney” Lentz at UFC 103. In that fight Oliveira was doing well in the first round but gassed completely during the second and just hung on to survive, losing a decision. Gunderson does have more experience and is a vet of the IFL and its moderate size stage. However taking a fight on short notice for your first time in the UFC does not seem like a good idea. Gunderson trains at Extreme Couture now apparently and so I am sure he will come to the fight well prepared. He has 15 of his wins by sub and I am not sure if he will be able to sub Oliveira who is a BJJ Black Belt. Oliveira has never been submitted in any of his previous fights. My pick Oliveira.

Mike Pyle vs. Jake Ellenberger

Pyle has 16 of his wins by Sub but Ellenberger has only been subbed once in 26 fights. I think Ellenberger will be stronger, better on the feet and have solid wrestling. I think that Pyle could pull of a miracle sub, his specialty, but I think Ellenberger should have the skills to avoid it as he did in the Carlos Condit fight. Ellenberger badly needs a win after losing a razor thin decision to Carlos Condit in his UFC debut. My Pick: Ellenberger.

Mark Munoz vs. Ryan Jensen

Munoz is a very good wrestler but we have not seen these skills much during his time in the Octagon. He looked awkward and ineffective versus Matt Hamil before being KTFOed. Nick Catone lost a decision to Munoz, but he did not look that impressive. In fact Catone took Munoz down in that fight. Jensen is 1-3 in the Octagon but his loses come to Gouveia, Maia and Leites. I don’t think that Munoz is on their level. Jensen has more experience and has 9 wins by sub so if Munoz does take him down he maybe at risk. Munoz looks to have good condition but his standup looks sloppy in his last fight. I think that Jensen is a live underdog. My Pick: Jensen

Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon

Dan Lauzon is on an 8 fight win streak. Miller was knocked out in his last fight by Efrain Escudero. Lauzon has finished people with his hands with 6 TKOs. While Miller has won most of his fights by SUB. This is a hard fight for me to pick. I really am not sure how this fight will go. If I have to pickgun to my head, then I will take Cole. My Pick: Miller

Martin Kampmann vs. Jacob Volkmann

Volkmann has better wrestling and might be able to take Kampmann down and lay and pray a decision win or sub him. But I don’t think that will happen. Kampmann stand up is light years ahead of Volkmann’s who seems to utilize a classical stance in his last UFC fight, a loss. Kampmann also is no slouch when it comes to the ground game having submitted 5 opponents. I think that Kampmann has more paths to victory and takes this fight. I also think that Kampmann is bigger and more experienced. Kampmann is coming off a loss and will be desperate for a win here to get back on track. My Pick: Kampman

Junior Dos Santos vs. Gilbert Yvel

JDS is on the rise. Yvel is a long time vet making his UFC debut. I think the JDS has more paths to victory and I suspect that if he starts getting in trouble on his feet he will take the fight to the ground and sub Yvel. He does train with the Nog brothers in BJJ after all. My Pick: Junior Dos Santos

Jim Miller vs. Duane Ludwig. Bang is a vet who has fought everyone at 155 in every different Org out there. Thtat being said he has never shown much on the ground and Miller will definitely take him there. Add that to the fact that Bang took the fight on short notice and I think this one is close to a lock. My Pick: Jim Miller

Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout

The older Lauzon brother fighting is fighting on the same card. Unlike his brothers fight, I am much more confident that "Creepy Joe" will win this fight. Stout has good stand up but I don't think it is light years away from J-Lau. I don't think it will matter anyway as I see J-Lau taking this fight to the ground and GNP to the finish. I just don't think that Stout has enough defensive wrestling to stop Joe's take down. Once on the ground Joe's time training with Penn will kick in and he will sub Stout. My Pick: Lauzon

Dustin Hazelett vs Paul Dailey

Very Interesting fight... a classic grappler vs. striker matchup. Daily is off a big win against Kampmann and a win her pushed him closer to a title match. That being said he has shown weakness to the ground game as seen in his last loss to Jake Sheilds. Of course the Hazelett is a ground wizard and all of his wins are by subs. That being said he has been knocked out in the Ocatgon and his coming off a long layoff. I think that Hazeletts huge reach will pose some problems for Dailey and I think he will swim in and maybe pull guard. I think that the fight will go to the ground, I hope, and Hazelett subs Dailey. Dailey did not make weight as well so I am not sure how drained he will be from what was a failed cut. My Pick: Hazelett.

Rashad Evans vs Thiago Silva

These two guys each lost to Machida in vicious knockouts this year. Silva has already bounced back from that, having knocked out Evans teammate, Jardine. Evans on the other hand has had a pretty long lay off while coaching TUF season 10. Evans is the favorite in this fight but I think that Silva is a live dog and could win this fight. Here is why: Evans might be overlooking him and focused on the upcoming match against Rampage. In a lot of pressers Evans talks more about Page than he does Silva. This is not a good sign for him. Additionally Evans keeps saying that he is going back to his wrestling, but then the next thing you read is him saying he is in love with his hands and the rush of the KO. If Evans is committed to getting back to his wrestling I think he wins this fight. But if he continues the trends of wrestlers who now think they are boxers, than I think that Silva has the fire power to finish Rashad. Keep in mind that Silva has 11 TKOs in 15 fights, that is sick. I hope that Rashad gets hit early and gets in a brawler mode. If that happens this plays into Silva's advantage. My Pick: Silva

Stay tuned.