Post UFC 113

It seems every MMA event (with the exception of WEC 48) in the past month have had some controversy. UFC 111 left many opposed to GSP's tactic to grind out a victory despite his attempts to finish the tough Dan Hardy. UFC 112 had a main event that showed Anderson Silva lacking in performance once again-he could have finished off Maia many times in the fight but instead he chose to dance and mock Maia, then run around the Octagon away from Maia causing the crowd to chant GSP instead of Silva or even Maia. Strikeforce Nashville, of course, had the post fight brawl. And now, UFC 113 had Daley sucker punching Koscheck directly after the fight ended. Video Below:

Koscheck laid and prayed his way to victory after (seemingly) faking an injury from an illegal knee from Daley. Daley immediately got up after the buzzer and threw a left hook to Koscheck's face which did not even phase Kos. Koscheck then offended every fan in attendance during his post fight interview with Joe Rogan, claiming the Pittsburgh Penguins will beat Montreal next week in their hockey match, and that he will beat GSP and they will lose twice. When Daley was asked about this mishap after the fight by Dana White, Daley replied he did not hear the buzzer. Then, after being asked if he would like to fight in the UFC again, he simply shrugged. Needless to say, Dana booted him out of the UFC roster with no questions asked. Dana also released Kimbo Slice after his loss to Matt Mitrione (who utilized his game plan well and took out Kimbo in the second round) claiming he is a great persona and has grew as a fighter, but can not keep up as an MMA fighter. It seems Dana's publicity stunt to attract more viewers and fans has drawn its course...
And of course, Mauricio Rua proved to the world he deserved the title by knocking out Lyoto Machida in the first round. Check back for fight videos soon!

Robbie Lawler vs Renatu Babalu Sobral

Strikeforce: Los Angeles was originally scheduled to be headlined by Jason Miller vs Robbie Lawler. This bout was, of course, scheduled before the Strikeforce: Nashville post fight brawl. The Tennessee state athletic commission is still in the process of investigating the brawl, and it will take time to complete. The time the investigation will take along with the possible suspension of Miller led Strikeforce to cancel his fight with Lawler. The fight will be a catchweight bout at 195 pounds. Although Miller caused the spark to start the brawl, the real punishments should go to the fighters at the Gracie camp. Miller came into the cage and asked "where's my rematch, buddy?" and his question was followed up with shoving from Jake Shields and his cronies from the Gracie camp (Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez, Weleterweight champ Nick Diaz, and Diaz's brother Nate Diaz). A suspension from the Tennessee state athletic commission will most likely be given because he was involved in the brawl and he walked into the cage at a terrible time and interrupted Jake Shield's time to shine after a career defining win over Dan Henderson. But giving a suspension to Miller and not to Shields, Melendez, and Diaz (Nick not Nate as Nate fights in the UFC) is completely unfair. We will have to wait and see how this investigation unfolds, but seeing Miller fight anytime soon is highly unlikely.

Tito Ortiz Charged With Assault

The former UFC Light Heavyweight champion was charged with assault
against his girlfriend Jenna Jameson today, and was hauled off to
jail. Jameson will be pressing charges and has already gotten a
restraining order against Ortiz. But what I'm sure you readers are
curious about (since this is an MMA blog) is how this will affect his
status in the UFC. Well it didn't take long for UFC president Dana
White to step in and issue a comment and stated the UFC can cut Ortiz,
but White has not made an official decision yet. But let's face it-
Ortiz is no longer very popular in the UFC and his fighting career is
nowhere as exciting as it was earlier and his attitude and actions are
not what the UFC or MMA needs now. We may not see Ortiz fighting in
the UFC again (especially because he is in jail now). And if the UFC
cuts Babalu and Nick Diaz, it is very probable they will cut Ortiz.

WEC 48 Fight Videos

Tyler Toner vs. Brandon Visher

Chad Mendes Vs. Anthony Morrison

Brad Pickett Vs. Demetrious Johnson

Anthony Pettis vs. Alex Karalexis

Antonio Banuelos Vs. Scott Jorgensen

Anthony Njokuani Vs. Shane Roller

Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung

Part 2

Manny Gamburyan Vs. Mike Brown

Ben Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone

Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber

Part 2

Main Card:
Jose Aldo def. Urijah Faber via Unanimous decision (49-45,49-45,50-45)
Ben Henderson def. Donald Cerrone via Submission (guillotine) rd. 1 (1:57)
Manny Gamburyan def. Mike Brown via KO rd. 1 (2:22)
Shane Roller def. Anthony Njokuani via Submission (Rear-naked choke) rd. 1 (3:07)
Scott Jorgensen def. Antonio Banuelos via Unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

Spike TV Preliminary Fights:
Leonard Garcia def. Chan Sung Jung via Split decision (29-28,29-28,29-28)
Anthony Pettis def. Alex Karalexis via Submission (Triangle) rd. 2 (1:35)

Preliminary Card:
Brad Pickett def. Demetrious Johnson via Unanimous decision (30-27,29-28,30-27)
Chad Mendes def. Anthony Morrison via Submission (guillotine) rd. 1 (2:13)
Takeya Mizugaki def. Rani Yahya via Unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Tyler Toner def. Brandon Visher via TKO rd. 1 (2:36)

Post WEC 48

WEC 48 proved to be an exciting night of surprises. Manny Gamburyan proved he can hang with the best after becoming a finalist on TUF 5 and getting a win over former featherweight champion Mike Brown. The lightweight championship bout amd rematch between Donald Cerrone

and Ben Henderson also surprised fans watching tonight. Their first

meeting in the cage went the distance and every second was filled with

excitement. The fight was Sherdog's fight of the year for 2009 and for

a good reason. It seemed safe to assume the fight would at least go

into the championship rounds if not going the distance. However,

Henderson was able to secure his second title defense and a submission

victory in the first round putting him at 12-1 as a pro. Aldo vs Faber

went the distance and Aldo was able to secure a unanimous decision

victory over The California Kid. After the fight, Aldo showed Class

and what this sport is bout by congradulating Faber and baking his

hand over bad over. This is contrary to the end of the last couple MMA

events (the Strikeforce Brawl and Anderson Silva's dance and

embarassing performance at UFC 112) and exactly what MMA needs right

now. Aldo was able to chop down Faber with many leg kicks which took

away all of Faber's power and his ability to stand knocking him down

many times throughout the fight. Aldo's leg kicks and Faber's response

and falls were remeniscent of Matt Hughes' fight against Renzo Gracie

at UFC 112 where Hughes chopped Gravie down to the point where he

couldn't even stand at the end of the third round. Aldo was dominant

over Faber the entire fight but did not finish Faber. Joe Rogan stated

the end of the fight was boring, but in my opinion Aldo was working

the entire fight and simply showed his respect for Faber by not taking

any silly chances to get ko'd by Faber's power. Aldo was close to

finishing but Faber was just too tough for Aldo. Aldo rocked him with

a head kick and swarmed on Faber, but faber stuck in there. After

seeing this, I expected a Scott Smith type comeback similar to his win

over Cung Le at Strikeforce Evolution (he was getting beaten the whole

fight and turned the tides on Le by securing a KO win in the final

minutes of the third round), but he was chopped down with leg kicks

and was not able to do anything against Aldo but hang in the fight.

Now after Aldo's very dominant performance over one of the top

featherweight in the world it is safe to say Aldo is the real deal. It

has been said that Aldo is the second coming of Anderson Silva, and it

may be too early to say so, but he definetely posses the skill and is

only 23, so he has many years o prove himself in the sport. Up next

for Aldo may be Manny Gamburyan after his stunning defeat over former

champion Mike Brown. Fight Videos from WEC 48 coming soon!

WEC 48

The UFC and Strikeforce are two of the top MMA promotions that exist today. The WEC probably falls 4th behind Dream, and that means some MMA fans do not even know of it's existence. However, after this weekend, the WEC will be well known. They have put together a fantastic card which is even good enough to be broadcasted on PPV instead of the usual broadcast available for free on a premium channel (Versus Network). Both the UFC and the WEC are owned by Zuffa, and Dana White, Joe Rogan, and the UFC have been promoting this fight to ensure everyone knows about this event. Now, many of the WEC fighters are not well known-except for Urijah Faber. The California Kid has had 10 fights in the WEC and has 26 Professional MMA fights with a record of 23-3. After wrestling for UC Davis, he took up MMA and has become on of the world's most dominant featherweights. His title was taken away by Mike Brown, who is also fighting on the card on Saturday night. On the 24th Faber will face Sherdog's fighter of the year-Jose Aldo. An explosive striker with a Black Belt in BJJ-Jose Aldo has a very well rounded game. His TKO against Cub Swanson was earned with a FLYING DOUBLE KNEE which is almost as rare to see as a flying armbar submission (and as entertaining!) and he won the fight in just 8 seconds into the fight. This dominant performance earned him a title shot against Mike Brown, who he beat in 1:20 of the second round and became the WEC featherweight champion. The main event of a great card (and the WEC's biggest and best card to date) will see two great fighters fighting for the featherweight title. The co-main event is also a championship fight. Ben Henderson will be fighting Donald Cerrone for the Lightweight Championship. Ben Henderson, with a purple belt in BJJ, has submissions and KO's on his record and will prove to be a challenge for the challenger, Cerrone. Cerrone and Henderson have fought previosly at WEC 43, and the fight went the distance and was filled with non stop action. These two fighters battled it out for 5 rounds for the interim title with not even a moment of boredom. Henderson was able to earn a unanimous decision victory over Cerrone and the fight was chosen as Sherdog's 2009 fight of the year. This event will be very entertaining because, as Cowboy Cerrone says, "The WEC is right there. We deserve the same spotlight. The lighter weight guys are just as exciting and just as talented, if not more. I think we bring a lot more excitement." So there you have it, the WEC fighters always put up entertaining fights and this event is definitely not one to miss!

Strikeforce Nashville Fight Videos

King Mo vs. Gegard Mousasi

Gilbert Melendez vs. Shinya Aoki

Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson

Main Event Post-fight brawl with Mayhem Miller

Post Strikeforce Nashville

Remember Anderson Silva's embarrassing performance last weekend at UFC 112? I'm sure nobody does after the post fight brawl during Strikeforce Nashville. Strikeforce changed from a kickboxing promotion to an MMA promotion, and last night it appeared to have changed into a Pro Wrestling promotion. Jason Mayhem Miller pulled a Georges St. Pierre after the fight by entering the cage to steal the spotlight away from Jake Shields-but instead of saying he was "not impressed"he went into the cage to express his interest in a rematch against Shields. Nick Diaz and his brother Nate Diaz went into the cage at an Elite XC fight to demand a rematch with KJ Noons, so one would think they would be sympathetic towards the situation, but they were among the first to strike Miller. Gilbert Melendez was also involved in the fight along with a dozen others from the Cesar Gracie camp. After a minute of the brawl CBS cut to commercial and the brawl was resolved during that time. We will have to wait to see how the fighters will be dealt with (Scott Coker will review the tapes from the brawl this week). Dana White has been taking heat since UFC 112 dealing with the performance of Anderson Silva and lying about the UFC 115 fight card-but after the mockery of the sport last night nobody will be talking about Dana's mishaps for a while. White acknowledged this by twittering ":)" directly after the brawl last night. Check out the full video of the fight below!

UFC 115-The Rumors Were True

About a month ago, rumors emerged on the internet stating Chuck Liddell would not be facing Tito Ortiz in his return to the octagon, despite being rival coaches on TUF 11. The rumors stating Liddell would now be facing Rich Franklin, former UFC middleweight champion and high school teacher. The rumors were dismissed within hours by Dana White (or so the websites said). However, the UFC website reported on their news section today that the main event of UFC 115 will now be Franklin vs Liddell in the light heavyweight division. The rumors stated Ortiz was not able to complete his role on TUF 11 and was replaced by Franklin. These rumors have not been disproven or proven yet, and Dana has stated he will not tell the fans why the change has taken place and states that we will find out by watching the Ultimate Fighter show this season. Bottom line is UFC 115 will now be headlined by Liddell vs Franklin which is probably a better fight than a third Liddell Ortiz fight in which Liddell has won both of the previous fights.

And good news for the young MMA Blogg-this is the 100th post! Thank you all for reading!

Post UFC 112

It seems the support UFC champions receive from fans is going down hill. GSP was scrutinized after grinding out a win over Dan Hardy at UFC 111 and not finishing the fight (although he tried many times). GSP, however, had many fans (including myself) defending his performance while many other fans simply thought, "I'm not impressed by his performance!" Well this weekend had a lot in store for UFC/MMA fans across the world. BJ Penn lost his belt to Frankie Edgar in a fight in which Edgar looked dominant throughout the fight landing quick combos and having constant movement which even allowed him to dodge BJ's quick jab. Edgar looked great and received the undisputed title, leaving scrutiny on BJ now by some fans now. Now let's get into Anderson Silva's performance. When George St. Pierre fought Dan Hardy in NJ, he sunk in a tight armbar and kimura which Hardy, being tough as nails, defended successfully and did not tap. GSP also landed 2 strong punches right to Hardy's chin which did not even phase the Brit, and nobody can say he didn't try to end the fight. Hardy was just too tough an opponent to finish, and if he had any sort of takedown defense, he could have kept the fight standing and won some rounds on the judges' scorecard at the very least. Silva, however, can not be defended by fans. He began the fight show boating and acting like Rashad Evans in the ring, but he was striking and connecting with his strikes in the first two rounds. Round 3 brought a whole new fighter into the ring-Silva was yelling in Portugese at Maia and rounds 4 and 5 showed Silva running around the cage dodging Maia completely and just slipping out of his takedowns. Silva was even warned by the referee to stop running around the cage or he would be docked a point. The fight, while humorous, was not worth the PPV or the price of tickets to watch the show live. Needless to say, Dana was furious after the fight. This video sums up everyone's feelings towards the fight:

GSP was scrutinized heavily last week for not ending his fights, but after UFC 112 many could argue he is the best champion the UFC has right now-BJ Penn lost his belt and there is a new, fresh champion holding the belt with no title defenses, Silva's performance was lackluster and a disgrace, Lyoto Machida is being scrutinized for his performance against Rua and many think he lost the fight, and Brock Lesnar does not have as many title defenses as GSP and is likely to lose his belt in the near future to either Shane Carwin, or if Carwin does not dethrone Lesnar Cain Velasquez will.
Before this post closes, let's examine the Matt Hughes vs Renzo Gracie fight. The anticipated fight almost went the distance giving fans plenty of action in the bout. Hughes used a Forrest Griffin technique by delivering a series of leg kicks which ended up buckling Gracie many times in the third round. Hughes was able to finish the fight via TKO in round 3 by kicking out the leg of Gracie and delivering a rapid fire of punches. UFC 112 had many entertaining fights and some great performances by the fighters on the card, with the exception of Anderson Silva.